News

We are delighted to announce that the 17th International Disability Law Summer School will take place from the 15th to 17th June 2026. The theme this year is 'The UNCRPD Twenty Years On: New Horizons and Emerging Challenges' and summer school will once again be offered in-person and online.  

This year’s International Disability Law Summer School will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). At the time of its adoption, the UNCRPD was heralded as the greatest single advance in protecting the rights of disabled people globally, as well as a gold standard for inclusive drafting of human rights instruments. This anniversary presents an important opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved in the two decades since the Convention’s adoption. While there has certainly been some progress globally in legislating for the human rights of disabled people; at the same time, the challenges to the vision presented by the UNCRPD are ever increasing. The growth of climate crises, global pandemics, war, genocide and far right politics pose specific threats to the human rights of disabled people which were not fully considered when the UNCRPD was adopted. New developments which were not foreseen by the drafters of the UNCRPD also must be explored from a disability human rights perspective, including the emergence of new technologies. These can enhance disabled people’s participation in society, but equally, can undermine their freedom through surveillance and control. This year’s summer school will explore how disabled people’s movements can continue to advance their vision for justice and the role the UNCRPD can play in this work into the future. 

More information and registration will be available soon at  https://cdlp.clr.events/event/139678