Fighting Segregation in the US & Abroad: The ADA & International Law as Tools for Advocacy

Fighting Segregation in the US & Abroad: The ADA & International Law as Tools for Advocacy

Eric Rosenthal, J.D., Arlene Kanter, J.D., & Sofia Galvan Puente, J.D.

This workshop centers on the community integration mandate of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)  and a comparison to the ADA as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Olmstead. It helps put the American deinstitutionalization movement in international context and clarifies what we have to gain by ratification.  Since President Obama signed the CRPD, the United States is already subject to international standards.

Disability Rights International (DRI) has filed an Olmstead-type case that is pending before the Inter-American Commission to seek explicit recognition of segregated services as a form of discrimination under the American convention. International disability rights experts will discuss the ADA, CRPD, and American Convention on Human  Rights. This is a valuable opportunity to get some inside perspectives from the Commission -- and a potentially eye-opening experience for US activists. It would be a valuable opportunity to get some inside perspectives from the Commission -- and a potentially eye-opening experience for US activists. Eric Rosenthal is Executive Director of Disability Rights International. Sofia Galvan Puente is attorney from Mexico who serves as the disability rights expert at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Arlene Kanter is Professor of Law, College of Law at Syracuse University, where she directs the Disability Law and Policy Program.  

Link to brief presenter bios:

Eric Rosenthal][,][J.D.]

Arlene Kanter,][J.D.]

Sofia Galvan Puente, J.D.