Art.26 Habilitation and Rehabilitation

Abstract

This chapter examines Article 26 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which reaffirms the relevance of rehabilitation as a means for the full enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to employment, the right to education, and the right to independent living of persons with disability. The focus of the article is on access to rehabilitation services and programmes. Article 26 addresses both rehabilitation and habilitation to mark the distinction between services and supports that return an individual to a situation of independence, ability, inclusion, and participation—such as would be experienced prior to an injury or the onset of a health condition—as well as services and supports that bring the individual to maximal independence—in the case of children born with congenital impairments.