Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Concluding observations on the initial report of the Niger *
I.Introduction
1.The Committee considered the initial report of the Niger (CRPD/C/NER/1) at its 437th and 438th meetings (see CRPD/C/SR.437 and 438), held on 12 and 13 March 2019. It adopted the present concluding observations at its 460th meeting, held on 28 March 2019.
2.The Committee welcomes the initial report of the State party, which was prepared in accordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for its written replies (CRPD/C/NER/Q/1/Add.1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee (CRPD/C/NER/Q/1).
3.The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue held with the State party’s delegation and commends the State party for its high-level delegation.
II.Positive aspects
4.The Committee welcomes the incorporation of the Convention into domestic law. It appreciates the adoption of decree No. 2010-638/PCSRD/MP/PF/PE of August 2010 regarding the National Committee for the Advancement of Persons with Disabilities. It welcomes the annual Sukabé meeting, which brings together children of the subregion, including children with disabilities, to take part in recreational, sporting and cultural activities. It appreciates the fact that 5 per cent of vacant positions in the public and private sector are to be filled by persons with disabilities.
III.Principal areas of concern and recommendations
A.General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)
5.The Committee is concerned that:
(a)The concept of disability in several legislative acts and regulations, including the prevention and detection of disability, is not in conformity with the Convention, particularly Act No. 60-36 of 29 July 1960 on the expulsion from school of persons affected by leprosy, article 8 of the electoral code, article 2 of ordinance No. 93-012, and articles 42 and 43 of the draft law on equal opportunities and the reintegration of persons with disabilities;
(b)Terminology referring to persons with disabilities in legislation, regulations and policy documents are derogatory in nature, particularly phrases such as “deaf and dumb”, “deaf-mute”, “cripple”, “infirm, incapable, foolish” in referring to persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities;
(c)There is a lack of effective consultation mechanisms and of the active participation of representative organizations of persons with disabilities, particularly those representing women and children with disabilities and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and a lack of their inclusion in the Sustainable Development Strategy and Inclusive Growth 2035, the priority action plan PDES 2017–2021 and the national strategy for inclusive finance.
6. The Committee recommends that the State p arty:
(a) Revise its legislation and regulations to conform with the human rights model of disability of the Convention, particularly article 8 of the electoral code, articles 42 and 43 of the draft law on equal opportunities and the reintegration of persons with disabilities and Act No. 60 - 36 of 29 July 1960 on the expulsion from school of persons affected by leprosy;
(b) Repeal from its legislation and regulations all derogatory terminology that demeans persons with disabilities;
(c) Establish mechanisms for the participation and consultation of representative organizations of persons with disabilities, including those representing women, youth and children with disabilities and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, including in the Sustainable Development Strategy and Inclusive Growth 2035, the priority action plan PDES 2017–2021, and the national strategy for inclusive finance; and design accessible mechanisms and information about the consultation processes in alternative formats for persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(d) Provide adequate and sustainable financial resources and other necessary support to organizations of persons with disabilities.
B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)
Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)
7.The Committee is concerned about discrimination against persons with disabilities, including in employment and education, particularly against women, children, migrants and refugees with disabilities, and those living in rural areas and, in particular:
(a)The absence of recognition in the legislation of denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of disability-based discrimination and the lack of legislation to protect persons with disabilities against multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination;
(b)The absence of information about legal remedies and compensation for persons with disabilities.
8. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to address discrimination against persons with disabilities, in particular:
(a) Include in national laws the denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of prohibited disability-based discrimination;
(b) Adopt relevant laws, including the draft law on equal opportunities and the reintegration of persons with disabilities, and ensure that they are in line with the Convention and explicitly protect persons with disabilities against multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination;
(c) Provide accessible information for persons with disabilities who are victims of discrimination, to access redress and sanction the perpetrators.
Women with disabilities (art. 6)
9.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The discriminatory laws against women and girls with disabilities, especially regarding marriage and family matters, forced and early marriages, and the lack of a national action plan to combat discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, particularly those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b)The multiple forms of discrimination, marginalization and exclusion of women and girls with disabilities, particularly in public and political life, employment, career development programmes, education, vocational training and health care, including sexual and reproductive health;
(c)The absence of measures to mainstream the rights of women and girls with disabilities in public life, as well as in gender equality, education and employment policies and strategies;
(d)The lack of sufficient awareness-raising campaigns and education programmes, particularly at the family level, to combat stereotypes and prejudices against women and girls with disabilities, and foster respect for their rights.
10. In line with article 6 of the Convention, its general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities and Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt legislative measures, including revising the Quota Act, and ensure equality and non-discrimination for women and girls with disabilities, including regarding marriage and family matters, and protect them from forced and early marriage;
(b) Eliminate multiple and intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, and promote their access to inclusive education, health - care services , including sexual and reproductive health, and their participation in public life and decision-making processes;
(c) Mainstream the rights of women and girls with disabilities in the national gender policy (2008), the national social development policy and all legislation and policies relating to gender equality, conduct awareness-raising campaigns and education programmes regarding their rights and eliminate stereotypes, prejudices and misconceptions about them.
Children with disabilities (art. 7)
11.The Committee is concerned that:
(a)Many children with disabilities are engaged in forced child begging and child labour, including as guides to adults with disabilities;
(b)Children with disabilities lack access to social and health-care services and equal education opportunities, particularly inclusive education, and experience high levels of abuse and violence, including corporal punishment at home, in schools and in residential institutions;
(c)There is a lack of representation of children with disabilities in the national public policy discourse and a lack of opportunities for them to express their views. Measures to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities are also limited.
12. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adhere to the Convention in the implementation of targets 16.2 and 16.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 16;
(b) Adopt legislation and measures for children with disabilities to enjoy their rights and adequately protect them from abuse, violence and exploitation, and sanction perpetrators;
(c) Effectively implement the framework document for the protection of the child (2013), develop a national plan for the care of children with disabilities, mainstream disability rights in strategies and action plans regarding children, prohibit corporal punishment of children with disabilities in all settings and implement awareness-raising campaigns and education, especially in schools and at the community level to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities;
(d) Establish a mechanism to consult children with disabilities through their representative organizations.
Awareness-raising (art. 8)
13.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)Stigmatization, abandonment, exploitation, neglect, harmful practices, prejudices and stereotyping of persons with disabilities in society and in families;
(b)The absence of awareness-raising campaigns and programmes on the rights of persons with disabilities, including those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and the lack of adequate funding for such campaigns and programmes;
(c)The lack of participation of persons with disabilities in awareness-raising campaigns and programmes and in the work of the National Technical Committee for the Advancement of Persons with Disabilities.
14. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake public awareness campaigns and programmes, involving community and religious leaders and the media, aimed at government officials, the public and families, to raise awareness of the Convention and combat stigmatization, abandonment, exploitation, neglect, prejudices and stereotyping of persons with disabilities, as well as harmful practices against persons with disabilities, particularly children and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b) Provide sufficient budgetary allocations for awareness-raising campaigns and programmes on the rights of persons with disabilities, and involve persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations.
Accessibility (art. 9)
15.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of legislation that sets out accessibility standards, including mechanisms to ensure compliance, and the absence of financial resources to support the provision of such standards;
(b)The absence of a national action plan on accessibility and the lack of consultation and participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in developing and monitoring an accessibility plan;
(c)The absence of information about accessibility to public transport particularly in rural areas, and the lack of accessibility to information and communication technologies, for persons with disabilities.
16. The Committee recommends that in line with the Committee ’ s general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility, the State party:
(a) Develop a national action plan and policies for accessibility and services for persons with disabilities and a road map for removing existing barriers, with a concrete time frame and a monitoring mechanism, paying particular attention to the communication and technology-related requirements of persons with disabilities, persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and persons who are blind or visually impaired, or deaf or hard of hearing;
(b) Ensure the allocation of sufficient resources, sanctions for non-compliance and obligatory accessibility standards for public procurement;
(c) Ensure consultation with and the participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the development of any accessibility plan;
(d) Adhere to article 9 of the Convention in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 11 and targets 11.2 and 11.7 to provide access to safe, affordable, inclusive, accessible and sustainable transport systems and public spaces for persons with disabilities.
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)
17.The Committee is concerned about the absence of a coordinating body for responding to risk and national disasters that adequately incorporates persons with disabilities. It is concerned about the lack of information on how humanitarian aid is made accessible to persons with disabilities, including information on emergencies, evacuation systems, transport and shelters.
18. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure the full inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in designing the national emergency management system plan and adopt a comprehensive emergency and disaster risk reduction strategy that is fully inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities in all situations of risk, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)
19.The Committee is concerned that:
(a)Certain national laws are discriminatory in nature, including articles 489 to 512 of the Civil Code, and deprive persons with disabilities, in particular persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, of their legal capacity;
(b)There is a lack of supported decision-making regimes for persons with disabilities that respect their will and preferences.
20. The Committee recommends that in line with the Committee ’ s general comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law, the State party:
(a) Repeal the provisions of the Civil Code, including articles 489 to 512, that restrict the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, especially persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b) Develop supported decision-making mechanisms for persons with disabilities that respect their autonomy, rights, will and preferences;
(c) Design capacity-building and awareness-raising programmes in consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities and with persons with disabilities, their families and community members, including public officials, the judiciary and the legislature, about the right to equal recognition before the law of persons with disabilities, the supported decision-making regime and the legal capacity of persons with disabilities.
Access to justice (art. 13)
21.The Committee is concerned about the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing justice, including the inaccessibility of judicial premises, the lack of procedural accommodation, especially the absence of professional sign language interpreters, Braille and easy read materials.
22. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adhere to article 13 of the Conve ntion in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 16, particularly target 16.3;
(b) Provide procedural accommodation for persons with disabilities through the support of the National Agency for Legal and Judicial Assistance and provide the necessary budgetary allocation to the Agency;
(c) Ensure that sufficient professional and certified sign language interpreters are available within the judicial system and that documents are provided in accessible formats for the participation of persons with disabilities in all judicial and administrative proceedings;
(d) Conduct training and awareness-raising programmes for the judiciary and law enforcement officials, including the police and prison officials, on access to justice for persons with disabilities;
(e) Support and empower persons with disabilities to work in the justice system, on an equal basis with others, through the provision of reasonable accommodation.
Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)
23.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The deprivation of liberty of persons with disabilities without their free and informed consent, including in hospitals, institutions, family settings and psychiatric institutions, often in inhuman and degrading conditions and the involuntary and non-consensual commitment of persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b)The absence of monitoring of the conditions of persons with disabilities in institutions and other places of detention.
24. The Committee recommends that the State party, guided by the Committee ’ s guidelines on article 14 (2015):
(a) Bring its laws and policies into line with article 14 of the Convention by ensuring that persons with disabilities, particularly persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, are not deprived of their liberty on the ground of disability and guarantee access to justice and remedies for persons with disabilities who have been deprived of their liberty;
(b) Protect the rights of persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty, particularly persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, in all mental health facilities and take measures to improve the quality of care in such facilities;
(c) Involve persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in monitoring all places where persons with disabilities may be detained, and provide training to mental health professionals and law enforcement and prison officials on the rights of persons with disabilities in mental health facilities, prisons and detention centres.
Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 15)
25.The Committee is concerned about the continued practice of female genital mutilation among girls and women with disabilities and the lack of measures to prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons with disabilities, including medical experimentation without the person’s free and informed consent.
26. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt measures to protect persons with disabilities, particularly women with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities from torture and other cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, including female genital mutilation and provide legal advice, counselling and compensation to victims;
(b) Protect persons with disabilities from medical experimentation and ensure that the conduct of such experimentation is conditional on their free and informed consent;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities through their representative organizations are consulted on the development of a strategy for the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art. 16)
27.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)Violence and abuse against persons with disabilities, particularly persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, domestic violence, gender-based violence, sexual violence against women, girls and children with disabilities in institutions and the absence of measures for compensation and accessible services for their recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration;
(b)The lack of training of families, caregivers, health personnel and law enforcement officials, regarding the identification of and response to exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities, particularly women, children and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(c)The lack of disaggregated data on violence and abuse committed in hospitals, particularly psychiatric institutions and places of detention.
28. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure that persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities who are victims of gender-based violence and abuse, have access to complaint mechanisms and compensation, and to services and information, including hotlines, shelters, victim support services and counselling, and sanction the perpetrators;
(b) Provide training for families, caregivers, health personnel and law enforcement officials regarding the identification of and response to exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities, and communicate and work effectively with the victims;
(c) Set up an independent mechanism to prevent violence and abuse against persons with disabilities, particularly against persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and monitor facilities and programmes designed to serve persons with disabilities, in line with article 16 (3) of the Convention.
Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)
29.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The sterilization of persons with disabilities without their free and informed consent, especially women and girls with disabilities and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, in health centres and hospitals and through traditional healers;
(b)The lack of protection of persons with disabilities, especially those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, against forced medical treatments and the use of drugs and treatment methods on patients with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities without their free and informed consent.
30. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Strengthen the legal and policy provisions protecting persons with disabilities from forced sterilization, especially women and girls with disabilities, persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and those still deprived of their legal capacity, prosecute and sanction the perpetrators and provide remedies to victims;
(b) Adopt the necessary legislative and policy measures to ensure that all medical treatment and interventions are done on the basis of the free and informed consent of persons with disabilities;
(c) Provide training to all health practitioners, including traditional healers, on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Living independently and being included in the community (art. 19)
31.The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the availability of accessible independent living support services in the community and ways to claim such assistance, the inaccessibility of such services in rural areas and for migrants and refugees with disabilities, and the absence of home and community-based care for children with disabilities, especially in rural areas.
32. The Committee recommends that in light of the Committee ’ s general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community, the State party:
(a) Adopt measures to promote the rights of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community and systematically provide information in accessible formats to persons with disabilities and their families, including refugees and migrants with disabilities, on how to access independent living support services and assistance, in particular in rural areas;
(b) Ensure accessibility to community services and facilities by all persons with disabilities in all areas of life, as well as home and community-based care for children with disabilities, particularly in rural areas.
Personal mobility (art. 20)
33.The Committee is concerned about the absence of a policy on mobility for persons with disabilities and the lack of trained personnel to impart mobility skills to persons who are blind or visually impaired.
34. The Committee recommends that the State party develop a policy on mobility, in consultation with representative organizations of persons with disabilities, that addresses the mobility requirements of persons with disabilities, including the acquisition of mobility devices at affordable cost, and train the necessary personnel to impart mobility skills to persons who are blind or visually impaired.
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (art. 21)
35.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The absence of a national sign language, the absence of information in accessible formats for persons with disabilities, including Braille, sign language and easy read, and the lack of teachers trained in the use of such accessible means and formats;
(b)The low level of information provided to persons with disabilities in the electronic media and the lack of accessible websites for persons with disabilities.
36. The Commi ttee recommends that the State p arty:
(a) Support deaf persons and their representative organizations to develop a national sign language and recognize it as an official language, and establish a pool of qualified sign language interpreters and teachers in tactile signing, Braille and easy read formats;
(b) Adopt appropriate legislation and measures to ensure that website owners and designers make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities, especially for blind or visually impaired persons, and ensure that television stations provide news and programmes in accessible formats, especially for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Respect for home and the family (art. 23)
37.The Committee is concerned about the lack of measures to ensure the right to marry and have a family for persons with disabilities, including those placed under guardianship, the lack of information in accessible formats on the right to marry and on sexual and reproductive health, and the lack of support services to protect the parental rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities.
38. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt legislative measures to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in marriage and family matters, especially persons with disabilities placed under guardianship, women and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b) Ensure that information is provided in accessible formats to persons with disabilities on the right to marry and have a family, including information on sexual and reproductive health;
(c) Protect the parental rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities and ensure that parents of children with disabilities are provided with adequate information, awareness, support and training to allow them to raise their children in a family setting.
Education (art. 24)
39.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The prevalence of segregated special education settings for children with disabilities, the low enrolment of children with disabilities in mainstream education with individualized support, particularly girls and children with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, negative societal attitudes towards children with disabilities attending regular schools, and the poor level of education provided to children who are blind or visually impaired and deaf or hard of hearing, and those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities;
(b)The lack of budget allocations for inclusive education, the insufficiency of specialists trained on inclusive education, the inaccessibility of school infrastructures and the lack of transport facilities for students with disabilities, particularly in rural areas;
(c)The lack of involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the sector programme for education and training (PSEF 2014–2024) and the insufficient awareness of parents and communities of the right of children with disabilities to inclusive education.
40. In line with its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education, the Commi ttee recommends that the State p arty:
(a) Adopt a national action plan on inclusive education, with sufficient budgetary allocations, for children with disabilities, especially girls and children with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and undertake information campaigns in accessible formats, to promote the enrolment in education of all persons with disabilities;
(b) Provide training for teachers and non-teaching education personnel on inclusive educa tion, including sign language;
(c) Involve persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the implementation of the sector programme f or education and training (PSEF 2014–2024) and all education policies, in accordance with article 4 (3) of the Convention;
(d) Pay attention to the links between article 24 of the Convention and targets 4.5 and 4 (a) of Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training, and build or upgrade education facilities that are disability-sensitive and safe.
Health (art. 25)
41.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of accessibility of hospitals and health centres for persons with disabilities, particularly persons with physical disabilities, insufficient access to quality health care, especially for persons with disabilities in rural areas, the lack of training for health professionals on the human rights of persons with disabilities and the lack of professional sign language interpreters;
(b)The lack of information in accessible formats, including Braille, sign language and easy read format, for persons with disabilities, particularly women, girls and young persons, regarding health services and educational programmes concerning sexual and reproductive health rights, HIV/AIDS prevention and their right to free and informed consent;
(c)The fact that persons with albinism are at a high risk of skin cancer owing to inadequate health-care services and products, including sunscreens.
42. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure quality health-care services for persons with disabilities, including in rural areas, particularly for women and girls with disabilities and migrants and refugees with disabilities, and make hospitals and health centres physically accessible to persons with disabilities;
(b) Provide information in accessible formats for persons with disabilities, including in Braille, sign language and easy read format, regarding health services, educational programmes, their right to free and informed consent and to sexual and reproductive health;
(c) Integrate a human rights-based approach to disability into the training curriculum of all health professionals, emphasizing that all persons with disabilities have the right to free, prior and informed consent;
(d) Provide adequate health-care services and products to persons with albinism, including sunscreens;
(e) Pay attention to the links between article 25 and target 7 of Sustainable Development Goal 3, to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services.
Work and employment (art. 27)
43.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of incentives to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and the denial of reasonable accommodation in the workplace;
(b)Discrimination owing to prejudice against persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities, in the area of employment and their limited employment in the open labour market;
(c)The absence of disaggregated statistical data on persons with disabilities who are currently employed.
44. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt a strategy for the employment of persons with disabilities in the private and public sectors, including women, in line with target 8.5 of Sustainable Development Goal 8, taking into account migrant workers with disabilities;
(b) Adopt laws and policies to eliminate intersectional discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, including by ensuring the provision of reasonable accommodation, and provide training to employers on reasonable accommodation;
(c) Strengthen data collection on the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market, disaggregated by age, sex, the type of barriers encountered and geographical location, and implement affirmative action and incentives to employers.
Adequate standard of living and social protection (art. 28)
45.The Committee is concerned by the limited budget allocated for the social protection of persons with disabilities, including women, the lack of State subsidies for persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and the absence of poverty reduction schemes for persons with disabilities. It is further concerned that persons with albinism live in poverty with almost no access to basic social services, particularly in the areas of education, employment and health.
46. The Committee rec ommends that the State p arty adhere to the Convention in the implementation of targets 1.3 and 1.4 of Sustainable Development Goal 1 and:
(a) Establish social protection and poverty reduction schemes with adequate budgetary allocations to guarantee an adequate standard of living for persons with disabilities, particularly those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and persons with albinism, and provide them with allowances to meet their disability-related expenses;
(b) Pay attention to the links between article 28 of the Convention and target 10.2 of Sustainable Development Goal 10 to empower and promote the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Participation in political and public life (art. 29)
47.The Committee is concerned about the denial of the right to vote for certain categories of persons with disabilities, particularly persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and those deprived of their legal capacity, and the lack of access to polling centres, electoral materials and information in accessible formats.
48. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Repeal or amend legislation that denies persons with disabilities the right to vote;
(b) Ensure that they are able to access secret ballots, election materials and polling stations;
(c) Provide information in accessible formats;
(d) Guarantee voter education and voter registration processes;
(e) Raise awareness of the electoral process for persons with disabilities, including those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and ensure that those who receive assistance at the polling station can cast their vote in an independent and secret manner.
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (art. 30)
49.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of accessibility of sporting, recreation and cultural centres for persons with disabilities and the lack of financial resources for persons with disabilities to engage in such activities;
(b)The fact that the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled is not yet ratified.
50. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt measures to ensure that all sports, recreational and cultural facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities, including persons with physical disabilities, blind and visually impaired persons and persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, and provide budgetary allocations to ensure that they participate actively in such activities;
(b) Ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty.
C.Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)
Statistics and data collection (art. 31)
51.The Committee is concerned about the limited data and analysis on the situation of persons with disabilities, the lack of meaningful consultation with them and their lack of participation, through their representative organizations, in the elaboration of the questionnaire for the next general population census.
52. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Collaborate with representative organizations of persons with disabilities to strengthen data collection and analysis on the situation of persons with disabilities;
(b) Consider using the Washington Group short set of questions on disability for data collection and adhere to article 31 of the Convention in implementing target 17.18 of Sustainable Development Goal 17 to increase the availability of high-quality and reliable disaggregated data.
International cooperation (art. 32)
53.The Committee is concerned about the lack of meaningful participation of representative organizations of persons with disabilities in development programmes financed through international cooperation and that a disability perspective is not sufficiently mainstreamed in the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
54. The Commi ttee recommends that the State p arty:
(a) Adhere to the rights enshrined in the Convention in the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensure that persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations , are fully consulted and participate effectively in the design and implementation of inter national cooperation programmes;
(b) Consider ratifying the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People ’ s Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa, recently adopted by the African Union.
National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)
55.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of focal points with sufficient mandates and financial resources to implement the Convention;
(b)The limited effectiveness of the Monitoring Committee to monitor the implementation of the Convention and the lack of an independent mechanism that takes into account the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) to monitor the implementation of the Convention with sufficient budgetary allocation;
(c)The lack of participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the monitoring of the Convention.
56. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Designate one or more focal points within Government for matters relating to the implementation of the Convention;
(b) Establish an independent mechanism with sufficient budgetary allocation to monitor the implementation of the Convention, taking into account the Paris Principles;
(c) Ensure the participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations in the monitoring process.
Cooperation and technical assistance
57.Under article 37 of the Convention, the Committee can provide technical guidance to the State party on any queries addressed to the experts via the secretariat. The State party can also seek technical assistance from United Nations specialized agencies with offices in the country or the region.
IV.Follow-up and dissemination
Dissemination of information
58. The Committee emphasizes the importance of all the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations and would like to draw the attention of the State party to the recommendations contained in paragraphs 10 (women with disabilities) and 12 (children with disabilities), on which urgent measures must be taken.
59. The Committee requests the State party to implement the recommendations contained in the present con cluding 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, and to local authorities, the private sector and the media, using modern social communication strategies.
60. 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.
61. The Committee requests that the State party disseminate the present concluding observations widely, including to non-governmental organizations and organizations of persons with disabilities, and to persons with disabilities themselves and members of their families, in national and minority languages, including sign language, and in accessible formats, and to make them available on the government website on human rights.
Next periodic report
62. The Committee requests the State party to submit its combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic reports by 24 July 2026 and to include therein information on the implementation of the present concluding observations. The Committee invites 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 combined reports of a State party. The replies of a State party to such a list of issues constitute its report.