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Are there rights in a time of crisis?

We are living through the largest global financial downfall and economic recession since World War II. This brings us a scenario of crisis in which governments priorities have changed, especially in developed countries. States are responding politically and economically to the economic meltdown, and we know that even in times of plenty states often ignore their obligations regarding human rights. If access to economic, social and cultural rights has always been challenging for persons with disabilities, in times of crisis it can become almost impossible to exercise effectively these rights. However, are these measures of retracting rights justified? Could this global crisis be an excuse for states to disregard their international obligations in the protection and realization of human rights? Those states most affected by the crisis, mainly European states and the USA, are using several economic and policy tools that arguably carry with them very negative consequences for persons with disabilities, among other citizens (Association for Women’s Rights in Development et al. 2010). These tools include fiscal policies, like economic stimulus packages, social protection programmes and tax reforms, or other financial measures, like the reduction of public services and feared budgetary cuts. The key issue in the present economic and political context is that some of the current and planned responses to the crisis could become a huge barrier for persons with disabilities, since they are currently experiencing greater difficulties in the exercise of their human rights. While new economic stimulus packages are targeted towards recently unemployed workers rather than the already unemployed that belong to different vulnerable groups, social protection programmes are decreasing in a number of countries due to resource limitations. Tax reforms involve a dual problem. On the one hand, some governments have implemented tax cuts aiming to increase consumer spending power. On the other hand, certain governments have increased the tax base, including indirect taxes like value-added tax. Both reforms are having a negative impact on less-favoured people. Regarding the first problem, increasing consumer spending power diminishes the spending capacity of the state and, consequently, its ability to guarantee people’s social and economic rights. Regarding the second problem, increasing indirect taxes is not a solution, because indirect taxation is a regressive measure that is not based on the ability to pay principle, so it falls equally on the poor and the rich. All these measures, together with the exorbitant capital spent to rescue