Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism

Contemporary human rights discourses problematically co-opt disabled bodies as 'evidence' of harms done under capitalism, war, and other forms of conflict, while humanitarian non-governmental organizations often use disabled bodies to generate resources for their humanitarian projects. It is the connection between civil rights and human rights, and the concomitant relationship between national and global, which foregrounds this book's contention that disability studies productively challenge such human rights paradigms, which troublingly eschew disability rights in favor of exclusionary humani. Read more... Contents: Introduction; The promise of human rights for disabled people and the reality of neoliberalism, Mark Sherry; The new humanitarianism: neoliberalism, poverty, and the creation of disability, Maria Berghs; Media, disability, and human rights, Armineh Soorenian; Volunteering as tribute: disability, globalization and The Hunger Games, Anna Mae Duane; Structural and cultural rights in Australian disability employment policy, Sarah Parker Harris, Randall Owen and Karen Fisher; Disability in humanitarian emergencies in India: towards and inclusive approach, Vanmala Hiranandani; Monitoring disability: the question of the 'human' in human rights projects, Tanya Titchkosky; Specter of vulnerability and bodies in protest, Eunjung Kim; persons with disabilities in international humanitarian law: paternalism, protectionism, or rights? , Janet Lord; United Nations policy and the intersex community, Ethan Levine; HIV/AIDS, disability, and socio-economic rights in South Africa, Lydia Apon Strehlau; The overrepresentation of Black children in special education as human rights violation, Jennifer Bronson; Becoming disabled: toward the political anatomy of the body, Nirmala Erevelles; Index. "Disability studies scholars and activists have long criticized and critiqued so-termed 'charitable' approaches to disability where the capitalization of individual disabled bodies to invoke pity are historically, socially, and politically circumscribed by paternalism. Disabled individuals have long advocated for civil and human rights in various locations throughout the globe, yet contemporary human rights discourses problematically co-opt disabled bodies as 'evidence' of harms done under capitalism, war, and other forms of conflict, while humanitarian non-governmental organizations often use disabled bodies to generate resources for their humanitarian projects. It is the connection between civil rights and human rights, and this concomitant relationship between national and global, which foregrounds this groundbreaking book's contention that disability studies productively challenge such human rights paradigms, which troublingly eschew disability rights in favor of exclusionary humanitarianism. It relocates disability from the margins to the center of academic and activist debates over the vexed relationship between human rights and humanitarianism. These considerations thus productively destabilize able-bodied assumptions that undergird definitions of personhood in civil rights and human rights by highlighting intersections between disability, race, gender ethnicity, and sexuality as a way to interrogate the possibilities (and limitations) of human rights as a politicized regime."--Publisher's description Contents List of Figures and Tables vii Notes on Contributors ix Acknowledgements xiii Introduction: Protesting “The Hardest Hit”: Disability Activism and the Limits of Human Rights and Humanitarianism 1 Michael Gill and Cathy J. Schlund-Vials 1 The Promise of Human Rights for Disabled People and the Reality of Neoliberalism 15 Mark Sherry 2 The New Humanitarianism: Neoliberalism, Poverty and the Creation of Disability 27 Maria Berghs 3 Media, Disability, and Human Rights 45 Armineh Soorenian 4 Volunteering as Tribute: Disability, Globalization and The Hunger Games 63 Anna Mae Duane 5 Structural and Cultural Rights in Australian Disability Employment Policy 83 Sarah Parker Harris, Randall Owen and Karen R. Fisher 6 Disability in Humanitarian Emergencies in India: Towards an Inclusive Approach 101 Vanmala Hiranandani 7 Monitoring Disability: The Question of the ‘Human’ in Human Rights Projects 119 Tanya Titchkosky 8 The Specter of Vulnerability and Disabled Bodies in Protest 137 Eunjung Kim 9 Persons with Disabilities in International Humanitarian Law – Paternalism, Protectionism or Rights? 155 Janet E. Lord 10 United Nations Policy and the Intersex Community 179 Ethan Levine 11 HIV/AIDS, Disability and Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa 195 Lydia Apon Strehlau 12 The Overrepresentation of Black Children in Special Education and the Human Right to Education 205 Jennifer Bronson 13 “Becoming Disabled”: Towards the Political Anatomy of the Body 219 Nirmala Erevelles Index 235 Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Figures and Tables 8 Notes on Contributors 10 Acknowledgements 14 Introduction Protesting “The Hardest Hit”: Disability Activism and the Limits of Human Rights and Humanitarianism 16 1 The Promise of Human Rights for Disabled People and the Reality of Neoliberalism 30 2 The New Humanitarianism: Neoliberalism, Poverty and the Creation of Disability 42 3 Media, Disability, and Human Rights 60 4 Volunteering as Tribute: Disability, Globalization and The Hunger Games 78 5 Structural and Cultural Rights in Australian Disability Employment Policy 98 6 Disability in Humanitarian Emergencies in India: Towards an Inclusive Approach 116 7 Monitoring Disability: The Question of the ‘Human’ in Human Rights Projects 134 8 The Specter of Vulnerability and Disabled Bodies in Protest 152 9 Persons with Disabilities in International Humanitarian Law – Paternalism, Protectionism or Rights? 170 10 United Nations Policy and the Intersex Community 194 11 HIV/AIDS, Disability and Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa 210 12 The Overrepresentation of Black Children in Special Education and the Human Right to Education 220 13 “Becoming Disabled”: Towards the Political Anatomy of the Body 234 Index 250

Disability studies scholars and activists have long criticized and critiqued so-termed