University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professor Linda Reif's article "Ombudsman Institutions and Article 33(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" has been published in the New Brunswick Law Journal. The article is part of an issue with the theme of "The Impact of International Law on Canadian Law".
Article 33(2) requires Convention (CRPD) states to establish a framework of one or more independent mechanisms for the domestic implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities. Professor Reif's article addresses the interpretation of the Paris Principles on national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and the work of the CRPD Committee. It argues that, in addition to a Paris Principles compliant NHRI such as a national human rights ombudsman or human rights commission, other domestic national and sub-national institutions that are not considered to be NHRIs should also be acceptable for inclusion in an Article 33(2) multiple institutional framework as long as they satisfy standards taken from the Paris Principles and the institutions can in combination fulfil Article 33(2) objectives. This approach is applied to recommend changes to Canada's Article 33(2) framework.
Citation:
Linda C. Reif, "Ombudsman Institutions and Article 33(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" (2014) 65 University of New Brunswick Law Journal 213-248