DISABILITY RIGHTS IN THE SUB-REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES DURING 2011 AND 2012

Abstract

This subsection reports on recent events relating to disability rights in the East Africa Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The core purpose of these Communities is the pursuit of economic integration in the respective subregions; it is therefore understandable that their mandates did not, at least initially, include a clear human rights focus. However, in recent years, an extension of the Communities’ purview to include human rights generally, and to some extent, disability rights in particular, can be discerned.1 This subsection tracks this expansion and also identifies opportunities for further advancement in each subregion.