Dr Philippa Duell-Piening

Graduated in 2023

Project Description

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’) article 31, entitled ‘Statistics and data collection’, is commonly used to advocate for and sanction the production and processing of data about the bodies and lives of people with disability. While this practice is common, the legal basis is unclear. This research undertakes a doctrinal interpretation of article 31 and scrutinises disability data production and processing practices in refugee contexts. The research demonstrates that greater attention is required to ensure that disability data practices in refugee contexts adhere to human rights law. Two research lenses are employed to examine article 31’s obligations and implications in refugee contexts: a disability human rights lens and a data and power lens. Congruent with the disability human rights lens, this research argues that the CRPD creates new legal obligations that require the participation of rights-holders in treaty interpretation. Adhering to this new demand on legal research, a Stakeholder Advisory Group of people with disability from refugee backgrounds informs this research’s doctrinal interpretation of article 31 and exploration of the implications in refugee contexts. The second research lens, data and power, provides a critical vantage point for interpreting the article’s text and current disability data practices. This research demonstrates that the growing prominence of disability rights in refugee contexts was followed swiftly by operational guidance recommending the production and processing of data about the bodies and lives of people with disability. While this may have been well-intentioned, nuances necessary for human rights protections were omitted while translating the legal obligations into operational guidelines.

Supervisors

Professor Michelle Foster, Melbourne Law School 
Associate Professor Anna Arstein-Kerslake, Melbourne Law School