Progressive realisation and the right to inclusive education

The right to inclusive education is subject to progressive realisation. Article 4(2) of the CRPD provides that ‘each State Party undertakes to take measures to the maximum of its available resources […] with a view to achieving progressively the full realization’ of economic, social and cultural rights. This chapter examines what is expected from States Parties to the CRPD for the progressive realisation of the right to inclusive education in light of the concluding observationss of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its General Comment No 4. It starts with an analysis of the notion of progressive realisation in the ICESCR with a view to applying this notion to the right to inclusive education under Article 24. After looking into the meaning of inclusive education in the CRPD, it goes on to set out the steps to be taken in order to bring about an ‘inclusive education system’, which include accessibility, support provision, teaching education and awareness-raising. It ends with arguing that States Parties to the Convention must adopt a strategy that not only redefines budgetary allocations but also provides for a planning for the achievement of inclusive education and the monitoring of the progress towards the full realisation of the right to inclusive education.