European Union's Accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This paper is analysing the European Union accession process to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, first international human rights treaty to which the EU has acceded. It also analyses issues such as: positioning of the Convention in the EU legal system, multiple legal grounds for EU’s accession to the Convention, as well as the division of duties among the EU and its Member States regarding the implementation of this treaty. Finally, it analyses the issue of efficient implementation of the Convention by the EU through a consideration of the protection against discrimination on grounds of disability. Along these lines, it provides analysis on the articles of the Convention, which are directly related to the protection against discrimination on grounds of disability, such as Articles 4 (general obligations), 5 (equality and non-discrimination), 9 (accessibility), 24 (education), 27 (work and employment) and 33 (national implementation and monitoring)