Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Concluding observations on the initial report of Albania *

I.Introduction

1.The Committee considered the initial report of Albania (CRPD/C/ALB/1) at its 477th and 478th meetings (see CRPD/C/SR.477 and 478), held on 27 and 28 August 2019. It adopted the present concluding observations at its 503rd meeting, held on 16 September 2019.

2.The Committee welcomes the initial report of Albania, which was prepared in accordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for the written replies (CRPD/C/ALB/Q/1/Add.1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee (CRPD/C/ALB/Q/1).

3.The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue held during the consideration of the report and commends the State party for its high-level delegation, which included representatives of relevant government ministries and the Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

II.Positive aspects

4.The Committee commends the State party for the adoption of the following:

(a)Law No. 93/2014, on inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities, in 2014;

(b)Order No. 195, which establishes the “inclusive teacher profile”, in 2016;

(c)The National Action Plan on Disability 2016–2020.

III.Principal areas of concern and recommendations

A.General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)

5.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The insufficient efforts made to revise existing legislation and to bring it into full compliance with the Convention, in particular with regard to the State party’s use and interpretation of the “bio-psycho-social model” in reforming disability assessment systems;

(b)The lack of a harmonized concept of disability and the denial of reasonable accommodation in discrimination legislation;

(c)The lack of mainstream and disability-specific services provided for persons with disabilities at the local level;

(d)The use of derogatory language against persons with disabilities in laws, policies and public discourse.

6. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention, that it harmonize its legislation and that it include a human rights model of disability and a denial of reasonable accommodation in laws prohibiting discrimination, in accordance with the Convention. It also recommends that the State party review existing and draft laws, including the disability assessments for social protection entitlements established in Law No. 121/2016 on social services and in Law No. 15/2019 on employment promotion, together with Council of Ministers decision No. 380 (2019), in close consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities, to ensure that persons with disabilities can access mainstream and disability-specific services at the local level. The Committee further recommends that the State party ensure that the use of all derogatory language in reference to persons with disabilities is eliminated from all legislation, public documents and public discourse.

7.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The lack of legislation, transparent procedures and information regarding consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities;

(b)The fact that, based on Law No. 93/2014, the Prime Minister exclusively is in charge of the nomination and appointment of the members of the National Disability Council and that the level of representation of members of civil society in the Council is below 50 per cent;

(c)The lack of regular and sustainable financial support for organizations of persons with disabilities, particularly at the local level;

(d)The fact that the official Albanian translation of the Convention makes an erroneous reference to organizations “for” persons with disabilities, which does not accurately reflect the language of the Convention.

8. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account general comment No. 7 (2018) on the participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. It also recommends that the State party:

(a) Take all legal and other measures necessary for the nomination and election of representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities in the National Disability Council, including representatives of women and children with disabilities, persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;

(b) Provide sufficient and regular financial and administrative support to the Council and ensure the participation of a greater variety of representative organizations of persons with disabilities nationwide in order to guarantee the quality of the experts and an adequate representation of the interests of persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities;

(c) Correct the official translation of the Convention to ensure equal opportunities for organizations of persons with disabilities.

9.The Committee is concerned that the State party has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

10. The Committee recommends that the State party ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention without further delay.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

11.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The lack of a clear prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of disability and the absence of sanctions and remedies in cases of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation, especially in the law on protection from discrimination and Law No. 93/2014;

(b)The amendment made to Law No. 93/2014 establishing different legal entitlements for persons with disabilities;

(c)The lack of a strategy to promote the rights of Roma persons with disabilities and the lack of information on their situation, in particular on the situation of Roma women and girls with disabilities and, mainly, their rights to education, health care and employment.

12. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Review its legislation to incorporate a clear prohibition of disability-based discrimination that explicitly includes all forms of discrimination on the grounds of disability, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and the denial of reasonable accommodation;

(b) Develop and apply harmonized and transparent criteria, fair assessment procedures and equal entitlements for persons with disabilities regardless of where they live in the State party;

(c) Adopt a national programme with effective incentives to improve the situation of Roma persons with disabilities, in particular Roma women and girls with disabilities, with a focus, inter alia, on their rights to education, health care and employment on an equal basis with others.

Women and girls with disabilities (art. 6)

13.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The lack of a comprehensive gender equality policy and strategy that addresses the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities;

(b)The lack of reliable information on the level of implementation of and results achieved by the National Action Plan on Disability 2016–2020, particularly in respect of women and girls with disabilities;

(c)The lack of adequate and concrete measures taken to implement the recommendation made in 2016 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/ALB/CO/4, para. 39 (c)).

14. With reference to its general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities and in view of targets 5.1, 5.2 and 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure that its laws and policies adhere to the Convention, provide for the full protection of the rights of women and girls with disabilities, incorporate a disability perspective into all gender-equality policies and programmes, including employment-related policies and measures, and adopt an effective strategy for their implementation;

(b) Ensure the full implementation of the National Action Plan on Disability 2016–2020 and take all necessary, appropriate and transparent measures, with a concrete timeline, to prevent and eliminate the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that women and girls with disabilities face, especially in access to justice, education, health and employment;

(c) Implement the recommendations made in 2016 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/ALB/CO/4, para. 39 (c)).

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

15.The Committee is concerned that the National Agenda for Child Rights 2017–2020, which is currently in the implementation phase, refers to children with disabilities only with regard to health services and education, failing to take into account all other aspects of their lives. The Committee is concerned about the lack of steps taken to improve available social and health-care services, including early intervention-related services for children with disabilities. It is also concerned about the lack of information on the health-care and educational assessment procedures in place and that individualized support and accommodations are not consistently provided for those children with disabilities in mainstream schools who need them.

16. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Include in the National Agenda for Child Rights 2017–2020 measures that take into account the specific requirements of children with disabilities and that guarantee respect for their rights in all spheres of life;

(b) Provide all children with disabilities, regardless of their impairment, with sufficient social and health-care services, including early intervention and development services, in cooperation with representative organizations of children with disabilities, including at the local level, and provide also a transparent road map for achieving progress;

(c) Ensure that health-care and educational assessment procedures are in line with the Convention and the human rights-based approach to disability and that experts from multiple disciplines are involved in such procedures;

(d) Adopt a legally defined procedure for the provision of reasonable accommodation at all levels of education and allocate the resources necessary to guarantee reasonable accommodation according to individual requirements in consultation with the child concerned.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

17.The Committee is concerned about the insufficient involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities in local and nationwide campaigns and about the lack of regular awareness-raising programmes, including training, for persons working in the media on the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention. The Committee is also concerned that the text of the Convention has not been made available in accessible formats, including sign language, Braille and Easy Read.

18. The Committee recommends that the State party, with the active involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities:

(a) Adopt measures to develop local and national awareness-raising campaigns targeting, among others, public authorities, private-sector service providers and the general public in order to systematically raise awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and the Convention;

(b) Train public and private media professionals about the importance of depicting the positive contributions made by persons with disabilities;

(c) Translate and disseminate the Convention in accessible formats, including sign language, Braille and Easy Read.

Accessibility (art. 9)

19.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The lack of a comprehensive national action plan for the implementation of Law No. 93/2014 and Council of Ministers decision No. 1074 (2015) on removing environmental and infrastructural barriers to public services;

(b)The lack of data on the application of administrative and financial sanctions for non-compliance with accessibility standards, including in respect of older buildings open to the public and of information and communications services in rural areas;

(c)The lack of information on the accessibility of electronic media, including social media.

20. The Committee recommends that the State party pay attention to the link between article 9 of the Convention and targets 9 (c), 11.2 and 11.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals and, in line with its general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility, that it:

(a) Adopt a comprehensive action plan for the implementation of Law No. 93/2014, ensuring a sufficient budget, an efficient monitoring mechanism and benchmarks for the removal of barriers, with enforceable and effective sanctions for non-compliance;

(b) Put in place a mechanism to monitor compliance with accessibility standards in all areas covered by the Convention and impose sanctions in the event of non-compliance;

(c) Provide comprehensive information on the accessibility of electronic media, with special attention to social media.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

21.The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities in the development and implementation of disaster risk reduction and management strategies, as well as the lack of accessible information for persons with disabilities on how to react in situations of risk, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

22. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Adopt and implement an accessible and comprehensive emergency strategy and protocols for reacting to situations of risk in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;

(b) Include, in such strategies and protocols, hotlines and a text message-warning application;

(c) Develop relevant manuals in accessible formats, including sign language, Braille and Easy Read, in line with its general comment No. 2;

(d) Require all public services to develop plans, in regular, close consultation with representative organizations of persons with disabilities, including at the local level, for the evacuation of persons with disabilities.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

23.The Committee is concerned about the insufficient progress made to amend all national legislation that denies or restricts the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, including the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Family Code and the Mental Health Law, and about the lack of existing or planned mechanisms for supported decision-making. It is also concerned about the inadequacy of the State party’s legal measures for ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, to make choices about their lives and enjoy the right to equal recognition before the law.

24. Recalling its general comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law and the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe following her visit to Albania from 21 to 25 May 2018, the Committee recommends that the State party harmonize its legislation to adhere to the Convention and repeal all laws that restrict the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, in particular persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, replacing substituted decision- making with supported decision-making regimes that respect the person ’ s autonomy, will and preferences and establishing transparent remedies for persons with disabilities whose legal capacity has been removed.

Access to justice (art. 13)

25.The Committee is concerned about the lack of specific measures taken to ensure that persons with disabilities have comprehensive access to the justice system, including through free legal aid, accessible legal services and sign language interpreters in courtrooms, in police stations, in procedural accommodations and in dealing with prosecutorial authorities. It is also concerned about the lack of information on specific measures and protocols to remove barriers to access to justice and to provide procedural and gender- and age-appropriate accommodations in judicial proceedings for persons with disabilities, including in respect of written information and communications for notary-related services.

26. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure transparent and barrier-free access to the justice system for persons with disabilities without discrimination;

(b) Ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly those still living in institutions, have access to free legal aid;

(c) Ensure, without discrimination, access to assistive technologies and registered and qualified sign language interpreters, and the provision of Braille, Easy Read, sign language and other alternative formats in judicial proceedings and notary-related services;

(d) Strengthen efforts to provide training and capacity-building programmes on the Convention for judicial, law enforcement and notary personnel in the application of a human rights approach to disability;

(e) Provide training and capacity-building programmes on the Convention for persons with disabilities to increase their legal awareness.

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

27.The Committee is concerned that the current legislation permits the deprivation of liberty, forced hospitalization and forced treatment of persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities. It is also concerned about the use of physical restraints, particularly on persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, including at home, and that police authorities have not consulted the respective organizations of persons with disabilities in adopting protocols to ensure the elimination of the use of such restraints.

28. The Committee recommends that the State party repeal laws permitting the deprivation of liberty on the basis of impairment, forced treatment, the use of restraints and coercive measures based on a medicalized model of disability. It also recommends that the State party provide effective remedies to persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty on the basis of impairment and that, in close consultation with representative organizations of persons with disabilities, it adopt relevant protocols. The Committee calls upon the State party to be guided by its obligations under article 14 of the Convention and the Committee ’ s guidelines on the right to liberty and security of persons with disabilities (A/72/55, annex) when participating in the regional discussions on an additional protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine.

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

29.The Committee is concerned that persons with disabilities are committed to institutions and treated against their will. The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on visits made and procedures in place for conducting independent investigations of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities in institutions (CRPD/C/ALB/1, para. 101) and about the lack of effective safeguards and sanctions. The Committee is also concerned about the absence of a mechanism mandated with monitoring psychiatric institutions and other residential facilities where persons with disabilities are deprived of their liberty.

30. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective legal and administrative measures to prohibit and prevent the involuntary commitment or hospitalization and forced medical treatment, in particular forced psychiatric treatment, on the basis of impairment. It also recommends that the State party establish an independent mechanism to monitor residential centres for persons with disabilities, including centres where children with disabilities may still reside, in order to prevent and offer protection from acts that may constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

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

31.The Committee notes with concern reports of violence against and abuse of persons with disabilities, especially in institutions, and expresses concern about the absence of effective measures for remedies such as compensation, rehabilitation and social reintegration of victims of violence, particularly children and women with disabilities. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information on the concrete results of the implementation of the law on measures against violence in family relations enacted in 2018 and about the unavailability of comprehensive data and statistics on persons with disabilities who are victims of violence, including sexual violence and abuse, or multiple forms of discrimination.

32. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary steps to prevent exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities, both inside and outside institutions. The Committee also recommends that the State party:

(a) Revise the current procedures for monitoring and inspecting social care homes and psychiatric institutions to prevent violence against and abuse of persons with disabilities, particularly children and women with disabilities;

(b) Ensure that persons deprived of their liberty have access to independent complaints mechanisms and that appropriate remedies are provided to victims of abuse, such as redress and adequate compensation, including rehabilitation;

(c) Ensure that the law on measures against violence in family relations is implemented with a view to including a disability perspective and addressing the specific risks of gender-based violence and the barriers to protection faced by women and girls with disabilities.

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

33.The Committee is concerned about the insufficiency of:

(a)Effective measures taken to make urgent progress to deinstitutionalize persons with disabilities;

(b)Progress made in implementing independent living arrangements and the lack of programmes and in-home, residential and individualized support in the community, including personal assistance for persons with disabilities who require it and benefits for housing that would allow them to exercise their right to live independently and to be included in their community;

(c)Disaggregated data on the number of persons with disabilities still living in institutional settings;

(d)Information on legal, administrative and financial measures taken to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities to choose where and with whom to live.

34. In line with its general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community and recalling the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe following her visit to Albania from 21 to 25 May 2018, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Develop and implement an effective deinstitutionalization plan, with a clear time frame and benchmarks, allocating sufficient funds for its implementation, particularly at the local level;

(b) Promote independent living schemes and roll out programmes and services, including personal assistance for persons with disabilities who require it, to ensure that persons with disabilities may exercise their right to live independently and be included in their community;

(c) Collect disaggregated data on the number of persons with disabilities still living in institutions;

(d) Take all necessary measures to develop community support services for persons with disabilities to ensure that they have the right to choose where, including in rural areas, and with whom to live, on an equal basis with others;

(e) Ensure the involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities in the development of independent living strategies and schemes that provide for accessible community services, supports and facilities, especially at the local level, including accessible and affordable housing.

Personal mobility (art. 20)

35.The Committee is concerned about the lack of a transparent system for providing assistive devices and aids, and training on their use, without discrimination. The Committee notes the absence of sufficient funding to support personal mobility and to guarantee universal access to appropriate assistive devices and aids. It is also concerned that there is no comprehensive strategy, action plan or targeted strategy to improve the individual safety of persons with disabilities in public transport.

36. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Legislate and take any other appropriate measures to ensure the creation of a fund to support personal mobility and to guarantee universal access to appropriate assistive devices, as well as to appropriate training in how to use them;

(b) Improve access to mobility aids, devices and other assistive technologies;

(c) Adopt a strategy on public transport standards and services that takes into account the requirements of persons with disabilities in rural and urban areas.

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

37.The Committee is concerned:

(a)That there is a lack of data on national action plans or long-term strategies to strengthen the availability of accessible services and information, including media services and Internet pages provided to the public in sign language, captioning, Braille, Easy Read and plain language;

(b)That sign language is not adequately recognized as an official language of the State party;

(c)That there are insufficient measures to increase access to sign language interpretation services and other means and modes of communication for persons with disabilities.

38. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Implement national action plans or long-term strategies, with a clear road map, to strengthen the availability of accessible information and communications services open to or provided to the public, including media services, telecommunications operators and Internet pages in sign language, captioning, Braille, Easy Read and plain language;

(b) Adopt, with the involvement of the relevant organizations of persons with disabilities, effective legislation and strategies to ensure the full recognition of sign language and the provision of Braille;

(c) Adopt capacity-building programmes, including training, on accessible modes, means and formats, including Easy Read and sign language, and provide sign language interpretation for services open to the public.

Education (art. 24)

39.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The absence of comprehensive legislation and strategy for quality inclusive education and about the fact that segregated education environments persist, especially for students with intellectual disabilities;

(b)The lack of data on the public resources allocated to inclusive education in primary, secondary and higher education institutions;

(c)The absence of data and indicators to monitor the quality of education and inclusion of students with disabilities at all levels of education, as well as the absence of information on accessibility standards applicable to school infrastructure and to information and communications, including information and communications technologies;

(d)The limited accessibility ensured in higher education for students with disabilities and the decreasing number of students with disabilities enrolled in higher education.

40. Recalling its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education and Sustainable Development Goal 4, especially its targets 4.5 and 4.8, the Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to support the implementation of inclusive education and, in particular, that it:

(a) Repeal and amend laws to recognize inclusive education as a right, and grant all students with disabilities, regardless of their personal characteristics, the same right to access inclusive learning opportunities in the mainstream education system with individualized support, as required;

(b) Formulate, adopt and implement a comprehensive and inclusive education policy with strategies for promoting a culture of inclusion in mainstream education, including individualized human-rights based assessments of educational requirements and necessary accommodation, guidance and support for teachers; for promoting respect for diversity by ensuring the rights to equality and non-discrimination; and for promoting the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society;

(c) Ensure the accessibility of school environments, in line with the Convention, including through the provision of accessible and adapted materials, inclusive curricula and individualized support and accommodation;

(d) Allocate effective and sufficient financial and material resources, as well as adequately and regularly trained staff, including staff with disabilities;

(e) Incorporate inclusive education training into university curricula for future teachers and mandatory training programmes for current teaching staff, with an adequate budget;

(f) Increase data collection on, among others, the implementation of inclusive education laws and policies, the accessibility of school infrastructure, information and communications, including information and communications technologies, to inform inclusive education policies.

Health (art. 25)

41.The Committee is concerned about the insufficiency of accessible health-care services and facilities in the community for persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disabilities and those requiring extensive support. It is particularly concerned about the lack of:

(a)Information on the achievements of the National Health Strategy 2017–2021, the National Action Plan on Disability 2016–2020 and the Action Plan for the Development of Mental Health Services in Albania 2013–2022, particularly with regard to the sufficiency of programmes for early identification, for autistic persons and for persons with disabilities living in rural areas;

(b)Measures taken to ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly older persons with disabilities, Roma persons with disabilities and women and girls with disabilities, have access to comprehensive health-care services, including sexual and reproductive health-care services, on an equal basis with others.

42. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Review plans and strategies and take effective and coordinated measures to ensure that the health services provided adhere to the Convention;

(b) Ensure, in practice, access to accessible health-care services for all persons with disabilities, including older persons with disabilities and Roma persons with disabilities, and ensure also the availability of early identification programmes and interventions for children with disabilities;

(c) Effectively ensure and monitor, in close consultation with representative organizations of persons with disabilities, that health-care services are provided to persons with disabilities without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and make the necessary equipment and instruments, including assistive technologies, available and accessible so that persons with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, can access services, including reproductive health-care services, as close to home as possible.

Work and employment (art. 27)

43.The Committee notes with concern that the State party’s legislation still allows for persons with disabilities to be declared lacking in capacity to work. The Committee is concerned about the fact that persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities, are particularly affected by unemployment. The Committee is also concerned that there are no comprehensive and comparable data on the situation of persons with disabilities employed in the public sector and on the impact of Law No. 15/2019.

44. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Amend its legislation by adopting effective safeguards to ensure that impairment cannot be used to avoid employing persons with disabilities, in line with the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention;

(b) Further promote employment in the open labour market, in both the public and private sectors, with a particular emphasis on women, in close consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, including women ’ s organizations;

(c) Collect statistical data on the employment rate and situation of persons with disabilities disaggregated by sex, age, type of employment and salary and on the impact of Law No. 15/2019.

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

45.The Committee is concerned that the financial support (“allowances”) scheme for persons with disabilities introduced in 2015 and, in particular, its index method have negatively affected persons with disabilities, especially migrants and Roma persons with disabilities.

46. The Committee recommends that the State party revise the financial support ( “ allowances ” ) scheme in order to repeal any discriminatory practices.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

47.The Committee is concerned that in the State party there are legal provisions restricting the right of persons with disabilities to vote. The Committee is also concerned about the exclusion, in practice, of persons with disabilities from public life, especially women with disabilities. The Committee is further concerned about the lack of accessibility at all stages of the electoral process, in particular the accessibility of polling stations and voting materials, for persons with disabilities.

48. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Amend the relevant laws, including electoral laws, and the rules of procedure relevant to the Central Election Commission to guarantee the right to participate in political and public life, including the right to vote for all persons with disabilities, and repeal any provisions that deny such rights to persons who are deemed to lack legal capacity;

(b) Promote the participation of persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities, in political life and public decision-making;

(c) Take measures to allow unhindered physical access to voting, put in place secure mechanisms to ensure the secrecy of the ballot and ensure the availability of other electoral materials and information in accessible formats, including in sign language, Braille and Easy Read, in line with the Committee ’ s general comment No. 2.

Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (art. 30)

49.The Committee is concerned that persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, face barriers in terms of participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport on an equal basis with others. It is also concerned that the State party has not yet ratified the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.

50. The Committee recommends that the State party itemize a budget to promote and protect the right of persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport on an equal basis with others. It encourages the State party to adopt all appropriate measures to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty as soon as possible.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

51.The Committee is concerned that efforts to collect data about persons with disabilities in the State party are based on the medical approach to disability and are fragmented. Moreover, it is also concerned that the data collected are not effectively disseminated among persons with disabilities. The Committee is further concerned that the State party is not systematically collecting and analysing disaggregated data on the situation of persons with disabilities in close consultation with their representative organizations with a view to designing adequate public policies.

52. Taking into account target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Establish systematic data collection and reporting procedures that are in line with the Convention, to be followed by the Institute of Statistics;

(b) Make greater use of the methodology of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, in particular for the 2020 national census, to collect, analyse and disseminate data on its population disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, employment, barriers encountered and place of residence, as well as data on cases of discrimination or violence against persons with disabilities;

(c) Develop evidence-based public policies to respond to the situation of persons with disabilities, in collaboration with their representative organizations.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

53.The Committee is concerned about the lack of information about efforts to consider identifying a coordination mechanism, as outlined in article 33 (1) of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned that the mechanism designated by the State party under article 33 (2) is not in line with the Convention. It is further concerned about the unequal representation of organizations of persons with disabilities in the monitoring process.

54. Taking into account its guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their participation in the work of the Committee (CRPD/C/1/Rev.1, annex) and its general comment No. 7, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that its national implementation and monitoring framework has a stable institutional basis that allows it to operate properly over time and that it is appropriately funded and resourced. It also recommends that the State party:

(a) Consider the appointment of a coordination mechanism under article 33 (1) of the Convention;

(b) Ensure that, when designating or establishing an independent monitoring framework and mechanisms, it takes into account the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and provides adequate funding;

(c) Ensure the full participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the monitoring process.

IV.Follow-up

Dissemination of information

55. The Committee emphasizes the importance of all the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations. With regard to urgent measures that must be taken, the Committee would like to draw the State party ’ s attention to the recommendation contained in paragraph 6, on harmonizing the State party ’ s legislation.

56. The Committee requests the State party to implement the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations. It recommends that the State party transmit the concluding observations for consideration and action to members of the Government and parliament, officials in relevant ministries, the judiciary and members of relevant professional groups, such as education, medical and legal professionals, as well as to local authorities, the private sector and the media, using modern social communication strategies.

57. The Committee strongly encourages the State party to involve civil society organizations, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities, in the preparation of its periodic report.

58. The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding observations widely, including to non-governmental organizations and representative organizations of persons with disabilities, as well as to persons with disabilities themselves and members of their families, in national and minority languages, including sign language, and inaccessible formats, including Easy Read, and to make them available on the government website on human rights.

Next periodic report

59. The Committee requests the State party to submit its combined second and third periodic reports by 11 March 2023 and to include in them information on the implementation of the recommendations made in the present concluding observations. The Committee also requests the State party to consider submitting the above-mentioned reports under the Committee ’ s simplified reporting procedure, according to which the Committee prepares a list of issues at least one year prior to the due date set for the report of a State party. The replies of a State party to such a list of issues constitute its report.