Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – Available in English, Chinese, Easy Read and Sign Language

CRPD Optional Protocol – pdf of true copy includes English and Chinese language versions in the same document.

CRPD General comments

Through its General comments, the Committee provides authoritative guidance about the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The purpose of the General comments is to help States parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention. The General comments adopted by the Committee are available from the OHCHR database.  

• General comment No. 1 (2014), Article 12: Equal recognition before the law
• General comment No. 2 (2014), Article 9: Accessibility
• General comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities
• General comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education
• General comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community
• General comment No. 6 (2018) on equality and non-discrimination
• General comment No. 7 (2018) on the participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention
• General comment No. 8 (2022) on the right of persons with disabilities to work and employment

SDG-CRPD resource package: Disability-inclusive Sustainable Development Goals

Please refer to the page Harmonization of Domestic Legislation with the CRPD for relevant resources.

Reports by UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Report on the rights of older persons with disabilities (A/74/186)

Report on the impact of ableism in medical and scientific practice (A/HRC/43/41)

Report on sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities (A/72/133)

Report on the rights of persons with disabilities to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (A/73/161)

Report on legal capacity and supported decision-making (A/HRC/37/56)

Related Publications

System-Wide Evaluation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, published 22 September 2025 by UN OHCHR

United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy – Available in English, Chinese, Easy-to-Read (English); and epub format in 6 languages

Gender-responsiveness in the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy: An analysis of United Nations entities’ UNDIS reports from 2023, published in 2025, launched on 2 December 2025 by UN Women

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Advocacy Toolkit – Available in English, French and Spanish by UN O

Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol by UN DESA

Disability Care and Support Systems: Country Assessment Tool by UN OHCHR

As we mark 20 years of the CRPD, in this editorial, José María Viera, IDA Executive Director, reflects on a powerful idea: The CRPD’s deepest promise is not only that persons with disabilities should survive, or receive services, or be protected from harm.

Its promise is that we should belong in the everyday life of the world. We should be expected in the ordinary places where human life happens: the classroom, the home, the bus, the market, the workplace, the court, the theatre, the polling station, the playground, the family table, the public square. That may sound simple. But for millions of persons with disabilities, it is revolutionary.

The International Disability Alliance (IDA) Secretariat marks the 20th anniversary of the CRPD with an editorial by its Executive Director:

Country/Territory Initiatives

Singapore and the CRPD by Disabled People’s Association, Singapore

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