Human Rights

Part 1: General Human Rights – Introduction

Human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights without discrimination. Human rights are important for deaf persons – through human rights, deaf persons are entitled to exercise civil, political, economic, and cultural rights on an equal basis with everyone else. Deaf persons have right to use sign language, to have a sign language interpreter, and to have bilingual education.

Under human rights treaties, governments have the primary responsibility for protecting and promoting human rights. International human rights law lays down obligations which States are bound to respect. By becoming parties to international treaties, States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.

Through ratification of international human rights treaties, governments undertake to put into place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations and duties. The domestic legal system, therefore, provides the principal legal protection of human rights guaranteed under international law. The regional and international level helps to ensure that human rights are respected, implemented, and enforced at the local level.

However, governments are not solely responsible for ensuring human rights. The common mission of all civil society organisations (CSO) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is to respect and promote human rights and social justice without any discrimination at all levels of life. National Deaf Associations (NADs) are also CSOs, and they hold main actors’ roles in the human rights activities of the deaf communities. Deaf organisations usually have an important role in improving the situation of deaf people, advocating for their human and sign language rights, promoting the respect of deaf human rights, and helping governments to achieve their human rights commitments. Thus, it is essential for deaf organisations to learn about human rights because deaf organisations can become more efficient in their work if they integrate the human rights approach in their everyday work. Knowing human rights helps you to understand how to achieve inclusion.

Here, the CRPD is very important for deaf people. It was created because human rights norms were not reaching deaf people and other persons with disabilities. It shifts the focus from the medical perspective to the human rights model of disability. Thus, a separate convention was needed to secure those human rights are covered persons with disabilities without discrimination.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Member states of the United Nations committed to promote respect for the human rights of all citizens in the world. To advance this goal, the UN established a Commission on Human Rights in 1946 and charged it with the task of drafting a document spelling out the meaning of the fundamental rights and freedoms proclaimed in the Charter. On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the 56 members of the United Nations. The vote was unanimous, although eight nations chose to abstain.

The UDHR changed the concept of human rights leaded by the United Nations Charter – namely, that how a government treats its own citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a domestic issue. The declaration claims that all rights are interdependent and indivisible. The influence of the UDHR has been meaningful. Its principles have been incorporated into the constitutions of most of the more than 185 nations now in the UN. Although a declaration is not a legally binding document, the Universal Declaration has achieved the status of international law.

Thus, from 1948 to 1966, the UN Human Rights Commission’s main task was to create a body of international human rights law based on the Declaration, and to establish the mechanisms needed to enforce its implementation and use. The Human Rights Commission produced two major documents: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Both became international law in 1976. Together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these two covenants comprise what is known as the “International Bill of Human Rights”. The ICCPR focuses on issues such as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion, and voting. The ICESCR focuses on food, education, health, and shelter. Both covenants proclaim these rights for all people and forbid discrimination.

In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has adopted more than twenty principal treaties further elaborating human rights. These include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific abuses such as torture and genocide and to protect specific vulnerable populations such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979), children (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989) and persons with disabilities (The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006). Other conventions cover racial discrimination, prevention of genocide, political rights of women, prohibition of slavery and torture. Each of these treaties has established a committee of experts to monitor implementation of the treaty provisions by its state parties.

There are 9 core international human rights instruments. Each of these instruments has established a committee of experts to monitor implementation of the treaty provisions by States parties. Some of the treaties are supplemented by optional protocols dealing with specific concerns.

Rights

• Right to life
• Prohibition of discrimination
• Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
• Prohibition of torture
• Right to be recognised as a person
• Prohibition of arbitary detention
• Right to fair trial
• Right to nationality
• Right to privacy and family life
• Liberty of movement
• Right to asylum
• Right to marry and establish a family
• Right to property
• Liberty of opinions, thoughts and religion
• Liberty of expression and speech
• Liberty of assembly and association
• Right to participate
• Right to social security
• Right to employment
• Right to adequate level of life
• Right to rest and leisure
• Right to education
• Right to participate in cultural life and society
• Right to development
• Rights lead to obligations

There are regional conventions such as European Convention on Human Rights in 1950, American Convention on Human Rights in 1969, Arab Commission on Human Rights in 1969 and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1981.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The CPRD is a response to the fact that although pre-existing human rights conventions offer considerable potential to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, this potential was not being tapped. Persons with disabilities continued being denied their human rights and were kept on the margins of society in all parts of the world.  For example, 650 million people in the world live with a disability. Of those, 80 % of persons with disabilities live in developing countries. 90 % of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school, and women and girls with disabilities are more discriminated. Therefore, the Convention sets out the legal obligations on States to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. It does not create new rights. The CPRD was adopted on December 2006, opened for signature on March 2007, and entered into force on May 2008. The CPRD aligns with other international obligations and national legislation system.

Deaf people need the convention because human rights norms are not reaching deaf people. A separate convention is needed to secure those human rights cover deaf people without discrimination. All articles together with other human right treaties strengthen the position of sign languages and deaf people’s human rights. Thus, the convention will change deaf people’s lives after it has been ratified and implemented in national legislation as it shifts the focus from the medica perspective to human rights model of disability.

Why CPRD is important?

• Recognises sign languages as languages and considers them equal to spoken languages.
• Guarantees a right to get professional sign language interpreters.
• Guarantees a right to interact in sign languages, to get information and to express oneself in sign languages also in official interactions.
• Urges to recognize sign languages and to facilitate the use of sign languages.
• Facilitates learning in sign languages and promotes linguistic identity of deaf community.
• Ensures that states take responsibility to employ teachers who are qualified in sign languages, the most appropriate linguistic learning environment, skilled personnel and staff and education material.
• Entitles the deaf to the recognition of sign languages, deaf culture, and linguistic identity.

The CPRD emphasises that no one can be discriminated because of their language and linguistic rights. In the CRPD, sign language is mentioned 8 times in 5 different articles.

Article 2: Definition

There are five sub-definitions: communication, language, discrimination on the basis of disability, reasonable accommodation and universal design. The definition on language is the following:

“Language” includes spoken and signed languages and other forms of non-spoken languages.”

Which means that sign languages are considered equal to spoken languages.

Article 9: Accessibility

9.2(e): “Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public”

“Professional sign language interpreters” means that states have responsibilities to promote and develop sign language interpreter training, degree, registration and to facilitate interpreter services and to promote access to interpreters.

Article 21: Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information

21 (b): “Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official interaction”

This means that it is important to emphasize that sign language is not only a language used by deaf community in their interaction, but that sign languages should also be approved in official interactions.  For example, deaf people must have the right to submit a document in sign language and to receive a response in sign language. They have the right to act and to receive information in court and police, to receive information about their health in sign language, to have education provided in sign language, to have sign language interpreters at their workplace, to have accessible information, to get consumer instruction in sign language and to receive treatment and other services in sign language.

21 (e): “Recognising and promoting the use of sign languages”

This means that sign language should be recognised either in legislation or in public policies and programs. It thus is very important for the deaf community and has an impact on the linguistic rights of deaf people. It also means that deaf people of all ages have the right to use sign language, meaning that deaf children should not be forced to change their language while growing up. Promotion of sign language also covers the support for sign language publications, education, research and general usage.

It covers the right to use first language/mother tongue, right to learn sign language, right to pursue studies in sign language and receive bilingual/multilingual education, right to access to quality education and qualified teachers and right to use sign language in all areas of life, such as hospital, police, employment, culture.

Article 24: Education

24.3 (b): “Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community”

This article is important because the usage of sign language should not be prohibited in learning. However, this is unfortunately a sad reality in the majority of countries.

24.3 (c): “Ensuring that the education of persons, and in children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, particular is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximise academic and social development”

This article means that deaf education should be in those languages and in such an environment that guarantees maximum cognitive and social development. For deaf people this means sign language and bilingual learning environment.

24.4: “In order to help ensure the realisation of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education.  Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities”

For Deaf and deaf-blind people, the sentence “teachers … who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille”, is very important because this will set a lot of challenges for teacher training in many countries. Good quality of sign language skills is a central requirement here as well as deaf persons’ access to teacher training programs and other staffs’ knowledge on sign language and matters that develop deaf students’ learning.

Article 30: Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport

30.1: “States parties recognise the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life”

Here, cultural materials refer to TV programs, movies, theatre and other cultural activities and cultural venues and places (such as museums) and information which should be in accessible formats.

30.4: “Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture”

This means that in addition to equal rights for cultural participation also recognition and support for sign languages and deaf culture.

Part 2: The SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs is a powerful tool and a clear roadmap to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and save the planet. Governments, private sectors, civil society organizations and donors have started to align to the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda was adopted in September 2015, after three years of strong and non-stopped advocacy, heated discussions, unavoidable tensions from civil society organizations and governments so everyone could see their priorities included. It is the successor of the Millennium Development Goals, which were only for developing countries. The SDGs are the goals set to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a plan of action aimed at ending poverty in all its forms. It is universal, meaning all countries should implement it. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs are a universal commitment made by 193 world leaders of this planet to end poverty, reduce inequality, and save the earth. The SDGs has 17 goals, 169 targets with 230 indicators. The motto of the 2030 agenda is: “Leave no one behind”, which is very important for deaf people. Persons with disabilities are mentioned 9 times in the 2030 Agenda and 19 times in the SDGs.

From a national perspective, there is considerable overlap between the provisions of the CRPD and the SDGs. There are only three goals in the SDGs that do not have some specific links to articles within the CRPD (12: Consumption, 14: Life below water and 15: Life on land).

You should use the SDGs and the CPRD together when advocating for the rights of deaf people in your country.

The difference between the CRPD and the SDGs is that the CRPD is legally binding and must be implemented and monitored in each member state who have ratified it. The SDGs is a political commitment by the world leaders and is not legally binding. However, the countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving those 17 goals. Countries have responsibility to follow-up and review the SDGs in their country with quality, accessible and timely data collection. Like the CRPD, the SDGs must be integrated in laws, policies, and budgets for their implementation. Whereas the CRPD focuses on disability, the SDGs mainstream the human rights of persons with disabilities. Actors of the SDGs say that not “just the disability movement” but include all stakeholders.

One goal should not be prioritized over another. The SDGs are a set of indivisible goals, interconnected to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions while leaving no one behind. However, some governments tend to focus on some goals (often the goals on the environment). It is difficult to support all goals, so deaf associations should focus on goals that are relevant for them.

National associations of the deaf should use the SDGs and the CRPD together. The SDGs are a roadmap/platform to implement the CPRD and vice-versa. Through the implementation of the SDGs, more data will be available for the CRPD. National Associations of the Deaf and allies should work on to provide this connection and synergy between the CRPD and SDGs to ensure deaf people are included.

Participate in the design of your country’s voluntary national review of the SDGs

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is a member of the umbrella organization of persons with disabilities in your country. You should have a good collaboration with your umbrella organization and participate in the meetings. That way, you can ensure that deaf perspectives are included in the review. The umbrella organization usually represents at the Civil Society Coalition on Sustainable Development Goals, where they highlight the perspectives on the problems persons with disabilities, including deaf people, face in your country. The list of issues will be sent to the relevant government agencies. The government agency is responsible of designing the national report.

Participate in the design of your country’s parallel report.

Another way for you as a NAD is to participate in the design of your country’s parallel report. This is different from the report submitted by the government agency of your country. This report is drafted by the civil organizations of your country. Participate in the meetings organized by your umbrella organization of persons with disabilities of your country. They will collect all valuable information that they will hand in the civil society coalition on sustainable development goals, who is responsible of designing the parallel report.

Participate in the elaboration of the statement read after the presentation of your country’s report.

Usually, all countries present their Voluntary National review at the United Nation, which is around 20 minutes presentation. After the presentation, the Civil Society reads their statement on the report, which is two minutes at maximum. How can the NADs be involved in the statement? Your NAD can be involved in the stakeholder group of persons with disabilities, which is a part of Major Group of Stakeholder. The Major Group of Stakeholder is responsible of presenting the statement after your country’s report.

Part 3: Human rights for deaf people – deaf perspective

Many of the international laws and documents such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have re-lifted human rights issues into the political agenda. They have contributed by creating a new sphere of sustainable social development through the involvement of a wider range of stakeholders. Thus, deaf led organisations and its leaders must learn about human rights. The CPRD was adopted because persons with disabilities have been declined their basic rights and fundamental freedom.

Due to societal prejudices and incorrect assumptions, deaf people’s rights are often overlooked or denied. There are 6 areas where deaf people’s human rights are important: Sign language rights, deaf culture and linguistic identity, bilingual education, accessibility, equal employment opportunities, and equal participation.

Sign Language Rights

Sign language rights means basic human rights in relation to language acquisition at birth. Sign language enables deaf children to have full communication with people and improves their cognitive and social skills. The UN CPRD emphasises that sign language is inseparable from deaf people’s human rights: without sign language, deaf people are not equal. There are human rights instruments that support sign language rights:

• CRPD Article 2: Makes clear that sign languages are equal in status to spoken languages.
• CRPD Article 21.b: Allows deaf people to choose to give and receive official communications in the way they choose, including in sign languages.
• CRPD Article 21.e and 24.3b: Obligates the governments to encourage the learning of sign language and promote the linguistic identity of the deaf community.
• CRPD Article 23.3: Requires the governments to provide early and comprehensive information, services, and support to children with disabilities and their families, including information about deaf culture, sign language and bilingual education.

Deaf culture and linguistic identity

Like any group of people who share a common language, deaf people have their own culture. This includes beliefs, attitudes, history, norms, values, literary traditions, and art shared by deaf people in the same community or country. deaf communities share a sign language and common heritage, and therefore identify themselves as members of a cultural and linguistic minority. The CRPD states that deaf culture should be recognised and supported as a basic human right. There are human rights instruments that support deaf culture and linguistic identity:

• CRPD Article 30.4: Requires the governments to recognise and support specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.

Bilingual education

Approximately 56 million deaf people, 80% of the 70 million deaf people in our world today, receive no education at all. Every deaf person has a right to bilingual education, a social-cultural approach, which uses sign language as the language of instruction, while equally emphasising the use of the written language(s) in that country. To be successful academically and included socially, deaf students must be in bilingual environments with other deaf role models and learners.
Deaf associations should urge national, state and provincial governments, as well as public and private educational institutions, to ensure the right to education for deaf learners by providing bilingual education to deaf learners, which will enable them to succeed to their maximum potential, ensuring that deaf learners have deaf peers to develop strong language and cultural identity; consulting directly with deaf people and their associations on how to best meet their educational needs, and training, hiring, and promoting qualified teachers who are fluent in sign language, especially teachers, assistants and aides who are deaf. There are human rights instruments that support bilingual education:

• Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (paragraph 21 in page 18): Addressed the right to receive education in a national sign language for deaf children.
• CRPD Article 24.1: Requires the governments to ensure inclusive education system at all levels.
• CRPD Article 24.3b: Ensures the right to learn sign language and promotes linguistic identity of the deaf community.
• CRPD Article 24.4: Requires teachers of deaf children to be qualified in sign language.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

Accessibility

Lack of accessibility bars deaf people from sharing and learning information with others. Information and communication across all areas of life should be accessible via sign language interpreting, subtitling, and/or close captioning. A key factor to accessibility for public services such as healthcare, employment, social welfare, or any other government services is provision of and access to sign language interpreters. There are human rights instruments that support accessibility:

• CRPD Article 9 and 21: Requires governments to provide for accessibility to information and communication.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.

Equal employment

Although most countries recognise that deaf people have the right to work and earn a salary, few have anti-discrimination legislation at the workforce that protects deaf people against discrimination at work. For instance, there are still some countries that do not permit deaf people to obtain a driver’s license. In doing so, it limits their employment opportunities, freedom of movement and access to various social arenas and life in general. Although these countries do not have legislation that explicitly prohibits and prejudices, common practice by the traffic authorities or other institutions handling driver’s licenses and driver training seem to be the major obstacles against deaf people obtaining a driver’s license. There are human rights instruments that support equal employment opportunities:

• CRPD Article 27: Requires the governments to provide ‘reasonable accommodation’ (adjustments and supports) to deaf employees.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.

Equal participation

Deaf people need to have equal access of participation in the personal, public, and political area as everybody else. In some countries, deaf people face discrimination and are unable to marry, inherit property, vote, or become elected, become a jury member, or reproduce children. It is necessary to ensure that deaf people can take up leadership roles, so that deaf people themselves can appropriately advocate for their rights and be involved in all decision-making processes concerning their lives. There are human rights instruments that support equal participation:

• CRPD Article 5: Requires that the governments prohibit all discrimination based on disability and guarantee to persons with disabilities, including deaf people, equal and effective legal protection against discrimination on all grounds.
• CRPD Article 12: Requires the government to ensure that persons with disabilities, including deaf people, enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.
• CRPD Article 20: Requires the government to take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including deaf people.
• CRPD Article 29: Requires the government to guarantee and promote an environment that ensures effective and full participation in politic.al and public life on an equal basis with others, including the opportunity.
• CRPD Article 23: Requires the government to take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities, including deaf people, in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others.
• CRPD Article 24: Obligates the governments to facilitate the learning of sign language and to promote the linguistic identity of the deaf community, so that they learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community.
• 2030 Agenda, Goal 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

Recognition of Sign Language

Recognition of your national sign language can happen in many ways: in your constitution or other legal measures, such as having a specific sign language legislation, disability legislation or other legislation. When advocating for the recognition of sign language, you should rely on the CPRD article 21: Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information.

An example of specific sign language legislation is Act of 2009 on Hungary Sign Language and the use of Hungarian Sign Language: “The Republic of Hungary recognises the Hungary Sign Language as an independent natural language”. In Germany, the recognition happens in a disability legislation, the Act on the Equalization of Disabled Persons of 2002, where it states that “German Sign Language is officially recognised as a language”. Another example of other legislation is the Norwegian Education Act of 1996, where it states “..Norwegian Sign Language as a first language”.

It can be also a decision made by in a parliament, such as in Sweden, a parliament decision in 1981: “…deaf people have to be… fluent in their visual/gestural sign language, and the language that society surrounds with them, Swedish”. The British government has declared that “British Sign Language is recognised as official British language” in 2003. In Italy, it is recognised in a regional council of Valle d’Aosta in 2006: “Italian Sign Language is recognised as a language”.
In Austria, Uganda and Finland, the recognition happens in the constitution: “Austrian Sign Language is recognised as independent language” (Art. 8 of the Constitution of 2005); “the state shall promote the development of a sign language for the deaf” (Art. 24 of the Constitution of Uganda, 1995); and “the rights of persons using sign language and of persons in need of interpretation or translation aid” (Art. 17 of the Constitution of Finland, 1995).

Role and responsibility of NAD’s

It is important for the national associations to be involved, because the CRPD changes people’s lives in countries after ratification and implementation. All these articles together with other human rights treaties (where discrimination based on language is denied) strengthen the position of sign languages and deaf people’s human rights. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will revolutionise deaf people’s lives in majority of countries after it has been ratified and implemented in national legislation.

Advocacy work is important because it is obligation of national government to implement the CRPD. Participation, expertise, and leadership of DPOs and deaf persons and their organisations in all phases of implementation and monitoring of the Convention is a must. Deaf associations are experts in issues related to deaf people and should therefore be consulted in e.g., developing a legislation to achieve the slogan “nothing about us without us”. Remember that if government asks deaf associations to do some work, they should provide necessary funding.

It is important for you to participate in the CRPD reporting process. Once you know the reporting progress, you can learn how your association can be involved to create positive changes.

• Ratification: You can lobby your government to ratify the CRPD if it has not done so already.
• State reports: Ensure that your national association of the deaf is consulted by the state. When preparing the state reports, the Committee emphasises the importance of participation and consultation of organisations of persons with disabilities. Submit parallel report to the committee. The Committee encourages persons with disabilities to work together to submit a Parallel Report to the Committee. It is important that your national deaf organisation is involved in this process. You can also choose to provide your own report addressing concerns relating to deaf issues.
• Monitor implementation: You should ensure that your national association of the deaf, together with the local organisations of persons with disabilities, is active in monitoring the implementation of the recommendations provided by the CPRD committee to your government.

Challenges for deaf communities to implement the articles

Even though the CRPD has been adopted, there remains challenges to implement the articles on a general level for the deaf community, especially deaf associations. One of the biggest challenges is the interpretation of the articles and understanding the substance of the articles. For example, the national government may interpreter the article in a way, which might result something that is not favourable for the deaf community.  An example is lack of understanding on the concept of bilingual education. In some countries, the concept of inclusion for deaf persons stated in Article 24 of the UN CPRD is often misunderstood and perceived as mainstreaming. The implications can result in communication segregation in classrooms with no exposure to sign language and people who have knowledge about deafness. This is a problem because hearing teachers of deaf students often have limited sign language knowledge, deaf educational experts are rarely consulted, educational training materials for deaf children are inaccessible, and school for deaf people with sign language environments are not properly supported. Another challenge is realisation of the rights and juridical progress: how international human rights can be realised, so they lead to change of a national legislation.

For deaf associations, it might be difficult to learn to understand the whole CPRD and explain the perspectives of the CPRD and how they relate to deaf community in an understandable way. It may be a challenge to participate, cooperate and network with other organisations, and establish partnerships. Also, it is difficult to convince funds to give support for developing programs so the deaf association can focus on the implementation and ensure that the CPRD are realised in their country.