Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

List of issues in relation to the initial report of the Russian Federation *

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

1.Please provide information on whether the State party plans to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

General obligations (art. 4)

2.Please explain in more detail the powers and mandates of the monitoring agencies referred to in paragraph 31 of the initial report. Please provide information on whether individuals and organizations of persons with disabilities can submit complaints in relation to a failure to implement the laws and standards pertaining to the rights of persons with disabilities, and on whether such agencies may impose sanctions against individuals and legal entities that fail to implement such laws and standards.

3.Please provide information on the progress made in training the professionals referred to in paragraph 38 of the initial report. Please inform the Committee of whether such training includes topics on the Convention and the human rights model of disability. Please provide information on the current terms used in the Russian language in relation to disability and persons with disabilities, and on the plans to adjust these terms to bring them into line with the human rights model of disability enshrined in the Convention.

B.Specific rights of the Convention

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

4.Please provide information on the legal remedies available to persons with disabilities who are subjected to discrimination. Please provide more information on possible sanctions against individuals and officials who are found responsible for violating the rights of persons with disabilities in administrative or criminal proceedings, as referred to in paragraph 54 of the initial report. Please also inform the Committee of the mandate given to the public prosecutor in relation to persons with disabilities who have encountered disability-based discrimination and the number of legal cases that have been initiated.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

5.Please provide information on the number of women with disabilities who have been awarded State support for maternity after ratification of the Convention by the State party. Please provide updated information on the legal framework and measures taken to protect women and girls with disabilities from multiple and intersectional discrimination and all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation.

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

6.Please provide updated information on the progress made by the State party in implementing regional innovative social programmes aimed at improving the lives of children with disabilities and their families, as referred to in paragraph 81 of the initial report.

7.Please provide updated information on plans for the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities. Please also provide information on the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by age, sex and disability, in special schools and residential institutions.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

8.Please provide information on the measures taken to promote the Committee’s general comments No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law, No. 2 (2014) on accessibility, No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities, No. 4 (2016) the right to inclusive education and No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community.

Accessibility (art. 9)

9.Please provide information on the implementation of administrative sanctions for failure to implement the standards on physical accessibility, as referred to in paragraph 105 of the initial report. Please also provide information on the progress achieved in implementing the measures to facilitate access to public spaces for persons with visual and hearing impairments, as referred to in paragraph 110 of the initial report. Please also inform the Committee of the measures taken to ensure accessibility for persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities.

10.Please provide updated information on the progress made in training professionals working with and for persons with disabilities, as referred to in paragraph 106 of the initial report.

11.Please provide information on the progress made by the State party in setting up 112 emergency calls, as referred to in paragraph 108 of the initial report. Please inform the Committee of whether persons with visual or hearing impairments or those with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities are able to access the emergency services using that number.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

12.Please provide updated information on the situation of migrants and refugees with disabilities in the State party.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

13.Please explain in which way the amendments to the Civil Code, referred to in paragraph 127 of the initial report, ensure respect for the rights, will and preferences of persons with disabilities in accordance with article 12 of the Convention.

14.Please explain in which way amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, referred to in paragraph 128 of the initial report, safeguard the legal capacity of citizens with disabilities and their ability to participate in court hearings and make their wishes known.

Access to justice (art. 13)

15.Please clarify whether the training of judges, as referred to in paragraph 147 of the initial report, covers the human rights of persons with disabilities and the Convention.

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

16.Please provide information on the number of persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty, including those in psychiatric institutions, the reasons and legal basis for being deprived of their liberty and whether legal remedies are available to such persons.

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

17.Please provide more information on the types of support services referred to in paragraph 183 of the initial report, and the ways in which persons with disabilities are supported to live where and with whom they want to live, and to be included in their local communities. Please also provide an update on the status of the bill on this issue.

18.Please provide information on the number of persons with disabilities, disaggregated by age, sex and disability, in institutions. Please indicate if the State party foresees any plans for the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities and if it has taken measures to facilitate their transition from institutions into local communities.

Personal mobility (art. 20)

19. In relation to paragraphs 190, 195 and 205 of the initial report, please explain which effective measures have been adopted to provide for adequate incentives and penalties in the event of non-compliance.

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

20.In relation to paragraphs 218-220 and 223 of the initial report concerning access to information, please inform the Committee of the progress made by the State party in adopting the relevant bills, as well as their scopes and legal safeguards in terms of implementation.

Respect for privacy (art. 22)

21.Please provide updated information on the procedures and safeguards for the protection of the right to privacy of persons with disabilities living in institutions.

Respect for home and the family (art. 23)

22.In relation to paragraph 248 of the initial report, please provide updated information on the procedures and current limitations in respect of persons with disabilities adopting children and on the list of “illnesses” that prevent a person from adopting a child or being a guardian to a child, and on the safeguards to ensure that the children of persons with disabilities enjoy the right to grow up in a family environment and the right to family reunification, as referred to in paragraph 259 of the initial report.

Education (art. 24)

23. Please provide information on the Education Act adopted in 2012 (see paragraphs 264 and 271-272 of the initial report) in relation to the recommendations contained in general comment No. 4, with special attention being paid to the rules dealing with the legal safeguards and services provided for children with disabilities in terms of quality inclusive education, and on the standards for adapted general educational programmes mentioned in paragraphs 276-277 of the initial report. In addition, please explain how the State party is enforcing and strengthening the transition to inclusive education and the accessibility of educational settings in the regions, with special regard to the effective implementation of federal legislation.

Health (art. 25) and habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)

24.Please provide updated information on the bill adopted in 2014 concerning accessibility to quality medical services for persons with disabilities, which was referred to in paragraph 295 of the initial report, and on the system of early identification provided for children with disabilities, which was referred to in paragraphs 297 and 320. In addition, please inform the Committee of the steps taken to repeal all aspects of defectology in rehabilitation and habilitation so that they are in accordance with the Convention.

25.Please inform the Committee of the measures taken to provide women with disabilities with sexual and reproductive health services on an equal basis with other women.

Work and employment (art. 27)

26.Please provide information on the implementation of the notion of reasonable accommodation in the workplace, including the denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of discrimination, with legal safeguards available for persons with disabilities and sanctions applicable in cases of non-conformity.

27.Please inform the Committee of the measures taken to provide effective incentives to employers in both the public and private sectors to hire persons with disabilities.

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

28.Please provide updated information on further development of the system of material support to persons with disabilities referred to in paragraph 383 of the initial report.

29.Please provide information on the measures taken to cover the additional costs of disability incurred by persons with disabilities.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

30.Please explain in more detail the restrictions regarding the so-called “dispositive capacity” referred to in paragraph 386 of the initial report and the recommendations and their implementation referred to in paragraph 389.

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

31.Please provide updated information on the bill on enhancing access for persons with disabilities to cultural infrastructure (national and local heritage, museums, theatres and libraries), as referred to in paragraph 394 of the initial report, and on the plans to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, in relation to paragraphs 395 and 407.

32.Please provide updated information on the newly introduced standards concerning access for persons with disabilities to tourism services and facilities, as mentioned in paragraph 402 of the initial report.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31-33)

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

33.Please explain in more detail the conformity of standards and indicators mentioned in paragraphs 433-437, the status and implementation of the provisions in the bill on implementation of the Convention concerning the establishment of a national registry for persons with disabilities, as mentioned in paragraph 435 of the initial report, and what steps have been taken to include the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability in forthcoming censuses and household surveys.

International cooperation (art. 32)

34.Please provide information on the mainstreaming of disability in international development cooperation programmes, particularly those related to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

35.In relation to the bill on implementation of the Convention mentioned in paragraph 466 of the initial report, please provide updated information on whether it has been adopted and on its scope. Please also explain the roles, competencies and safeguards to ensure the independence of the following institutions: the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (para. 460), the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (para. 461), and the Office of the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights (para. 462). Please inform the Committee of the steps taken to establish an independent monitoring mechanism in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles).