Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

List of issues prior to submission of the combined second and third reports of the Dominican Republic *

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

1.Please provide information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations issued by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (CRPD/C/DOM/CO/1) and particularly on the steps taken:

(a)To comprehensively review and harmonize laws and policies, including the Constitution, the Labour Code, the Civil Code and other legislation, with a view to bringing them into line with the human rights model of disability and abolishing pejorative terminology;

(b)To systematically implement Act No. 5-13 and indicate the measures taken to involve organizations of persons with disabilities in this process;

(c)To ensure the addition of action lines inclusive of persons with disabilities in its 2010–2030 National Development Strategy.

2.Please provide information on the mechanisms established:

(a)To closely consult with and actively involve organizations of persons with disabilities in public decision-making processes concerning all issues relating to persons with disabilities;

(b)To include persons with disabilities in the decision-making structures of the National Council on Disability;

(c)To facilitate the establishment and work of organizations of persons with disabilities, particularly of women and girls with disabilities.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

3.Please provide information on whether the denial of reasonable accommodation in all spheres of life is already recognized in the legislation as a prohibited form of discrimination on the basis of disability. Please also provide information on the measures taken to include multiple and intersectional discrimination in the definition of the offence of discrimination on grounds of disability.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

4.Please provide information on the measures taken to incorporate women and girls with disabilities into both gender and disability policies, including into the national gender equity plans and into the work and policies of the Ministry for Women, in close consultation with their representative organizations. Please also provide information about the social, economic and political situation of women with disabilities and any efforts made to promote their participation in society and to combat stigma and prejudices against them.

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

5.Please provide information on the development of policies based on the principle of the best interests of the child that will ensure that children with disabilities have the possibility of living in a family and of being included in the community. Please provide information on any mechanisms created to ensure that children with disabilities can express their views on issues affecting them.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

6.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to combat stigma, stereotypes and prejudices towards persons with disabilities, including indigenous persons with disabilities;

(b)The promotion of public and private campaigns that promote the rights of persons with disabilities, in accordance with the Convention;

(c)The measures taken to involve organizations of persons with disabilities in the design and execution of awareness-raising strategies.

Accessibility (art. 9)

7.Please provide information on:

(a)The adoption of standards and regulations on accessibility to the physical environment, transport and information and communications, in line with the Convention and in keeping with the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2014);

(b)The implementation of accessibility plans with measurable goals and time frames in the short and medium term, as well as sanctions for non-compliance;

(c)The allocation of adequate budgetary funds to implement municipal accessibility plans and to ensure monitoring and evaluation of those plans by organizations of persons with disabilities;

(d)The measures taken to adopt specific legislation and public policies aimed at ensuring the accessibility of information and communications.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

8.Please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To provide training on the rights of persons with disabilities for civil protection personnel, develop specific protocols for situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, and disseminate manuals and guides;

(b)To ensure that shelters are fully accessible, including the information available about them;

(c)To provide early warning systems in all formats, including in sign language and electronic formats, and ensure that persons with disabilities can prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

9.With regard to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 21 and 23), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To repeal legal provisions that totally or partially limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, in particular the provisions of the Civil Code, and to adopt measures to establish a supported decision-making model, in line with the Committee’s general comment No. 1 (2014);

(b)To repeal any restriction on, or impediment to, access by persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to banking services or the independent management of their financial affairs.

Access to justice (art. 13)

10.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to eliminate all restrictions in the physical environment and in the administrative and judicial rules and procedures that prevent persons with disabilities from taking part in any proceedings, including persons who are deaf and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities (para. 25);

(b)The measures taken to promote and provide regular training on the rights of persons with disabilities for all those working in the administration of justice, including judges, prosecutors, judicial personnel, police and prison staff;

(c)The implementation of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations, such as personal assistance and accessible communications, including Braille, sign language interpretation and Easy Read.

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

11.With regard to the Committee’s previous concluding observations (paras. 27 and 29), please provide information on the progress made in:

(a)The amendment of the criminal law, in order to ensure that all persons with disabilities have guarantees of due process, on an equal basis with others, and are provided with the necessary reasonable accommodation and access to information and communications at the various stages of administrative and judicial proceedings for deprivation of liberty;

(b)The removal from the criminal law of the concept of dangerousness in cases where a person with psychosocial disabilities is accused of a crime, as well as the deprivation of liberty based on the same criterion.

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

12.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures adopted to explicitly prohibit medical treatment, particularly psychiatric treatment, administered without the free and informed consent of the person with disabilities concerned;

(b)Progress in the establishment of the national mechanism for the prevention of torture.

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

13.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to investigate the situation of persons with disabilities, especially children with disabilities, who are abandoned and/or begging, and to support them in their rehabilitation, recovery and inclusion in family and community life;

(b)The measures taken to design and implement mechanisms for the protection of persons with disabilities, particularly women and children with disabilities, from exploitation, violence and abuse, particularly incest, by ensuring that they have access to information and communications technology, to mechanisms for submitting complaints and recording such violations of their rights and to shelters and measures for psychosocial recovery and reintegration into the community;

(c)Any developments in the appointment of an independent authority to promote the protection of persons with disabilities from exploitation, violence and abuse, in accordance with article 16 (3) of the Convention.

Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)

14.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to prohibit the forced sterilization of persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities;

(b)The measures taken to establish an independent authority to review cases of sterilization that will conduct investigations, punish perpetrators and provide measures for the compensation and reparation for victims.

Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)

15.Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities of Haitian origin or descent, so as to enable them to use all services and programmes for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.

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

16.Please provide information on:

(a)The progress achieved in the adoption of a programme for the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, in such homes as the Angeles homes;

(b)The programmes and support networks created to enable persons with disabilities to be included in the community and to live independently in housing arrangements that meet their wishes, needs and preferences.

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

17.Please provide information on the progress made to adopt legislation that recognizes Dominican Sign Language as an official language, implement a sign language training strategy for public sector personnel and promote the professional training and certification of sign language interpreters.

Respect for home and the family (art. 23)

18.Please provide information on the measures taken to protect parents with disabilities so that they can retain custody of their children and on the efforts to provide adequate information on sexual and reproductive health to persons with disabilities.

Education (art. 24)

19.Please provide information on the progress made:

(a)To adopt a policy that provides access to good quality, inclusive education at all levels, taking particular account of the gender perspective, in both urban and rural areas;

(b)In the design and implementation of a plan with specific targets and time frames for the transition of students with disabilities from special education to the system of inclusive education, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education;

(c)To promote a training strategy for teachers on inclusive education at all levels.

Health (art. 25)

20.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to ensure that general health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, are fully accessible to all persons with disabilities and eliminate prejudice and encourage training, including in-service training, for health professionals on the rights of persons with disabilities;

(b)The measures taken to improve and accelerate the deliverance of the disability certificate delivered by the National Council on Disability and to ensure that all persons with disabilities have access to general health services even without that certificate;

(c)The progress made to implement the recommendations of the survey of the sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities in the Dominican Republic, conducted by the Women with Disabilities Circle;

(d)The measures taken to ensure that all health services are accessible in rural and more remote areas and that there is no discrimination against Haitian migrants with disabilities or their descendants, particularly those with disabilities;

(e)The progress made to strengthen mental health services, taking a human rights-based approach;

(f)The adoption of a mechanism to ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly psychosocial disabilities, can give their free and informed consent on placement in psychiatric facilities.

Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)

21.Please provide information on the allocation of the necessary resources to expand the coverage of habilitation and rehabilitation services, particularly at the community level, and the efforts made to prohibit discrimination in those services, particularly on the grounds of national origin or immigration status.

Work and employment (art. 27)

22.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the private and public sectors, including affirmative action and regulations governing reasonable accommodation;

(b)The progress made in the creation of a mechanism for monitoring compliance with employment quotas in the public sector and sanctions in cases of non-compliance.

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

23.Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure the inclusion of Dominican nationals with disabilities and persons with disabilities in an irregular migration situation in poverty reduction strategies and in programmes of social assistance, such as support in offsetting the additional costs incurred as a result of their disability, including subsidies for the purchase of assistive devices, medicines and assistance services to mitigate the impact of such expenses and the exacerbation of poverty.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

24.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to ensure that the participation of all persons with disabilities, especially persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, in electoral processes is accessible and effective;

(b)The measures taken to encourage the political participation of persons with disabilities at all levels, ranging from civil society organizations and political parties to the promotion of candidatures in public elections.

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

25.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken to implement the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled;

(b)The progress made in implementing a plan to ensure accessibility to tourist sites, historical monuments and facilities where artistic and cultural activities are carried out.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

26.Please provide information on:

(a)The measures taken, in coordination with organizations of persons with disabilities, to regularly collect quantitative and qualitative data on the situation of persons with disabilities, disaggregated by age, sex, the barriers encountered, employability, ethnicity and geographical location, with a view to developing policies and programmes in compliance with the Convention and with target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Goals;

(b)The concrete measures taken to make data relevant to persons with disabilities available and accessible to them.

International cooperation (art. 32)

27.Please provide information about the measures taken to effectively involve organizations of persons with disabilities in the elaboration and design of programmes supported by international cooperation and to mainstream the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

28.Please provide information on the steps taken to designate an independent monitoring mechanism in conformity with the Convention that complies with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and involves the participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.