Achieving equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities through legislation: Guidelines

These guidelines reflect the reappraisal of disability as a human rights issue. Intended for policy-makers and drafters of legislation, they have been developed with a view to assisting in improving the effectiveness of national laws concerning training and employment of disabled persons, as part of an ILO Project "Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation”.

These guidelines were first published in 2007, with the support of the Government of Ireland, shortly after the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to promote the reappraisal of disability as a human rights issue. Intended primarily for policy-makers and drafters of legislation, particularly in States Parties to the CRPD that are required to review their legislative provisions as a first step, they aim to support the revision of existing laws and development of new laws of relevance to women and men with disabilities, and the development of regulations and policies to give effect to these laws. Focusing on key concepts underlying international standards – equality of opportunity, non-discrimination, equal treatment of men and women - and providing examples of law and practice in countries around the world, the guidelines are updated in this second edition, drawing on the rapid developments that have taken place in national legislation as well as implementation and enforcement measures since 2008.