"Nothing about us without us" (Latin:Nihil de nobis, sine nobis) is aslogan used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group(s) affected by that policy. In its modern form, this often involvesnational,ethnic,disability-based, or other groups that are oftenmarginalized from political, social, and economic opportunities.
The saying has its origins inCentral European political traditions. It was the political motto that helped establish—and, loosely translated into Latin, provided the name for—Poland's 1505 constitutional legislation,Nihil novi, which first transferred governing authority from the monarch to the parliament. It subsequently became a byword for democratic norms.[1] It is also a long standing principle ofHungarian law andforeign policy,[2] and was a cornerstone of the foreign policy ofinterwar Poland.[3][4] More recently, the phraseNothing about Ukraine without Ukraine has come into use in the context of theRussia-Ukraine War, stating the idea that no negotiations about Ukraine's status should take place without Ukraine's participation.Angela Merkel andJoseph Biden have both used the phrase in speeches about the Ukraine War.[citation needed]
The phrase formed part of the title ofKrzysztof Kieślowski's 1972 documentaryWorkers '71: Nothing About Us Without Us (Polish:Robotnicy '71: Nic o nas bez nas).[5][6][7]
The term in its English form came into use during the 1990s when it was adopted indisability activism circles.James Charlton relates that he first heard the term used in talks bySouth African[8] disability activistsMichael Masutha and William Rowland, who had in turn heard the phrase used by an unnamedEast European activist at an earlier international disability rights conference. In 1998, Charlton used the saying as title for a book on disability rights.[9] Disability rights activistDavid Werner used the same title for another book, also published in 1998.[10] In 2004, theUnited Nations used the phrase as the theme ofInternational Day of Persons with Disabilities[11] and it is also associated with theConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[12]
Use of this slogan has expanded beyond thedisability rights community to otherinterest groups and movements.[13][14] In 2021, theWorld Health Organization published an eponymous guide recommending that children and adolescents be involved in the decision-making process for health-related policies that affect young people.[15]
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