Noncompliant Effectiveness of Human Rights Treaties: Evidence from East Asian Countries in Protecting Persons with Disabilities' Right to Education
Open accessAbstract
Scholars have long debated whether international human rights treaties matter. Generally, quantitative studies are more skeptical about their efficacy, while qualitative research often affirms their positive impact. To reconcile these seemingly contradictory perspectives, this article proposes the concept of noncompliant effectiveness, where human rights treaties are effectively implemented without state compliance. This article presents a triad case study of China, Japan, and South Korea, focusing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which is a relatively recent international human rights treaty that has been rarely discussed in this context. China, Japan, and South Korea, with their Confucian cultures and education systems, are often criticized for endorsing ableism and elitism, making them particularly challenging cases for improving the rights of persons with disabilities. By examining the implementation of the right to inclusive education, as mandated by Article 24 of the CRPD, this article demonstrates that noncompliant but effective practices can improve the educational situations of persons with disabilities. However, it cautions that while noncompliant effectiveness exists, deviating from the fundamental requirements of a convention can lead to superficial and temporary improvements. Without systematic changes aligning with the core demands of a human rights treaty, progress may remain limited and largely symbolic.
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China's inclusion policy is still in an early stage of development and currently lacks clear, systematic, and coherent implementation strategies.
“Furthermore, China's inclusion policy is still in an early stage of development and currently lacks clear, systematic, and coherent implementation strategies [72, 100].”
From Access in the Shadow of Ableism: An Autoethnography of a Blind Student's Higher Education Experience in China (2026) · cites this paper as [100]
China presents its own dilemma of access: inclusive education is increasingly valued and new accessibility policies have been established, while education for disabled students continues to be shaped by a longstanding tradition of special education and limited development of comprehensive accessibility policies.
“However, China presents its own dilemma of access: on one hand, inclusive education is increasingly valued [100] and new accessibility policies have been established [67, 91]. On the other hand, education for disabled students continues to be shaped by a longstanding tradition of special education and the limited development of comprehensive accessibility policies.”
From Access in the Shadow of Ableism: An Autoethnography of a Blind Student's Higher Education Experience in China (2026) · cites this paper as [100]
The legal system in China currently mandates reasonable accommodations only for national examinations, making securing accommodations in other contexts such as classrooms far more challenging.
“Since the legal system currently mandates reasonable accommodations only for national examinations [91, 100], securing such accommodations in other contexts such as classrooms becomes far more challenging.”
From Access in the Shadow of Ableism: An Autoethnography of a Blind Student's Higher Education Experience in China (2026) · cites this paper as [100]
Research, along with Zhang's experiences, indicates that legal practice in China is challenging without prior cases for reference.
“Research, along with Zhang's experiences, indicates that legal practice in China is challenging without prior cases for reference [100].”
From Access in the Shadow of Ableism: An Autoethnography of a Blind Student's Higher Education Experience in China (2026) · cites this paper as [100]
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Tang, X., & Zhang, W. (2026) · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3772318.3790464 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
““ The classes I took during my graduate studies relies on visual elements a lot.”
Influential
- Authors
- Xie, M. R.
- Affiliations
- Syracuse University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Xie, Mercy Renci
- ORCID
- Xie, Mercy Renci
- Venue
- SSRN Electronic Journal
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024
- ISSN
- 1556-5068 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4403633149
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 0
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › International Human Rights and Reproductive Law
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › International Law and Human Rights
- Keywords
- human rights treaties, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, right to education, people with disabilities, inclusive education, treaty implementation, state compliance, ableism, Confucian culture, China, Japan, South Korea, East Asia
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