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Do Nations Abide by the Human Rights Decrees of Helsinki when it comes to the disabled?

© William Robb

Last month I talked about the Human Rights Decree which many nations adhered to when they signed the Unites Nations decree in Helsinki, Finland. I also showed how these rights were identical to the inalienable rights of my country.

My Founding Fathers believed these rights were inalienable beause they were conferred upon us by a Creator, not by man. If they are given by a Creator, then how can nations- governed by man- appear to deny these Rights to some while granting them to others? If this is true are not these nations covertly denying these rights to some while granting them to others? What is the difference between covert and overt denial? Don't both deny rights? The only difference is one is seen and the other unseen.

Who is the recipient of covert denial? It appears that it may be the disabled who may have been assigned a status which is most probably against their will or wishes.

In my country the only way one can be denied his Inalienable rights (life,liberty, the pursuit of happiness) is by a trial in front of his peers. In my country,this may be the case for the non-disabled but it surely isn't for the disabled. Instead,it appears that our rights may be determined by forces beyond our control. These forces may also have denied us the opportunuity to exercise our Inalienable rights. If this may be true in my country,then how can it be any different for the disabled of other countries?

Before writing this article, I read the preambles-see National Constitutions in Links- of many nations. Some were signers of the Human Rights Decree and others weren't. None of these preambles made any distinction between the disabled and the non-disabled. All had some variation of WE THE PEOPLE. Some refered to their citizens as WE THE NATION.Others referred to them as THE PEOPLE or FROM THE PEOPLE. There were other variations. Some made reference to WE THE REPRESENATIVES OF THE PEOPLE or FROM THE PEOPLE. Nowhere in any of them was a distinction made between the disabled and the non-disabled. It can therefore be assumed that both are equal before the laws of their country. Unfortunately, those of us who have disabilities - I am one - know that this may not be the case. Instead, it appears that many of us may have been assigned to a status which ranks below that of a third-class citizen. It further appears that this may have been done without our consent or without a due-process hearing.

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