Theresia Degener

Theresia Degener is a renowned lawyer, activist, and Professor of Law in Germany.

Life and career

Degener was born on April 10, 1961, in Altenberge, Germany. She is a lawyer, and Professor of Law and Administration at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe in Bochum.

She is one of the victims of the Thalidomide scandal - the scandal in which consumption of the drug Thalidomide led to children being born without limbs. She is armless since birth. Degener is an activist in the German disability movement and has contributed substantially to the cause.

From 1989 to 1996, she represented the NGO Disabled Peoples' International at the United Nations Committee for Human Rights.

From 1993 to 1994 she was a project manager at "Dutch Disability Council", Utrecht.

From 1987 to 1994, she was the Legal Expert to Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) and Representative of DPI at the UN Commission on Human Rights.

From 1995 to 1997, she was the Legal Expert to the European Disability Forum.

Since 2001, she has been the Legal Expert to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as co-author of the background study to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD.)

From 2002 to 2006, she was the Legal Expert to the German Government and member of the Government Delegation to the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the CRPD.

She is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities. She has also taught international human rights, gender issues, disability issues, and bioethics in Germany, Finland, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, The Netherlands, and the USA.

Degener received Master of Laws degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, in 1990.

Degener is married to Robert Kissel. They have two sons.

Awards and accolades

• 2005 Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon of Germany
• 2003 Second Prize of “Courage 2003”, Readers survey of PARTIZIP and KOBINET (two disability magazines) on efforts for equal rights for disabled persons.

List of publications

• Degener, Th. (2001) Disabled Women and International Human Rights. In: Askin, Kelly D./ Koenig, Dorean M.: Women and International Human Rights Law. Vol.3, Ardsley. N.Y.: Transnational, p. 267 – 293
• Quinn, Gerard /Degener, Th. (2002) Human rights and disability: The current use and future potential of United Nations human rights instruments in the context of disability, OHCHR, United Nations, New York and Geneva (U.N. Sales No: E.02.XIV.6)
• Degener Th. (2005) Disability Discrimination Law: A Global Comparative Approach. In: Lawson, Anna / Gooding, Caroline (eds.) Disability Rights in Europe: from Theory to Practice, Oxford and Portland: Hart, S. 87 – 106
• Degener, Th (2006) The Definition of Disability in (German and) International Discrimination Law. In: Disability Studies Quaterly, Vol 26 No 2 Spring 2006, (online)
• Degener, Th. (2006) Menschenrechtsschutz für behinderte Menschen. Vom Entstehen einer neuen Menschenrechtskonvention der Vereinten Nationen. in: Vereinte Nationen, 3/06 s. 104-110.
• Degener Theresia (2008) „Zur Erforderlichkeit der Ausdifferenzierung des Diskriminierungsverbots“ in Klein, Eckart, Menke, Christoph (Hrsg.) Universalität – Schutzmechanismen – Diskriminierungsverbote, Menschenrechtszentrums der Universität Potsdam Band 30, Berlin: BWW, S. 373 – 395
• Jahn, Christian / Degener, Theresia (2008) Umsetzung der VN –Konvention über die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderungen im Rahmen der deutschen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Eine Zusammenfassung der Studie. GTZ, Systeme der Sozialen Sicherheit, im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, Eschborn, Oktober 2008.
• Degener, Th. (2009) Welche legislativen Herausforderungen bestehen in Bezug auf die nationale Implementierung der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention in Bund und Ländern? In: Behindertenrecht 02/2009 S. 34-52
• Degener, Theresia (2009) Die UN – Behindertenrechtskonvention als Inklusionsmotor, in: Recht der Jugend und des Bildungswesens 2/2009 S. 200 – 219.
• Degener, Theresia (2009) Die neue UN- Behindertenrechtskonvention aus der Perspektive der Disability Studies. In: Behindertenpädagogik 3/2009, S. 263 – 283.