Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

List of issues in relation to the initial report of Cyprus *

A.Purpose and general obligations (arts. 1-4)

1.Please describe when and how the State intends to harmonize domestic legislation with the Convention.

2.Please describe the measures taken, including budgetary allocation, to ensure that the understanding and scope of disability within national legislation and regulations encompasses all types of disabilities and is in line with the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention.

3.Please describe the concrete steps taken to amend national legislation and regulations, beyond the Persons with Disabilities Law, to include the concept of reasonable accommodation and the recognition that the denial of reasonable accommodation constitutes a form of discrimination, and to ensure its application in practice in the public and private sectors.

4.Please provide information on the implementation, budget and outcome of the National Disability Action Plan 2013-2015.

5.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure the effective participation of diverse representative organizations of persons with disabilities in decision-making relating to, and the implementation of, the Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5-30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

6.Please provide information on concrete plans or measures adopted and implemented to address intersectional discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, sex and sexual orientation.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

7.Please provide information on concrete measures taken to eliminate multiple and intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, especially those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, regarding education, employment, poverty, health, violence, forced sterilization and access to justice.

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

8.Please provide information on concrete support schemes for and early intervention granted to children with disabilities and their families, including under the three-year action plans developed by the ombudsman responsible for children’s rights.

9.Please provide information on how children with disabilities and their families are included in decision-making processes regarding the assessment and allocation of support.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

10.Please provide information on the scope and content of awareness-raising campaigns and training, as well as on their target groups.

Accessibility (art. 9)

11.Please provide information on action plans adopted and implemented to improve, among other things, the accessibility of public services, outdoor environments and public and private buildings, as well as information and communication technologies, both in urban and rural areas. Please specify how action plans are monitored and how non-compliance is sanctioned.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

12.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that disaster risk reduction strategies and policies are disability inclusive.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

13.Please explain how the concept of legal incapacity is being repealed under Law No. 117/89 on persons with intellectual disabilities, and how substituted decision-making is being repealed and replaced by supported decision-making.

Access to justice (art. 13)

14.Please provide information on the accessibility of the justice system, including with regard to reasonable and procedural accommodations, physical access, legal aid, sign language interpretation, and support for persons with disabilities, particularly for persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities.

15.Please provide information on measures taken to provide training for professionals working in the judicial system and those at the office of the commissioner for administration and human rights (ombudsman).

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

16.What concrete measures, including legislative, are being taken to prevent and eliminate the use of involuntary detention of persons with disabilities, in particular persons with psychosocial or intellectual impairment, in psychiatric hospitals or other institutions on the basis of actual or perceived impairment?

Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment(art. 15)

17.Please provide information on the number of cases of coercive and involuntary treatment of persons with disabilities, and on the methods used.

Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art. 16)

18.Please explain what concrete initiatives are being taken to prevent violence against, and sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking of, women and children with disabilities and whether a due-diligence framework, including an efficient and adequate independent monitoring mechanism, has been adopted to eliminate such occurrences.

Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)

19.Please provide information on circumstances in which persons with disabilities, in particular persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, can be subject to medical interventions without their consent.

20.Please explain how current legislation protects women and children with disabilities from forced sexual and reproductive health procedures, such as forced sterilization, and to what extent sexual and reproductive health education is provided.

Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)

21.Please provide information on access to and choice of available health and social services and support for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities and their families.

Living independently and being included in the community (art. 19)

22.Please explain how persons with disabilities, regardless of their impairment, can choose where to live and with whom, and whether they are entitled to receive the necessary social support, such as personal assistance, for their spontaneous and individual participation in the local community. Please describe the measures taken to promote deinstitutionalization.

Personal mobility (art. 20)

23.Please describe the types of support that are available for persons with disabilities, particularly persons with visual or intellectual disabilities, in the areas of personal mobility and active participation in the local community.

Freedom of expression and opinion and access to information (art. 21)

24.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure the availability and sufficient funding of qualified sign language interpreters and to promote accessibility in relation to education, health, employment, leisure activities, media services and public websites.

Education (art. 24)

25.Please inform the Committee about policies, measures and budgetary allocations aimed at transforming the special education model into a fully inclusive education system.

26.Please provide the Committee with the number of children with disabilities who are not enrolled in their nearest local community school, including the number of children with disabilities receiving education in institutions, at home or in hospital.

27.Please describe the measures taken, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4, to ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for children and adults, in particular girls and children belonging to religious minority groups, with disabilities.

Health (art. 25)

28.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure access to health facilities, health treatment and training equipment for all persons with disabilities, regardless of their impairment.

29.Please describe how persons with disabilities are protected and guaranteed treatment and support through the existing insurance schemes, on an equal basis with others.

Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)

30.Please provide information on the extent to which boys and girls with disabilities, especially children with autism or high support needs, and their families have access to early health and social interventions and support.

Work and employment (art. 27)

31.Please describe what measures, including incentives, are in place to secure cross-sectoral systematic and comprehensive assessment of the support needs of persons with disabilities at work, including with respect to eliminating sheltered or social employment in favour of employment within the public or private open labour market, in particular for women with disabilities.

Adequate standard of living and social protection (art. 28)

32.Please indicate how austerity measures taken following the financial crisis of 2008/09 have affected access to various support systems for persons with disabilities and explain the steps taken to mitigate the consequences of those measures.

33.Please explain the measures taken to ensure that persons with disabilities and their families are protected from poverty and receive support for covering disability-related costs.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

34.Please explain the reasons and conditions for limiting the enjoyment by persons with intellectual disabilities of the right to vote and stand for election, or for depriving them of that right, in the light of article 31 of the Constitution.

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

35.Please provide detailed information on strategies, protocols and indicators aimed at providing high-quality and representative statistical data on persons with disabilities, disaggregated by impairment, sex, age, ethnicity and other grounds, in the public and private sectors.

36.Please provide concrete and detailed information, disaggregated by impairment and age, on how and where children and adults with disabilities live, including information on those living in various forms of hospitals, institutions and group homes.

37.Please provide information on the involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities in the design and collection of statistical data regarding disability.

International cooperation (art. 32)

38.Please describe how the Sustainable Development Goals are influencing the international and national policies relevant for persons with disabilities within the State party and the involvement of their representative organizations.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

39.Please provide information on the scope of the mandate of the ombudsman, especially in relation to the implementation of the Convention by the private sector.

40.Please provide information on the extra budget allocated for the independent monitoring mechanism established in accordance with article 33 (2) of the Convention, and on measures taken to ensure its full compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles).