People with disabilities are not looking for charity but want to ensure that their rights are fully recognised.

That’s according to Catalina Devandas who is set to start her three-year mandate as the UN Human Rights Council’s very first Special Rapporteur for people with disabilities.

Despite being born with spina bifida, Ms Devandas says her parents treated her “as just another girl” and it’s only by chance that she became so involved in disability rights.

Daniel Johnson sat down with Ms. Devandas and first asked her about her background and what she hopes to achieve as the world observes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December 2014.

Duration: 4’15”