Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is important for changing the way that people think about intellectual disabilities.

Article 12 says that with the right support, all people with intellectual disabilities can make decisions and have control in their lives.

Our global report, Independent But Not Alone: A Global Report on the Right to Decide, share the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities and their families about the right to decide.

To create this report, over 600 self-advocates, family members, disability advocates, and professionals participated in discussions as part of Inclusion International’s Global Campaign on the Right to Decide. We heard from more than 80 organizations from more than 40 countries worldwide.

Self-advocates said:

We want to be heard and we want to make decisions about how we live our lives.

Independent But Not Alone: Global Report on the Right to Decide

Families said:

We need help in supporting our family members with intellectual disabilities to have the right to decide.

Independent But Not Alone: Global Report on the Right to Decide

Key Findings

  • Organizations and the disability movement need to invest in empowerment, self-advocacy and strengthening a collective voice
  • Independence does not mean being “alone”
  • Families have an essential role to play in building the social connections necessary for supported decision making
  • Family based organizations must play a leadership role as agents of change in community
  • The Right to Decide cannot be achieved without community inclusion
  • The Right to Decide is about more than the removal of guardianship and substitute decision making
  • Legal reform must go hand in hand with strategies for building community supports and supports for decision making

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