UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations A/AC.265/2006/4
General Assembly
Distr.: General
1 September 2006
Original: English
06-48787 (E) 101006
*0648787*
Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral
International Convention on the Protection and Promotion
of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
Eighth session
New York, 14-25 August 2006
Interim report of the Ad Hoc Committee on a
Comprehensive and Integral International Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities on its eighth session
I. Introduction
1. In its resolution 56/168 of 19 December 2001, the General Assembly decided
to establish the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons
with Disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of
social development, human rights and non-discrimination and taking into account
the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for
Social Development.
2. In its resolution 60/232 of 23 December 2005, the General Assembly decided
that the Ad Hoc Committee should hold, within existing resources, prior to the
sixty-first session of the General Assembly, two sessions in 2006, one of 15 working
days, from 16 January to 3 February, in order to achieve a complete reading of the
draft text of a convention prepared by the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, and
one of 10 working days, from 7 to 18 August.
3. At its seventh session, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended that its eighth
session be held from 14 to 25 August 2006.
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II. Organizational matters
A. Opening and duration of the eighth session
4. The Ad Hoc Committee held its eighth session at United Nations Headquarters
from 14 to 25 August 2006. In the course of its session, the Ad Hoc Committee held
20 meetings.
5. The Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs acted as the substantive secretariat, while the
Disarmament and Decolonization Affairs Branch of the Department for General
Assembly and Conference Management served as secretariat of the Ad Hoc
Committee.
6. The eighth session of the Ad Hoc Committee was opened by the Chairman of
the Committee, Don MacKay, Ambassador of New Zealand.
B. Officers
7. The following officers continued to serve on the Bureau of the Committee:
Chairman:
Don MacKay (New Zealand)
Vice-Chairpersons:
Jorge Ballestero (Costa Rica)
Petra Ali Doláková (Czech Republic)
Mu’taz Hyassat (Jordan)
Fiola Hoosen (South Africa)1
C. Agenda
8. At its 1st meeting, on 14 August 2006, the Ad Hoc Committee adopted its
provisional agenda, as contained in document A/AC.265/2006/L.4, as follows:
1. Opening of the session.
2. Adoption of the agenda.
3. Organization of work.
4. Consideration of the working text as contained in the report of the Ad
Hoc Committee on its seventh session (A/AC.265/2006/2, annex II).
5. Conclusion of the work of the Ad Hoc Committee at its eighth session.
6. Adoption of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on its eighth session.
__________________
1 At its 1st meeting, on 14 August 2006, the Ad Hoc Committee agreed that Fiola Hoosen of
South Africa would serve on the Bureau as representative of the Group of African States.
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D. Documentation
9. The Ad Hoc Committee had before it the following documents:
(a) Provisional agenda (A/AC.265/2006/L.4);
(b) Proposed organization of work (A/AC.265/2006/L.5);
(c) Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on its seventh session
(A/AC.265/2006/2);
(d) Draft interim report on its eighth session (A/AC.265/2006/L.6);
(e) Letter dated 10 August 2006 from the Deputy Permanent Representative
of the Sudan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretariat (A/AC.265/2006/3);
(f) List of participants (A/AC.265/2006/INF/2);
(g) National institutional frameworks and human rights of persons with
disabilities (background conference document prepared by the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs) (A/AC.265/2006/CRP.5).
III. Organization of work
10. During its eighth session, the Ad Hoc Committee concluded the draft text of a
convention and an optional protocol in accordance with the programme of work
adopted at its first meeting, on 14 August 2006 (see annex II).
11. On 25 August, at its 20th meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee adopted preambular
paragraph (s)bis of the text of the Convention by a recorded vote of 102 to 5 with
8 abstentions, as follows:2
In favour:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cambodia, Chile, China, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El
Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic
of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,
Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan,
Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Trinidad
and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay,
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
__________________
2 Statements in explanation of positions after the vote were made by the representatives of the
United States of America, Australia, Canada, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Cuba, Cambodia, the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Sudan.
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Against:
Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, United States of America.
Abstaining:
Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Korea,
Serbia.
12. At the same meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee adopted the draft text of a
convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, including an optional protocol,
as a whole, without a vote.
IV. Recommendations
13. The Ad Hoc Committee decided to establish an open-ended drafting group
tasked with ensuring uniformity of terminology throughout the text of the draft
convention, harmonizing the versions in the official languages of the United Nations
and reporting on the results of its work to the Ad Hoc Committee at a meeting of its
resumed eighth session, to be held before the end of the sixty-first session of the
General Assembly in order to enable the Ad Hoc Committee to forward the finalized
text of the convention to the Assembly, and requested the Secretary-General to
provide adequate secretariat services for the drafting group within existing
resources.
V. Adoption of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee
14. At its 20th meeting, on 25 August 2006, the Ad Hoc Committee adopted the
present interim report on its eighth session.
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Annex I
Additional non-governmental organizations accredited to
the Ad Hoc Committee
Ability Foundation
Action for Mental Illness (ACMI)
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell)
Association générale des handicapés du Rwanda (AGHR)
Community Options, Inc.
International Voluntary Organization for Women, Education and Development
(IVOWD)
The National Society for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities and their
Families (RESCARE)
Nepal National Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDH)
Noor Fatima Welfare Trust
Pro Infirmis
PUGU Poverty Alleviation and Development Agency (PPADA)
Setu Development Intervention Centre (SETU)
World Federalist National Association of Nepal
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Annex II
A. Draft convention on the rights of persons with disabilities
Preamble
The States Parties to the present Convention,
(a) Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United
Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world,
(b) Recognizing that the United Nations, in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, has
proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms
set forth therein, without distinction of any kind,
(c) Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with
disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination,
(c) bis Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that
disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and
attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others,
(d) Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
(e) Recognizing the importance of the principles and policy guidelines
contained in the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and
in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of the
policies, plans, programmes and actions at the national, regional and
international levels to further equalize opportunities for persons with
disabilities,
(e) bis Emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as
an integral part of relevant strategies of sustainable development,
(f) Recognizing also that discrimination against any person on the
basis of disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human
person,
(g) Recognizing further the diversity of persons with disabilities,
(h) Recognizing the need to promote and protect the human rights of all
persons with disabilities, including those who require more intensive support,
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(i) Concerned that, despite these various instruments and undertakings,
persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal
members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the
world,
(j) Recognizing the importance of international cooperation for
improving the living conditions of persons with disabilities in every country,
particularly in developing countries,
(k) Emphasizing the importance of recognizing the valued existing and
potential contributions made by persons with disabilities to the overall wellbeing
and diversity of their communities, and that the promotion of the full
enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their human rights and fundamental
freedoms and of full participation by persons with disabilities will result in
their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant advances in the human,
social and economic development of society and the eradication of poverty,
(l) Recognizing the importance for persons with disabilities of their
individual autonomy and independence, including the freedom to make their
own choices,
(m) Considering that persons with disabilities should have the
opportunity to be actively involved in decision-making processes about
policies and programmes, including those directly concerning them,
(n) Concerned about the difficult conditions faced by persons with
disabilities who are subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination
on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or other
status,
(o) Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are often at
greater risk, both within and outside the home of violence, injury or abuse,
neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
(p) Recognizing that children with disabilities should have full
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis
with other children, and recalling obligations to that end undertaken by States
Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
(q) Emphasizing the need to incorporate a gender perspective in all
efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms by persons with disabilities,
(r) Highlighting the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities
live in conditions of poverty, and in this regard recognizing the critical need to
address the negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
(s) bis Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and security based on
full respect for the purposes and principles contained in the Charter and
observance of applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for the
full protection of persons with disabilities, in particular during armed conflicts
and foreign occupation,
(t) Recognizing the importance of accessibility to the physical, social,
economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information
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and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
(u) Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and
to the community to which he or she belongs, is under a responsibility to strive
for the promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the International
Bill of Human Rights,
(v) Convinced that a comprehensive and integral international
convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with
disabilities will make a significant contribution to redressing the profound
social disadvantage of persons with disabilities and promote their participation
in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres with equal
opportunities, in both developing and developed countries,
(v) bis Convinced that the family is the natural and fundamental group
unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state, and that
persons with disabilities and their family members should receive the
necessary protection and assistance to enable families to contribute towards
the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure
the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by
all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical,
mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various
barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal
basis with others.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of the present Convention:
“Communication” includes spoken and signed languages, display of text,
and Braille, and tactile communication, large print, written, audio, accessible
multimedia, plain language, human reader and augmentative and alternative
modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information
and communication technology;
“Discrimination on the basis of disability” means any distinction,
exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or
effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an
equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all
forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation;
“Language” includes spoken and signed languages and other forms of
non-spoken languages;
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“Reasonable accommodation” means necessary and appropriate
modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue
burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with
disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms;
“Universal design” and “inclusive design” mean the design of products,
environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
“Universal design” and “inclusive design” shall not exclude assistive devices
for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.
Article 3
General principles
The principles of the present Convention shall be:
(a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the
freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons;
(b) Non-discrimination;
(c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) Respect for difference and acceptance of disability as part of human
diversity and humanity;
(e) Equality of opportunity;
(f) Accessibility;
(g) Equality between men and women;
(h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and
respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
Article 4
General obligations
1. States Parties undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities
without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. To this end, States
Parties undertake:
(a) To adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and other
measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present
Convention;
(b) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or
abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute
discrimination against persons with disabilities;
(c) To take into account the protection and promotion of the human
rights of persons with disabilities in all policies and programmes;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent
with the present Convention and to ensure that public authorities and
institutions act in conformity with the present Convention;
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(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the
basis of disability by any person, organization or private enterprise;
(f) To undertake or promote the research, development, availability
and use of:
(i) Universally designed goods, services, equipment and facilities, to
meet the specific needs of persons with disabilities, which should require
the minimum possible adaptation and the least cost to meet the specific
needs of a person with disabilities, and to promote universal design in the
development of standards and guidelines;
(ii) New technologies, including information and communication
technologies, mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies, suitable for
persons with disabilities, giving priority to technologies at an affordable
cost;
(g) To provide accessible information to persons with disabilities about
mobility aids, devices, and assistive technologies, including new technologies,
as well as other forms of assistance, support services and facilities;
(h) To promote the training of professionals and staff working with
persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in this Convention so as to
better provide the assistance and services guaranteed by those rights.
2. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, each State Party
undertakes to take measures to the maximum of its available resources and,
where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view
to achieving progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice
to those obligations contained in this Convention that are immediately
applicable according to international law.
3. In the development and implementation of legislation and policies to
implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making processes
concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall
closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including
children with disabilities, through their representative organizations.
4. Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are
more conducive to the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and
which may be contained in the law of a State Party or international law in
force for that State. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any
of the fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any State Party to
the present Convention pursuant to law, conventions, regulation or custom on
the pretext that the present Convention does not recognize such rights or that it
recognizes them to a lesser extent.
5. The provisions of the present Convention shall extend to all parts of
federal states without any limitations or exceptions.
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Article 5
Equality and non-discrimination
1. States Parties recognize that all persons are equal before and under the
law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection and
equal benefit of the law.
2. States Parties shall prohibit all discrimination on the basis of disability
and guarantee to persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection
against discrimination on all grounds.
3. In order to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, States Parties
shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is
provided.
4. Specific measures which are necessary to accelerate or achieve de facto
equality of persons with disabilities shall not be considered discrimination
under the terms of the present Convention.
Article 6
Women with disabilities
1. States Parties recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject
to multiple discrimination, and in this regard shall take measures to ensure the
full and equal enjoyment by them of all their human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the full
development, advancement and empowerment of women, for the purpose of
guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of the human rights and
fundamental freedoms set out in the present Convention.
Article 7
Children with disabilities
1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full
enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms on an equal basis with other children.
2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interest of the
child shall be a primary consideration.
3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to
express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being
given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis
with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate
assistance to realize that right.
Article 8
Awareness-raising
1. States Parties undertake to adopt immediate, effective and appropriate
measures:
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(a) To raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level,
regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for their rights and
dignity;
(b) To combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to
persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of
life;
(c) To promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of
persons with disabilities.
2. Measures to this end include:
(a) Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns
designed:
(i) To nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with disabilities;
(ii) To promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness
towards persons with disabilities;
(iii) To promote recognition of the skills, merits, abilities and
contributions of persons with disabilities to the workplace and the labour
market;
(b) Fostering at all levels of the education system, including in all
children from an early age, an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with
disabilities;
(c) Encouraging all organs of the media to portray persons with
disabilities in a manner consistent with the purpose of the present Convention;
(d) Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding persons with
disabilities and their rights.
Article 9
Accessibility
1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate
fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to
ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the
physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications,
including information and communications technologies and systems, and to
other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and
in rural areas. These measures, which shall include the identification and
elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:
(a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor
facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;
(b) Information, communications and other services, including
electronic services and emergency services.
2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
(a) Develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum
standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or
provided to the public;
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(b) Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which
are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility
for persons with disabilities;
(c) Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing
persons with disabilities;
(d) Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage
in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
(e) Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including
guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate
accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;
(f) Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to
persons with disabilities to ensure their access to information;
(g) Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and
communication technologies and systems, including the Internet;
(h) Promote the design, development, production and distribution of
accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an
early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at
minimum cost.
Article 10
Right to life
States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to
life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by
persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
Article 11
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under
international law, including international humanitarian law and international
human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure protection and safety of
persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed
conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.
Article 12
Equal recognition before the law
1. States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to
recognition everywhere as persons before the law.
2. States Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal
capacitya on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.
3. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by
persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their
legal capacity.
a In Arabic, Chinese and Russian, the term “legal capacity” refers to “legal capacity for rights”,
rather than “legal capacity to act”.
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4. States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of
legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent
abuse in accordance with international human rights law. Such safeguards shall
ensure that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the
rights, will and preferences of the person, are free of conflict of interest and
undue influence, are proportional and tailored to the person’s circumstances,
apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular review by a
competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The
safeguards shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect
the person’s rights and interests.
5. Subject to the provisions of this article, States Parties shall take all
appropriate and effective measures to ensure the equal right of persons with
disabilities to own or inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and
to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial
credit, and shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not arbitrarily
deprived of their property.
Article 13
Access to justice
1. States Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with
disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of
procedural and age appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their
effective role as direct and indirect participants, including as witnesses, in all
legal proceedings, including at investigative and other preliminary stages.
2. In order to help to ensure effective access to justice for persons with
disabilities, States Parties shall promote appropriate training for those working
in the field of administration of justice, including police and prison staff.
Article 14
Liberty and security of the person
1. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis
with others:
(a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;
(b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that
any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and in no case shall
the existence of a disability justify a deprivation of liberty.
2. States Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities are deprived of
their liberty through any process, they are, on an equal basis with others,
entitled to guarantees in accordance with international human rights law and
shall be treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of this
Convention, including by provision of reasonable accommodation.
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Article 15
Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or
her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial
or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities on an equal basis with
others from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
Article 16
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social,
educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both within
and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse,
including their gender-based aspects.
2. States Parties shall also take all appropriate measures to prevent all forms
of exploitation, violence and abuse by ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms
of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for persons with
disabilities and their families and caregivers, including through the provision
of information and education on how to avoid, recognize and report instances
of exploitation, violence and abuse. States Parties shall ensure that protection
services are age, gender and disability sensitive.
3. In order to prevent the occurrence of all forms of exploitation, violence
and abuse, States Parties shall ensure that all facilities and programmes
designed to serve persons with disabilities are effectively monitored by
independent authorities.
4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote the physical,
cognitive and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of
persons with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation,
violence or abuse, including through the provision of protection services. Such
recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment that fosters the
health, welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and takes into
account gender- and age-specific needs.
5. States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies,
including women- and child-focused legislation and policies, to ensure that
instances of exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities
are identified, investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
Article 17
Protecting the integrity of the person
Every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her
physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.
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Article 18
Liberty of movement and nationality
1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to
liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality,
on an equal basis with others, including by ensuring that persons with
disabilities:
(a) Have the right to acquire and change a nationality and are not
deprived of their nationality arbitrarily or on the basis of disability;
(b) Are not deprived, on the basis of disability, of their ability to
obtain, possess and utilize documentation of their nationality or other
documentation of identification, or to utilize relevant processes such as
immigration proceedings, that may be needed to facilitate exercise of the right
to liberty of movement;
(c) Are free to leave any country, including their own;
(d) Are not deprived, arbitrarily or on the basis of disability, of the
right to enter their own country.
2. Children with disabilities shall be registered immediately after birth and
shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and,
as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.
Article 19
Living independently and being included in the community
States Parties to this Convention recognize the equal right of all persons
with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and
shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by
persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation
in the community, including by ensuring that:
(a) Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place
of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others
and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement;
(b) Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home,
residential and other community support services, including personal
assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to
prevent isolation or segregation from the community;
(c) Community services and facilities for the general population are
available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to
their needs.
Article 20
Personal mobility
States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility
with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including
by:
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(a) Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the
manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost;
(b) Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality mobility
aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and
intermediaries, including by making them available at affordable cost;
(c) Providing training in mobility skills to persons with disabilities and
to specialist staff working with persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and
assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons
with disabilities.
Article 21
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons
with disabilities can exercise their right to freedom of expression and opinion,
including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an
equal basis with others and through sign languages, Braille, augmentative and
alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats
of communication of their choice, including by:
(a) Providing information intended for the general public to persons
with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different
kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost;
(b) Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille,
augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means,
modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with
disabilities in official interactions;
(c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general public,
including through the Internet, to provide information and services in
accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information
through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with
disabilities;
(e) Recognizing and promoting the use of sign language.
Article 22
Respect for privacy
1. No person with disabilities, regardless of place of residence or living
arrangements, shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his
or her privacy, family, home or correspondence or other types of
communication or to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
Persons with disabilities have the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
2. States Parties shall protect the privacy of personal, health and
rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with
others.
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Article 23
Respect for home and the family
1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to
marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others,
so as to ensure that:
(a) The right of all persons with disabilities who are of marriageable
age to marry and to found a family on the basis of free and full consent of the
intending spouses is recognized;
(b) The rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and
responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to
age-appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education are
recognized, and the means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights
and the equal opportunity to retain their fertility are provided;
(c) Persons with disabilities, including children, shall retain their
fertility on an equal basis with others.
2. States Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities of persons with
disabilities, with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of
children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national
legislation; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount. States
Parties shall render appropriate assistance to persons with disabilities in the
performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.
3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have equal rights
with respect to family life. With a view to realizing these rights, and to prevent
concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation of children with
disabilities, States Parties shall undertake to provide early and comprehensive
information, services and support to children with disabilities and their
families.
4. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or
her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to
judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures,
that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. In no case
shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the
child or one or both of the parents.
5. States Parties shall undertake that where the immediate family is unable
to care for a child with disabilities, to take every effort to provide alternative
care within the wider family, and failing that, within the community in a
family setting.
Article 24
Education
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to
education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the
basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive, education
system at all levels, and lifelong learning, directed to:
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(a) The full development of the human potential and sense of dignity
and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental
freedoms and human diversity;
(b) The development by persons with disabilities of their personality,
talents and creativity, as well as their mental and physical abilities, to their
fullest potential;
(c) Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free
society.
2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure:
(a) That persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general
education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities
are not excluded from free and compulsory primary and secondary education
on the basis of disability;
(b) That persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality, free
primary and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the
communities in which they live;
(c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual’s requirements;
(d) That persons with disabilities receive the support required, within
the general education system, to facilitate their effective education;
(d) bis That effective individualized support measures are provided in
environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with
the goal of full inclusion.
3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social
development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education
and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall take
appropriate measures, including:
(a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative
and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, orientation and
mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;
(b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the
linguistic identity of the deaf community;
(c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children,
who are blind, deaf and deaf blind, is delivered in the most appropriate
languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in
environments which maximize academic and social development.
4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall
take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including those with
disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and Braille, and to train
professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Such training shall
incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and
alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational
techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.
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5. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access
general tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong
learning without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this end,
States Parties shall ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to
persons with disabilities.
Article 25
Health
States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination
on the basis of disability. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are gender
sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. In particular, States Parties
shall:
(a) Provide persons with disabilities with the same range, quality and
standard of free or affordable health care and programmes as provided other
persons, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health and
population-based public health programmes;
(b) Provide those health services needed by persons with disabilities
specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and
intervention as appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent
further disabilities, including among children and the elderly;
(c) Provide these health services as close as possible to people’s own
communities, including in rural areas;
(d) Require health professionals to provide care of the same quality to
persons with disabilities as to others, including on the basis of free and
informed consent by, inter alia, raising awareness of the human rights, dignity,
autonomy and needs of persons with disabilities through training and the
promulgation of ethical standards for public and private health care;
(e) Prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the
provision of health insurance, and life insurance where such insurance is
permitted by national law, which shall be provided in a fair and reasonable
manner;
(f) Prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health services or
food and fluids on the basis of disability.
Article 26
Habilitation and rehabilitation
1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures, including
through peer support, to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain
their maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational
ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. To that end,
States Parties shall organize, strengthen and extend comprehensive habilitation
and rehabilitation services, particularly in the areas of health, employment,
education and social services, in such a way that:
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(a) Habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes begin at
the earliest possible stage, and are based on the multidisciplinary assessment
of individual needs and strengths;
(b) Habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes support
participation and inclusion in the community and all aspects of society, are
voluntary, and are available to persons with disabilities as close as possible to
their own communities, including in rural areas.
2. States Parties shall promote the development of initial and continuing
training for professionals and staff working in habilitation and rehabilitation
services.
2 bis. States Parties shall promote the availability, knowledge and use of
assistive devices and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities, as
they relate to habilitation and rehabilitation.
Article 27
Work and employment
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on
an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a
living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work
environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.
States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realization of the right to work,
including for those who acquire a disability during the course of employment,
by taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to, inter alia:
(a) Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all
matters concerning all forms of employment, including conditions of
recruitment, hiring and employment, continuance of employment, career
advancement, and safe and healthy working conditions;
(b) Protect the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with
others, to just and favourable conditions of work, including equal opportunities
and equal remuneration for work of equal value, safe and healthy working
conditions, including protection from harassment, and the redressing of
grievances;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their
labour and trade union rights on an equal basis with others;
(d) Enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to general
technical and vocational guidance programmes, placement services and
vocational and continuing training;
(e) Promote employment opportunities and career advancement for
persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as assistance in finding,
obtaining and maintaining and returning to employment;
(f) Promote opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship, the
development of cooperatives and starting one’s own business;
(g) Employ persons with disabilities in the public sector;
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(h) Promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the private
sector through appropriate policies and measures, which may include
affirmative action programmes, incentives and other measures;
(i) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with
disabilities in the workplace;
(j) Promote the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work
experience in the open labour market;
(k) Promote vocational and professional rehabilitation, job retention
and return-to-work programmes for persons with disabilities.
2. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not held in
slavery or in servitude, and are protected, on an equal basis with others, from
forced or compulsory labour.
Article 28
Adequate standard of living and social protection
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an
adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including
adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of
living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote
the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social
protection, and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the
basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote
the realization of this right, including measures:
(a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water
services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices
and other assistance for disability-related needs;
(b) To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular women
and girls with disabilities and the aged with disabilities, to social protection
programmes and poverty reduction programmes;
(c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families
living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disabilityrelated
expenses (including adequate training, counselling, financial assistance
and respite care);
(d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public housing
programmes;
(e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement
benefits and programmes.
Article 29
Participation in political and public life
States Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities their political
rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others, and
shall undertake to:
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(a) Ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully
participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or
through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for
persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter alia, by:
(i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are
appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use;
(ii) Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote by secret
ballot in elections and public referendums, without intimidation, and to
stand for elections and to effectively hold office and perform all public
functions at all levels of government, facilitating the use of assistive and
new technologies where appropriate;
(iii) Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with
disabilities as electors and to this end, where necessary, at their request,
allowing assistance in voting by a person of their own choice;
(b) Promote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities
can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, without
discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and encourage their
participation in public affairs, including:
(i) Participation in non-governmental organizations and associations
concerned with the public and political life of the country, and in the
activities and administration of political parties;
(ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities to
represent persons with disabilities at international, national, regional and
local levels.
Article 30
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part
on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate
measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
(a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
(b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre, and other
cultural activities, in accessible formats;
(c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such
as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as
possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
2. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with
disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic
and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the
enrichment of society.
3. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with
international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do
not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons
with disabilities to cultural materials.
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4. Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others,
to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity,
including sign languages and deaf culture.
5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an
equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States
Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent
possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all
levels;
(b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to
organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and
recreational activities, and to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal
basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
(c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting and
recreational and tourism venues;
(d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to
participation in play, recreation, and leisure and sporting activities, including
those activities in the school system;
(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from
those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting
activities.
Article 31
Statistics and data collection
1. States Parties undertake to collect appropriate information, including
statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement
policies to give effect to the present Convention. The process of collecting and
maintaining this information shall:
(a) Comply with legally established safeguards, including legislation
on data protection, to ensure confidentiality and respect for the privacy of
persons with disabilities;
(b) Comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms and ethical principles of statistics.
2. The information collected in accordance with this article shall be
disaggregated as appropriate and used to help assess the implementation of
States Parties’ obligations under the present Convention, and to identify and
address the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising their rights.
3. States Parties shall assume the responsibility for the dissemination of
these statistics and ensure their accessibility to persons with disabilities and
others.
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Article 32
International cooperation
1. States Parties recognize the importance of international cooperation and
its promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose
and objectives of the present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and
effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as
appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional
organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with
disabilities. Such measures could include, inter alia:
(a) Ensuring that international cooperation, including international
development programmes, are inclusive of, and accessible to, persons with
disabilities;
(b) Facilitating and supporting capacity-building, including through the
exchange and sharing of information, experiences, training programmes and
best practices;
(c) Facilitating cooperation in research and access to scientific and
technical knowledge; and
(d) Providing, as appropriate, technical and economic assistance,
including by facilitating access to and sharing of accessible and assistive
technologies, and through the transfer of technologies.
2. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the obligations of
each State Party to fulfil its obligations under the Convention.
Article 33
National implementation and monitoring
1. States Parties, in accordance with their system of organization, shall
designate one or more focal points within Government for matters relating to
the implementation of the present Convention, and shall give due
consideration to the establishment or designation of a coordination mechanism
within Government to facilitate related action in different sectors and at
different levels.
2. States Parties shall, in accordance with their legal and administrative
systems, maintain, strengthen, designate or establish within the State Party, a
framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to
promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention. When
designating or establishing such a mechanism, States Parties shall take into
account the principles relating to the status and functioning of national
institutions for protection and promotion of human rights.
3. Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their
representative organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the
monitoring process.
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Article 34
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
1. There shall be established a Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (hereafter referred to as the Committee) which shall carry out the
functions hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall consist, at the time of entry into force of the present
Convention, of twelve experts. After an additional sixty ratifications or
accessions to the Convention, the membership of the Committee shall increase
by six members, attaining a maximum number of eighteen members.
3. The members of the Committee shall serve in their personal capacity and
shall be of high moral standing and recognized competence and experience in
the field covered by the present Convention. When nominating their
candidates, States Parties are invited to give due consideration to the provision
set out in article 4.3 of the present Convention.
4. The members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties,
consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution, the
representation of the different forms of civilization and of the principal legal
systems, balanced gender representation and the participation of experts with
disabilities.
5. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a
list of persons nominated by the States Parties from among their nationals at
meetings of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. At those meetings, for which two thirds of States Parties shall
constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee shall be those who
obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the
representatives of States Parties present and voting.
6. The initial election shall be held no later than six months after the date of
entry into force of the present Convention. At least four months before the date
of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a
letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit the nominations within two
months. The Secretary-General shall subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical
order of all persons thus nominated, indicating the State Parties which have
nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present
Convention.
7. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years.
They shall be eligible for re-election once. However, the term of six of the
members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years;
immediately after the first election, the names of these six members shall be
chosen by lot by the chairperson of the meeting referred to in paragraph 5 of
this article.
8. The election of the six additional members of the Committee shall be
held on the occasion of regular elections, in accordance with the relevant
provisions of this article.
9. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any
other cause she or he can no longer perform her or his duties, the State Party
which nominated the member shall appoint another expert possessing the
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qualifications and meeting the requirements set out in the relevant provisions
of this article, to serve for the remainder of the term.
10. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary
staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the
Committee under the present Convention, and shall convene its initial meeting.
12. With the approval of the General Assembly, the members of the
Committee established under the present Convention shall receive emoluments
from United Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly
may decide, having regard to the importance of the Committee’s
responsibilities.
13. The members of the Committee shall be entitled to the facilities,
privileges and immunities of experts on mission for the United Nations as laid
down in the relevant sections of the Convention on the Privileges and
Immunities of the United Nations.
Article 35
Reports by States Parties
1. Each State Party shall submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-
General of the United Nations, a comprehensive report on measures taken to
give effect to its obligations under the present Convention and on the progress
made in that regard, within two years after the entry into force of the present
Convention for the State Party concerned.
2. Thereafter, States Parties shall submit subsequent reports at least every
four years and further whenever the Committee so requests.
3. The Committee shall decide any guidelines applicable to the content of
the reports.
4. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial report to the
Committee need not, in its subsequent reports, repeat information previously
provided. When preparing reports to the Committee, States Parties are invited
to consider doing so in an open and transparent process and to give due
consideration to the provision set out in article 4.3 of the present Convention.
5. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of
fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.
Article 36
Consideration of reports
1. Each report shall be considered by the Committee, which shall make
such suggestions and general recommendations on the report as it may
consider appropriate and shall forward these to the State Party concerned. The
State Party may respond with any information it chooses to the Committee.
The Committee may request further information from States Parties relevant to
the implementation of the present Convention.
2. If a State Party is significantly overdue in the submission of a report, the
Committee may notify the State Party concerned of the need to examine the
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implementation of the present Convention in that State Party, on the basis of
reliable information available to the Committee if the relevant report is not
submitted within three months following the notification, and the Committee
shall invite the State Party concerned to participate in such examination.
Should the State Party respond by submitting the relevant report, the
provisions of paragraph 1 of this article will apply.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall make available the
reports to all States Parties.
4. States Parties shall make their reports widely available to the public in
their own countries and facilitate access to the suggestions and general
recommendations relating to these reports.
5. The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the
specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, and other
competent bodies, reports from States Parties in order to address a request or
indication of a need for technical advice or assistance contained therein, along
with the Committee’s observations and recommendations, if any, on these
requests or indications.
Article 37
Cooperation between States Parties and the Committee
1. Each State Party shall cooperate with the Committee and assist its
members in the fulfilment of their mandate.
2. In its relationship with States Parties, the Committee shall give due
consideration to ways and means of enhancing national capacities for the
implementation of the present Convention, including through international
cooperation.
Article 38
Relationship of the Committee with other bodies
In order to foster the effective implementation of the present Convention
and to encourage international cooperation in the field covered by the present
Convention:
(a) The specialized agencies and other United Nations organs shall be
entitled to be represented at the consideration of the implementation of such
provisions of the present Convention as fall within the scope of their mandate.
The Committee may invite the specialized agencies and other competent
bodies as it may consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the
implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their
respective mandates. The Committee may invite specialized agencies and other
United Nations organs to submit reports on the implementation of the
Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities;
(b) As it discharges its mandate, the Committee shall consult, as
appropriate, other relevant bodies instituted by international human rights
treaties, with a view to ensuring the consistency of their respective reporting
guidelines, suggestions and general recommendations, and avoiding
duplication and overlap in the performance of their functions.
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Article 39
Report of the Committee
The Committee shall report every two years to the General Assembly and
to the Economic and Social Council on its activities, and may make
suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports
and information received from the States Parties. Such suggestions and general
recommendations shall be included in the report of the Committee together
with comments, if any, from States Parties.
Article 40
Conference of States Parties
1. The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties
in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the
present Convention.
2. No later than six months after the entry into force of the present
Convention, the Conference of the States Parties shall be convened by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The subsequent meetings shall be
convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations biennially or upon
the decision of the Conference of States Parties.
Article 41
Depositary
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of
the present Convention.
Article 42
Signature
The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States and by
regional integration organizations at United Nations Headquarters in New York
as of [xxxx].
Article 43
Consent to be bound
The present Convention shall be subject to ratification by signatory
States and to formal confirmation by signatory regional integration
organizations. It shall be open for accession by any State or regional
integration organization which has not signed the Convention.
Article 44
Regional integration organizations
1. “Regional integration organization” shall mean an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region, to which its Member States
have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this
Convention. Such organizations shall declare, in their instruments of formal
confirmation or accession, the extent of their competence with respect to
matters governed by this Convention. Subsequently, they shall inform the
depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
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2. References to “States Parties” in the present Convention shall apply to
such organizations within the limits of their competence.
3. For the purposes of article 45, paragraph 1, and article 47, paragraphs 2
and 3, any instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall
not be counted.
4. Regional integration organizations, in matters within their competence,
may exercise their right to vote in the Conference of States Parties, with a
number of votes equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to
this Convention. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any
of its member States exercises its right, and vice versa.
Article 45
Entry into force
1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after
the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally
confirming or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the twentieth
such instrument, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after
the deposit of its own such instrument.
Article 46
Reservations
1. Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present
Convention shall not be permitted.
2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
Article 47
Amendments
1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to the present Convention
and submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-
General shall communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a
request to be notified whether they favour a conference of States Parties for
the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the event that,
within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of
the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall
convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any
amendment adopted by a majority of two thirds of the States Parties present
and voting shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General
Assembly for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for acceptance.
2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of
this article shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of
instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States
Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment
shall enter into force for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the
deposit of its own instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding
only on those States Parties which have accepted it.
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3. If so decided by the Conference of States Parties by consensus, an
amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this
article which relates exclusively to articles 34, 38, 39 and 40 shall enter into
force for all States Parties on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments
of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at
the date of adoption of the amendment.
Article 48
Denunciation
A State Party may denounce the present Convention by written
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation
shall become effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by
the Secretary-General.
Article 49
Accessible format
The text of the present Convention shall be made available in accessible
format.
Article 50
Authentic texts
The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the
present Convention shall be equally authentic.
In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present
Convention.
B. Draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
(to be adopted simultaneously with the Convention)
The States Parties to the present Protocol have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. A State Party to the present Protocol (“State Party”) recognizes the
competence of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(“Committee”) to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of
individuals or groups of individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be
victims of a violation by that State Party of the provisions of the Convention.
2. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a
State Party to the Convention that is not a party to the present Protocol.
Article 2
The Committee shall consider a communication inadmissible when:
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(a) The communication is anonymous;
(b) The communication constitutes an abuse of the right of submission
of such communications or is incompatible with the provisions of the present
Convention;
(c) The same matter has already been examined by the Committee or
has been or is being examined under another procedure of international
investigation or settlement;
(d) All available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This
shall not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged or unlikely to bring effective relief;
(e) It is manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated; or
when
(f) The facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior
to the entry into force of the present Convention for the State Party concerned
unless those facts continued until that date.
Article 3
Subject to the provisions of article 2 of the present Protocol, the
Committee shall bring any communications submitted to it confidentially to
the attention of the State Party. Within six months, the receiving State shall
submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the
matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.
Article 4
1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a
determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to
the State Party concerned for its urgent consideration a request that the State
Party take such interim measures as may be necessary to avoid possible
irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged violation.
2. Where the Committee exercises its discretion under paragraph 1 of this
article, this does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of
the communication.
Article 5
The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining
communications under the present Protocol. After examining a
communication, the Committee shall forward its suggestions and
recommendations, if any, to the State Party concerned and to the petitioner.
Article 6
1. If the Committee receives reliable information indicating grave or
systematic violations by a State Party of rights set forth in the Convention, the
Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the
information and to this end submit observations with regard to the information
concerned.
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2. Taking into account any observations that may have been submitted by
the State Party concerned as well as any other reliable information available to
it, the Committee may designate one or more of its members to conduct an
inquiry and to report urgently to the Committee. Where warranted and with the
consent of the State Party, the inquiry may include a visit to its territory.
3. After examining the findings of such an inquiry, the Committee shall
transmit these findings to the State Party concerned together with any
comments and recommendations.
4. The State Party concerned shall, within six months of receiving the
findings, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee,
submit its observations to the Committee.
5. Such an inquiry shall be conducted confidentially and the cooperation of
the State Party shall be sought at all stages of the proceedings.
Article 7
1. The Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in its
report under article 35 of the Convention details of any measures taken in
response to an inquiry conducted under article 6 of the present Protocol.
2. The Committee may, if necessary, after the end of the period of six
months referred to in article 6.4, invite the State Party concerned to inform it
of the measures taken in response to such an inquiry.
Article 8
Each State Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of the
present Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the
competence of the Committee provided for in articles 6 and 7.
Article 9
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of
the present Protocol.
Article 10
The present Protocol shall be open for signature by signatory States and
regional integration organizations of the Convention at United Nations
Headquarters in New York as of [xxxx].
Article 11
The present Protocol shall be subject to ratification by signatory States of
this Protocol which have ratified or acceded to the Convention. It shall be
subject to formal confirmation by signatory regional integration organizations
of this Protocol which have formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention.
It shall be open for accession by any State or regional integration organization
which has ratified, formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention and
which has not signed the Protocol.
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Article 12
1. “Regional integration organization” shall mean an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region, to which its Member States
have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by the Convention
and this Protocol. Such organizations shall declare, in their instruments of
formal confirmation or accession, the extent of their competence with respect
to matters governed by the Convention and this Protocol. Subsequently, they
shall inform the depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of
their competence.
2. References to “States Parties” in the present Protocol shall apply to such
organizations within the limits of their competence.
3. For the purposes of article 13, paragraph 1, and article 15, paragraph 2,
any instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be
counted.
4. Regional integration organizations, in matters within their competence,
may exercise their right to vote in the meeting of States Parties, with a number
of votes equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to this
Protocol. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its
member States exercises its right, and vice versa.
Article 13
1. Subject to the entry into force of the Convention, the present Protocol
shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of the tenth
instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally
confirming or acceding to the Protocol after the deposit of the tenth such
instrument, the Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the
deposit of its own such instrument.
Article 14
1. Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present
Protocol shall not be permitted.
2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
Article 15
1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to the present Protocol and
submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-
General shall communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a
request to be notified whether they favour a meeting of States Parties for the
purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the event that,
within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of
the States Parties favour such a meeting, the Secretary-General shall convene
the meeting under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted
by a majority of two thirds of the States Parties present and voting shall be
submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval and
thereafter to all States Parties for acceptance.
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2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of
this article shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of
instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States
Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment
shall enter into force for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the
deposit of its own instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding
only on those States Parties which have accepted it.
Article 16
A State Party may denounce the present Protocol by written notification
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall become
effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-
General.
Article 17
The text of the present Protocol shall be made available in accessible
format.
Article 18
The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the
present Protocol shall be equally authentic.
In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present
Protocol.