Sign Language Legislation as a Tool for Sustainability

Yiftachel and Hedgcock’s (1993) definition of a sustainable city can be applied to the microsystem the Deaf community encompasses within the majority: “the continuing ability . . . to function as a long-term, viable setting for human interaction, communication, and cultural development” (p. 140). The present chapter explores three models of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) and identifies characteristics of a sustainable community necessary to sustain the Deaf community as a whole. It is argued that sign language legislation is a valuable tool for achieving sustainability for the generations to come.¹

Legislation Relevant to the Deaf Community²

Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006), the first human rights instrument of the 21st century, entered into force May 3, 2008. As the first international treaty mentioning sign language explicitly, it has gained importance in the daily lives of deaf people and been hailed as a paradigm shift from a social welfare model to a human rights approach to disability (Kayess & French, 2008). Commentators refer to it as the missing piece in human rights legislation in reference to persons with disabilities because prior to this, they were not recognized as a separate, protected category in any binding instrument of international human rights law (De Meulder, 2014). The CRPD, although it does not necessarily create new rights, puts specific duties on states parties, as is clarified in the CRPD Committee’s General Comment No. 2 on Article 9: “The obligation to provide accessibility is an essential part of this new duty to respect, protect, and fulfill equality rights” (CRPD, 2014, p. 5).

It can be inferred that the right to equality that was previously granted to all human beings has not changed, but that the beneficiaries of the CRPD (people with disabilities, including deaf people) are now positioned to claim accessibility to such rights. This conceptual shift, as noted by the Committee in the same General Comment, ensures that accessibility has become an obligation rather than be subject to goodwill. Accessibility and nondiscrimination are two of the general principles of the CRPD, as enshrined in Article 3. All previous and subsequent articles must be read in conjunction with Article 3 and Article 4 on general obligations.

Adoption of appropriate legislation and abolition of all discrimination against persons with disabilities are key factors in the full realization of equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in Article 1. To achieve substantive equality, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (1989) elaborated that sometimes states parties may be required “to take affirmative action . . . to perpetuate discrimination” (General Comment No. 18, p. 2). In other words, the Committee, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), rejects the notion of formal equality, favoring instead a concept of substantive equality that does not always equate equal treatment with identical treatment. It can be deduced that the same holds true for subsequent human rights instruments, such as the CRPD, where the concept of reasonable accommodation forms part of the states parties’ duties to achieve substantive equality. Five articles of the CRPD (2006) mention sign language explicitly:

• • Article 2 (definitions): “Language includes spoken and signed languages.” (p. 4)

• • Article 9 (accessibility): “To provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including . . . professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public.” (p. 9)

• • Article 21 (freedom of expression and opinion, access to information): “Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages” and “Recognizing and promoting the use of sign languages.” (p. 14f)

• • Article 24 (education): “Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the Deaf community” and “States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language.” (p. 17)

• • Article 30 (participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure, sport): “Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.” (p. 23)

Other human rights instruments, such as the...