The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (African Disability Protocol) are the only international human rights instruments that contain a substantive right to access justice. The inclusion of a substantive right to access justice in article 13 of both instruments was a response to the lived experience of persons with disabilities who encounter numerous barriers to accessing justice, including communication, accessibility, attitudinal, legal and procedural barriers, with devastating and far-reaching effects on their ability to enforce all other human rights and fundamental freedoms. For persons with disabilities, the right to access justice is of particular importance. In an effort to improve persons with disabilities’ access to justice, the Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria (the Centre) hosted the 4th Regional Convening on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities in Africa from 24 to 25 June 2025 at Southern Sun Hotel, OR Tambo International Airport.
The convening sought to strengthen the capacity of relevant stakeholders including magistrates, police officers, organisations of persons with disabilities, legal aid officers and academics on how to address barriers to equal access to justice by persons with disabilities. Specifically, the convening focused on the barriers at the community/family level, the investigation and trial stages and the measures that can be taken to address them including awareness-raising, the provision of accommodations, the use of intermediaries, strategic litigation and the provision of legal aid. A range of experts from various sectors including civil society, intermediaries and academia with expertise in law, disability advocacy, communication and speech therapy as well as strategic litigation made presentations at the convening. The convening brought together 41 participants from Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The two-day regional convening concluded with the launch of a new publication on access to justice titled “Promoting Equal Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities in Africa: A Guidance Note.” The publication seeks to assist African states, most of whom have ratified the CRPD, to implement the right to access justice by explaining the type and extent of legal obligations arising from article 13 of the CRPD and article 13 of the African Disability Protocol. Cumulatively, the training provided during the Regional convening and the publication will strengthen the capacity of justice personnel and other stakeholders to enable persons with disabilities to access justice on an equal basis with others.
