About Us

Primary Goals of the IDRM

• Provide an overview of the history of people with disabilities in each country researched. This helps to give an idea of the country’s background of how people with disabilities have been treated. For example, some countries might show that historically people with disabilities were institutionalized. Learning about the history gives us an insight into past government actions.
• Identify in a comprehensive and in-depth fashion, what a country has done or is currently doing to achieve equal treatment for people with disabilities.
• Serve as a possible baseline for future monitoring efforts associated with the UN Convention for the Rights and Dignity of People with Disabilities. The IDRM could provide a reference that would be useful for both governments and NGOs to see where countries started prior to the signature and ratification of the Convention.
• Aim to highlight key areas of development in each country researched. The countries are at different stages of providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities. For example, lack of legislation protecting people with disabilities may be an issue in many developing countries, while it is less of a concern for countries that have legislation in place.
• Show a comparison of the situation of people with disabilities in countries within the region.

Examples of where the IDRM has been used in the past

• Documents of the World Bank
• United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website on the Flagship for Inclusive Education
• The official website of the government of Colombia
• Monitoring committee members of other Conventions through the office for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• Background material provided to the United States Embassy personnel working in the area of human rights