31
MARS
MARS
Mobiliar Center for Resilience – Public Lecture Series: «Inclusion as a human right – The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities» (Prof. Schefer)
Colloque / Congrès / Forum, Cours public, Conférence
Ouvert au grand public
31.03.2026 17:00 - 18:15
Présentiel
Public Lectures Resilience of Society and Economy
Inclusion as a human right – The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), which came into force in Switzerland in 2014, enshrines inclusion as a human right and marks a paradigm shift in the understanding of disability: away from a medically oriented approach towards a human rights and social approach. At its core is the obligation of States Parties to systematically remove barriers – physical, social, communicative and institutional – and to ensure the full, effective and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all areas of life. The lecture highlights the normative significance of the UN CRPD, its central principles, such as non-discrimination, self-determination, and participation, as well as the challenges of national implementation, including in Switzerland. It also outlines the steps still needed to achieve inclusion as a human right.
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Programme
17.00
Welcome and introductory remarks – Prof. Dr. Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf et Prof. Dr. Chantal Martin Soelch
17.15
Inclusion as a human right: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Prof. Dr. Markus Schefer
18.15
Conclusion and aperitif to follow (Hall A130)
Inclusion as a human right – The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), which came into force in Switzerland in 2014, enshrines inclusion as a human right and marks a paradigm shift in the understanding of disability: away from a medically oriented approach towards a human rights and social approach. At its core is the obligation of States Parties to systematically remove barriers – physical, social, communicative and institutional – and to ensure the full, effective and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all areas of life. The lecture highlights the normative significance of the UN CRPD, its central principles, such as non-discrimination, self-determination, and participation, as well as the challenges of national implementation, including in Switzerland. It also outlines the steps still needed to achieve inclusion as a human right.
***
Programme
17.00
Welcome and introductory remarks – Prof. Dr. Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf et Prof. Dr. Chantal Martin Soelch
17.15
Inclusion as a human right: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Prof. Dr. Markus Schefer
18.15
Conclusion and aperitif to follow (Hall A130)
Quand?
31.03.2026 17:00 - 18:15
Où?
Organisation
Intervenants
Prof. Dr. iur. Markus Schefer, LL.M. has been Full Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Basel since 2001. After studying in Bern (1985–1990), where he also worked as a research assistant from 1989, he earned an LL.M at UC Berkeley and Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. (1992/93). In 1995, he obtained his doctorate from the University of Bern (summa cum laude), followed in 2001 by his habilitation with venia docendi in public law, comparative constitutional law and legal methodology. Since then, Schefer has been teaching and researching at the University of Basel. He has been a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) since 2019, with a renewed term of office from 2023 to 2026.
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