In celebration of the International Day of People with Disabilities
Since 1992, the International Day of Disabled Persons has been celebrated on 3 December each year. In the words of the United Nations, the day is intended “to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life”. The Nordic Journal of Human Rights fully supports this purpose, and is proud to do our small share to raise awareness by collecting our articles on the rights of persons with disabilities from recent years. Awareness-raising is an important element also in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), being explicitly addressed in Article 8. The current year, 2023, is a special year with regard to the CRPD in Norway, where the Nordic Journal of Human Rights is based. The Norwegian government has decided to incorporate the CRPD into Norwegian law, and a national committee of legal experts is currently assessing how this should be done. Several other countries have their own ongoing discussions concerning the implementation of the CRPD in domestic law. It seems very timely on the occasion of the International Day of Disabled Persons 2023 to offer a contribution to such discussions, hoping that our Journal’s academic analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities can contribute to an increased understanding of a complex human rights issue. It is estimated that more than one billion people live with some form of disability worldwide – a staggering number that demonstrates that the human rights of persons with disabilities affects every nation and every community, and that it is a human rights issue that truly deserves considerable awareness. The Nordic Journal of Human Rights promises to keep this issue on its agenda in the time to come.
Edited by
Professor Kjetil Mujezinović Larsen(Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo)