Disability and the legal profession: a conversation with international lawyers with disabilities about creating a more inclusive

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

Helena is one of Britain’s most distinguished lawyers and an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues. Helena has spent her professional life giving voice to those who have least power within the system, championing civil liberties and promoting human rights. She has used many public platforms – including the House of Lords, to which she was elevated in 1997 – to argue with passion, wit and humanity for social justice. She has also written and broadcast on a wide range of issues, from medical negligence to terrorism to the rights of women and children.

She is a member of the House of Lords and chair of Justice, the British arm of the International Commission of Jurists. She is a bencher of Gray’s Inn and president of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She was the chair of Charter 88 from 1992 to 1997, the Human Genetics Commission from 1998 to 2007 and the British Council from 1998 to 2004. She also chaired the Power Inquiry, which reported on the state of British democracy and produced the Power Report in 2006. She has received honours for her work on human rights from the governments of France and Italy and has been awarded more than 30 honorary doctorates.

Michael Stein

Professor Michael Ashley Stein is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School since 2005. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on disability law and policy, Dr Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; works with disabled peoples’ organizations and non-governmental organizations around the world; actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies; advises a number of UN bodies and national human rights institutions; and has brought landmark disability rights litigation globally. Professor Stein has received numerous awards in recognition of his transformative work, including the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Prize for Inclusion; the inaugural Henry Viscardi Achievement Award; and the ABA Paul G. Hearne Award.

Carlos Rios Espinosa

Carlos is a top expert on international disability rights, serving on the CRPD Committee (UN treaty body) from 2011 to 2014, including as Vice Chair for 2 years. In this role, he was very involved in the Committee’s jurisprudence on legal capacity, torture, right to liberty and access to justice. Carlos is a lawyer and expert on criminal justice, and has been involved in criminal procedure reform in Mexico since 2004. In 2013, the Mexican Senate appointed him as National Commissioner for Victims, where he oversaw the activities of the special committees against torture and kidnapping. Since 2015, he has worked with the Human Rights Clinic of Mexico’s National University to litigate human rights abuses against people with disabilities. He has also served as a board member of the Mexico City Human Rights Commission. Carlos has a law degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, and a Masters in comparative criminal systems from University of Barcelona, Spain.

Florence Ndagire

Florence Ndagire, is the first visually impaired female lawyer in Uganda. She holds a bachelor of laws from Makerere University. She was awarded a scholarship by the open Society foundation that enabled her to complete her Master of Law in international and European human rights law at the University of Leeds United Kingdom. She is currently enrolled at Makerere University in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and tropical medicine for her PHD researching on access to reproductive health services by persons with disabilities in Uganda. Florence has worked in several capacities in various civil society organizations, first as a volunteer and then as a program officer. She worked with the UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities to support the reports on support services, legal capacity and independent living. She has been the senior program officer advocacy/project coordinator of the action peace building and inclusion for all in the Rwenzori region at ADD International.

She is the current chairperson of the UN Women Civil society advisory group of East and Southern Africa. Florence is the primary author of “Will the proposed reforms in the mental health treatment act be consistent with Article 12 of the Convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities in Uganda?”

Wanhong Zhang

Zhang Wanhong earned his Ph.D. in Law from Wuhan University School of Law, Wuhan, China, where he now holds the position of Professor of Jurisprudence. He studies and teaches in the legal areas related to human rights, public interest and civil society. He is the pioneer of rights-based disability studies in China and founding editor-in-chief of Disability Studies in China.

Professor Zhang is one of the drafters of China’s first National Human Rights Action Plan. He is the author and translator of a number of books, and has published articles in both international and Chinese journals. He is one of the founders and the Executive Director of Wuhan University Institute for Human Rights Studies.

As the Director of Wuhan University Public Interest and Development Law Institute, Professor Zhang and his colleagues are actively working in the field of protection and promotion of human rights in China. He also serves as advisor to several international and domestic organizations.