Terminology
The current Disability Act does not use the term 'disability' but 'limitation.'
This usage extends to the phrase "personas con limitación," which has been
translated as "persons with a limitation."2
In addition, the Constitution refers to people with disabilities as
"minusválidos", translated as "handicapped." When directly quoting documents,
the original language has been preserved.
Definition of Disability
Colombia bases its defi nitions of disability on World Health Organization
(WHO) guidelines. Thus, it has been responsive to changes in the concept of
disability. Much of Colombia's existing legislation is based on variations of the
WHO's ICIDH-1 defi nition. A national plan from the late 1990's follows the ICIDH-1
closely, defi ning disability as "a restriction or lack, resulting from an impairment, of
ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal
for a human being within his or her social context."3
Other documents rely on similar defi nitions. According to Law 762,
disability is "a physical, mental, or sensory impairment, whether permanent or
temporary, that limits the capacity to perform one or more essential activities of
1. Hernan Perilla Prieto (Executive Director of Risaralda's Association of Disabled Persons,
Coordinator of Risaralda's Departmental Disability Support Network), interviewed by author.
2. Law 361, "Disability Act," 7 February 1997, http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/leyes/LD361_
97.htm.
3. National Plan for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities 1999 - 2002.
