The Normative Value of a Treaty as Opposed to a Declaration: Reflections from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 27, Stephen P. Marks, ed., 2008

William & Mary Law School Research Paper No. 09-35

Posted: 9 Feb 2010 Last revised: 23 Feb 2010

See all articles by Michael Ashley Stein

Michael Ashley Stein

Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School; University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights

Date Written: February 22, 2010

Abstract

When the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by consensus on December 13, 2006, it culminated a 20-some year process that transformed disability-based protections from resolutions and declarations into core human rights obligations. With consideration currently being given to a convention to formalize the Right to Development (RTD), this chapter offers a few thoughts regarding the normative value of a treaty from the perspective of two participants in the drafting of the CRPD.

Our reflections address the progression from soft laws to treaty obligations, the necessity of building the content of existing rights over time, the opportunity that a convention provides for establishing national benchmarks for implementation, and the role that non-State actors can play as normative change agents. We conclude with a few words on the transcendent value of a State’s commitment to human rights norms regardless of whether they are embedded in soft instruments or legally binding treaties.

Keywords: disability, human rights, development, international cooperation, poverty

Suggested Citation

Stein, Michael Ashley, The Normative Value of a Treaty as Opposed to a Declaration: Reflections from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (February 22, 2010). IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 27, Stephen P. Marks, ed., 2008, William & Mary Law School Research Paper No. 09-35, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1549603

Michael Ashley Stein (Contact Author)

Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School ( email )

1585 Massachussetts Avenue
Austin Hall 305
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
617-495-1726 (Phone)

University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights ( email )

Private Bag X20
Hatfield 0028
Pretoria
South Africa

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
642
PlumX Metrics