Protecting the Rights of People with Autism in the Fields of Education and Employment: International, European and National Perspectives

Abstract

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol were adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007. They entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD is unique in its complexity for many reasons. It encompasses both civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights; it includes rights established in previous instruments, but extends them by prescribing the content of the rights and the obligations of Contracting Parties. Furthermore, it contains a new set of rights such as those concerning accessibility, personal mobility or habilitation and rehabilitation, as well as it introduces new topics such as the identification of the persons with disabilities, the concept of reasonable accommodations and the obligation of Contracting Parties to cooperate in the field of disability.