Convention on the rights of people with disabilities: highlights for a debate on brazilian education

Abstract

The objective of this study is to discuss the inclusive education in Brazil through the Convention for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities. In June of 2008, the Brazilian Congress ratified the Convention for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities, which had been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN, 2006). When ratifying an international convention, the Congress confirms the State’s compromise before the international community to respect, obey and implement the obligations contained in such document. In this sense, after the ratification and the enactment of the Decree 186 of 2008, the convention’s text was incorporated to the Brazilian legislation with the same status of a constitutional amendment, which means that all infra legislation should be in conformity with the convention under risk of annulment on the basis of unconstitutionality. The present study analyzes some of the topics of the convention through the perspective of the Brazilian reality. These topics are: the definition of disability and of people with disability; accessibility, the relation between disability and poverty and the roll of the State to guarantee the right to education of people with disabilities.