Background People with disabilities have experienced heightened social risks in the context of the pandemic, resulting in higher rates of infection and mortality. They have also borne elevated burdens associated with public health measures. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) obliges its ۱۸۴ state parties to eliminate discrimination and ensure equality and inclusion for persons with disabilities, including protection and safety in situations of emergency. It remains unclear to what extent national
COVID-۱۹ policies have aligned with these commitments under the UNCRPD. Our objective in this exploratory study was to assess alignment between the UNCRPD indicators and
COVID-۱۹ policies from ۱۴ countries with the goal of informing policy development that is inclusive of persons with disabilities and responsive to rights under the UNCRPD.Methods We identified
COVID-۱۹ policy documents from ۱۴ purposively selected countries. Country selection considered diversity based on geographic regions and national income levels, with restriction to those countries that had ratified the UNCRPD and had English or French as an official language. We used a computational text mining approach and developed a complex multilevel dictionary or categorization model based on the UNCRPD Bridging the Gap indicators proposed by the Office of the High Commissioner on
Human Rights (OHCHR). This dictionary was used to assess the extent to which indicators across the entirety of the UNCRPD were represented in the selected policies. We analyzed frequency of associations with UNCRPD, as well as conducting ‘key word in context’ analyses to identify themes.Results We identified ۷۶۴
COVID-۱۹ national policy documents from the period of January ۲۰۲۰ to June ۲۰۲۱. When analyzed in relation to the Articles of the UNCRPD, the most frequently identified were Articles ۱۱ (risk and humanitarian emergencies), ۲۳ (home and family), ۲۴ (education), and ۱۹ (community living). Six countries produced ۲۷ policies that were specifically focused on disability. Common themes within these documents included continuation of services, intersectionality and equity, and disability considerations in regulations and public health measures.Conclusion Analyzing country policies in light of the UNCRPD offers important insights about how these policies do and do not align with states’ commitments. As new policies are developed and existing ones revised, more comprehensive approaches to addressing the rights of persons with disabilities are urgently needed.
