Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Concluding observations on the initial report of Greece *
I.Introduction
1.The Committee considered the initial report of Greece (CRPD/C/GRC/1 and Corr.1) at its 487th and 488th meetings (see CRPD/C/SR.487 and 488), held on 3 and 4 September 2019. It adopted the present concluding observations at its 506th meeting, held on 18 September 2019.
2.The Committee welcomes the initial report of Greece, which was prepared in accordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for its written replies (CRPD/C/GRC/Q/1/Add.1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee (CRPD/C/GRC/Q/1).
3. The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue held during the consideration of the report and commends the State party for the strength of its high-level delegation and its sincere efforts to give comprehensive answers to complex questions.
II.Positive aspects
4. The Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s heightened attention to the implementation of the Convention in the most recent past, its efforts to give effect to the standards of the Convention through considerable legislative reforms, putting in place a new legislative framework and mechanisms in challenging circumstances and with considerable resource constraints. It values the State party’s measures to render public transport in Athens and other major cities accessible and the preservation of the nominal level of disability allowances during the economic and financial crisis.
III.Principal areas of concern and recommendations
A.General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)
5.The Committee is concerned about the lack of a harmonized human rights-based approach to disability in the legislation of the State party and that the existing legislative framework, including the disability assessment mechanism, still comprises elements associated with the medical model of disability and contains derogatory language in reference to persons with disabilities. It is also concerned about the lack of a coherent and long-term strategy for the effective implementation of the Convention.
6. The Committee recommends that the State party, in close consultation with and the active involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities:
(a) Harmonize its legal and administrative framework on disability, including the disability assessment mechanism, by fully integrating the human rights model of disability in its laws, regulations and practices across all levels of government and territories, in line with the Convention;
(b) Develop a comprehensive, coherent and long-term national strategy and action plan for the implementation of the Convention, with clear timelines, benchmarks and budget allocations;
(c) Eliminate from its legislation derogatory language in reference to persons with disabilities.
B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)
Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)
7.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of a comprehensive legislative framework guaranteeing equal treatment and protection from discrimination, including the provision of specific measures and individualized support, and protection from the denial of reasonable accommodation, particularly in such key sectors as education, social protection and the provision of goods and services;
(b)The lack of effective implementation of the existing standards on equality and non-discrimination, including provision of specific measures and individualized support, particularly in the areas of education for children with disabilities and protection of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities;
(c)The delay in the adoption of secondary legislation based on Law No. 4488/2017 (art. 74) extending protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability in the fields of education and the provision of goods and services.
8. Recalling its general comment No. 6 (2018) on equality and non-discrimination, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Take legislative measures to ensure protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability, including to provide for specific measures, individualized support and protection from the denial of reasonable accommodation in all areas of life, in line with the Convention;
(b) Improve the implementation of standards on specific measures and individualized support in the public and private sectors, particularly in schools and in relation to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities;
(c) Adopt the secondary legislation required under article 74 of Law No. 4488/2017 to guarantee equal treatment and prohibit discrimination of persons with disabilities in the areas of education and the provision of goods and services;
(d) Take into account article 5 of the Convention in the implementation of targets 10.2 and 10.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Women with disabilities (art. 6)
9.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of a comprehensive gender equality policy and strategy and of specific legislation containing concrete measures and timelines to address multiple and intersectional discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities, including Roma women and girls with disabilities;
(b)The lack of information about the implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender Equality 2016–2020 and the results achieved in relation towomen and girls with disabilities, and about measures taken to promote the participation of women with disabilities in all decision-making processes.
10. 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) Adopt an effective policy and strategy containing the necessary mechanisms to ensure the full protection of women and girls with disabilities against discrimination and to ensure the enjoyment of their rights, in line with the Convention;
(b) Incorporate a disability perspective into all gender-equality policies and programmes , in all areas of life, and promote the effective participation of women with disabilities in all decision-making processes;
(c) Take effective measures to prevent and combat multiple and intersectional discrimination and gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities, including Roma women and girls with disabilities.
Children with disabilities (art. 7)
11.The Committee is concerned about:
(a) The protracted nature of the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities;
(b) The scarcity of available information on accessible mechanisms and concrete measures taken to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy their right to be heard and to have their views taken into account in all matters affecting them.
12. The Committee recommends that the State party give primary consideration to the best interests of the child and:
(a) Ensure the expeditious deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities and take effective measures to guarantee their right to be cared for by their parents, extended family, safe foster or adoptive family; provide children with disabilities with quality early intervention, as well as other health-care and educational services, equally available in all urban and rural areas, endowed with sufficient resources, and designed in close consultation with and the active involvement of children with disabilities and their parents, through their representative organizations;
(b) Develop a comprehensive strategy and accessible services for the full and effective participation of children with disabilities in all decision-making processes affecting their lives, guaranteeing their right to have their views taken into account in all matters affecting them.
Accessibility (art. 9)
13.The Committee is concerned about:
(a) The slow progress being made in the implementation of the existing legal framework on accessibility, including the delay in the adoption of the relevant secondary legislation, in particular the secondary legislation provided for under Laws No. 4030/2011 and No. 4067/2012 in relation to the accessibility study for the issuance of building permits and the adaptation of existing buildings. It is also concerned about the delay in the establishment of the necessary implementing mechanisms, in particular the accessibility committees provided for in Law No. 4495/2017;
(b) The absence of a national strategy on the implementation of accessibility standards governing the built environment, goods and services, including transport, media and information and communication services, in both the public and the private sectors.
14. The Committee recommends that the State party, in light of its general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility and taking into account Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 11, particularly targets 11.2 and 11.7:
(a) Adopt the necessary legal and other measures, including the adoption of regulations and a comprehensive national action plan and long-term strategy on accessibility with sufficient budget allocations, concrete deadlines and an effective monitoring mechanism, in close consultation and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative organizations;
(b) Take the necessary measures to guarantee the accessibility of the built environment, goods and services, particularly the transport system in urban and rural areas, public and social media, and provide training to service providers, engineers, architects and urban planners on accessibility issues faced by persons with disabilities.
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)
15.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of standards governing the administration and services provided for persons with disabilities in general situations of risk and in refugee and asylum processes, and the compliance of the current risk management practices with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;
(b)The insufficient measures taken to identify asylum seekers with disabilities, refugees with disabilities and persons with disabilities who are in refugee-like situations who are arriving in the State party, to ensure their access to health care, adequate accommodation, basic facilities, security and safety, and to take specific measures and provide for individualized support, such as personal assistance, particularly for women and children with disabilities.
16. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt effective asylum and refugee processes and develop a comprehensive strategy and protocols for general emergency risk situations, in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030. It also recommends that the State party render reception facilities accessible and provide the necessary health-care services, in line with the Committee’s general comment No. 2, in close consultation with and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative organizations;
(b) Immediately ensure that the vulnerability assessment of persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, who are refugees, asylum seekers and persons in refugee-like situations be carried out systematically upon their arrival in the State party by trained personnel and on the basis of the human rights model of disability and of specific guidelines for the identification of persons with disabilities;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, who are refugees, asylum seekers and persons in refugee-like situations, have access to social protection, assistive technologies, information and adequate services, particularly safe shelter, sanitation and medical care through, inter alia, the provision of individualized support; immediately guarantee that conditions in reception facilities respect the dignity of persons with disabilities, particularly children, who are refugees, asylum seekers or persons in refugee-like situations; and provide for their regular transfer to the mainland.
Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)
17.The Committee is concerned about the lack of measures taken to abolish the denial or restriction of legal capacity, and to ensure that supported decision-making measures are available for persons with disabilities. It is also concerned about the practical obstacles faced by persons with disabilities when exercising their legal capacity due to, inter alia, the absence of specific guidelines and the shortage of officials and service providers trained in the provision of the necessary support to persons with disabilities in decision-making.
18. Recalling its general comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law, the Committee recommends that the State party bring its legislation into line with the Convention, replacing substituted decision-making, including judicial support mechanisms, with supported decision-making regimes that respect the person’s autonomy, will and preferences. It also recommends that the State party take all other appropriate measures to guarantee access by persons with disabilities to the support required to ensure their right to equal recognition before the law and to exercise their legal capacity, including training of officials and service providers across all sectors.
Access to justice (art. 13)
19.The Committee is concerned that:
(a)Court buildings are not fully accessible to persons with disabilities, and that there are insufficient accessible legal services and legal information, including in Braille, Easy Read formats and sign language;
(b)Procedural accommodations are not fully ensured at all stages of civil, criminal and administrative proceedings, particularly the provision of translation and interpretation for persons with hearing and speech disabilities.
20. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure effective access to justice without any discrimination, with an effective monitoring mechanism. It also recommends that the State party ensure effective access to legal services and legal aid, cost-free assistive technologies and quality translation and interpretation in sign language, Braille and other alternative formats, provided free of charge at all stages of civil, criminal and administrative proceedings. It further recommends that the State party continue to provide adequate training on the rights of persons with disabilities to judges, lawyers and law enforcement officials, progressively strengthening its efforts in this area, and to take into account article 13 of the Convention while implementing target 16.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)
21.The Committee is concerned about discriminatory legal provisions, including in Law No. 2071/1992, and the corresponding practice of involuntary hospitalization and deprivation of liberty of persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, as highlighted in the Greek Ombudsman’s report of July 2019, and about the use of coercive methods, such as mechanical restraints on persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities.
22. In line with its guidelines on the right to liberty and security of persons with disabilities (A/72/55, annex I), the Committee urges the State party to repeal all laws allowing for the involuntary deprivation of liberty on the basis of impairment, end the use of forced treatment, restraints and coercive methods, and provide effective remedies for persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty on the basis of impairment.
23. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party be guided by its obligations under article 14 of the Convention, and consequently oppose the adoption of the draft 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, entitled “The protection of human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorder with regard to involuntary placement and involuntary treatment” in its current form.
Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 15)
24.The Committee is concerned about:
(a) Overcrowding and instances of unrecorded injuries of persons with disabilities in psychiatric facilities, and the lack of information on legal safeguards and monitoring mechanisms in relation to care and treatment for persons with disabilities in facilities of any kind;
(b) The absence of a framework to provide the necessary specific measures and individualized support to prisoners and detainees with disabilities to satisfy their daily requirements in conditions ensuring respect for their dignity;
(c) Reception and detention conditions for persons with disabilities who are refugees, asylum seekers or persons in refugee-like situations (see also CAT/C/GRC/CO/7, paras. 20–21), including detention conditions pending removal to the country of origin under Law No. 3907/2011.
25. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to ensure that the living conditions of persons with disabilities in institutions and facilities of any kind, including reception and detention centres for refugees, asylum seekers and persons in refugee-like situations, respect the dignity of persons with disabilities and comply with the provisions of article 15 of the Convention. It also recommends that the State party provide specific measures and individualized support to prisoners and detainees with disabilities to meet their daily requirements. It further recommends that the State party reinforce and implement safeguards against and mechanisms for monitoring ill-treatment in institutions and facilities where persons with disabilities are held, ensuring, inter alia, that injuries sustained by persons with disabilities in such institutions and facilities are systemically recorded and brought to the attention of the competent monitoring authorities.
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art. 16)
26.The Committee is concerned that there are insufficient measures to detect, prevent and combat domestic violence against and sexual exploitation of persons with disabilities, particularly women and children with disabilities.
27. The Committee recommends that the State party implement an effective framework to prevent violence, particularly domestic violence and sexual exploitation, against persons with disabilities, especially women and children with disabilities. It also recommends that the State party provide specific training to law enforcement authorities, medical personnel and social workers on methods to detect and address violence against and sexual exploitation of persons with disabilities. The Committee further recommends that the State party develop an action plan to implement the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, with a special focus on women and children with disabilities.
Living independently and being included in the community (art. 19)
28.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The lack of information provided to the Committee about in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance, and effective measures for the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, including for the support of independent living and inclusion in the community, in particular under the supported living scheme. It is also concerned about the lack of disaggregated data on the number of persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities, still living in institutions;
(b)The lack of information on legal, administrative and financial measures to ensure the equal right of persons with disabilities to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live.
29. The Committee recommends that, in line with its general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community, the State party:
(a) Adopt a comprehensive national strategy with clear time-bound measures and sufficient funds for effective deinstitutionalization at all levels;
(b) Ensure the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative organizations in the development of independent living strategies and schemes that provide accessible community-based services, especially at the local level.
Personal mobility (art. 20)
30.The Committee is concerned about the lack of a transparent system for granting transport benefits and ensuring the mobility of persons with disabilities without any discrimination. It is particularly concerned about the limited and impeded access to parking space and reported instances of denial of exemption from fees and taxes for vehicles of persons with disabilities owing, inter alia, to the requirement for certification of lifelong disability under the current secondary legislation.
31. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to improve the system of personal mobility support, ensuring its transparency and the equal access of all persons with disabilities to benefits and means facilitating their personal mobility. It also recommends that the State party provide specific training in mobility skills for persons with disabilities and specialized staff working with them.
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (art. 21)
32.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing information, particularly in the public sector, owing, inter alia, to the lack of documents in accessible formats and the lack of sign language interpretation;
(b)Insufficient information on national action plans or long-term strategies to improve the accessibility of persons with disabilities to information, including audiovisual media services and the Internet, by, inter alia, providing sign language interpretation, captioning and documentation in Braille and Easy Read formats.
33. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that providers of services to the public, particularly public broadcasters, telecommunications operators and public libraries, progressively provide information for person s with disabilities in accessible formats, such as sign language, Braille, Easy Read formats and captioning, based on an established and monitored action plan. It also recommends that the State party adopt effective measures to facilitate the use of sign language, Easy Read formats and Braille, with the active involvement of the relevant organizations of persons with disabilities.
Education (art. 24)
34.The Committee is concerned that:
(a)There is no comprehensive, clear legislation or strategy on, or allocation of funds to, inclusive education, particularly with regard to lifelong learning;
(b)Schools and universities lack accessible and inclusive environments, buildings, educational material, services, equipment, information and communication technologies, as well as individualized support provided to students with disabilities;
(c)The access of Roma children with disabilities and refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children with disabilities to education is severely limited;
(d)There is insufficient data on the amount of public resources allocated for inclusive education in mainstream schools and higher education institutions, on regulated transparent protocols relating to individual education plans, and on relevant technologies and forms of communication to ensure accessibility for students with disabilities at all levels of education.
35. Recalling its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education, and taking into account Sustainable Development Goal 4, especially targets 4.5 and 4.a, the Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to guarantee inclusive education, and in particular that it:
(a) Adopt and implement a coherent strategy on inclusive education in the mainstream educational system;
(b) Ensure the accessibility of school and university environments, in line with the Convention, by promoting universal design, the provision of specific measures and individualized support, such as accessible and adapted materials, inclusive curricula, inclusive information and communication technologies for pupils and students with disabilities, and digital pedagogy;
(c) Immediately ensure access to formal education for all refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children with disabilities, and for Roma children with disabilities;
(d) Allocate effective and sufficient financial and material resources and adequately and regularly trained personnel, including persons with disabilities, to effectively guarantee inclusive education;
(e) Incorporate inclusive education training into higher education curricula for trainee teachers, and into training programmes for current teaching staff, with an adequate budget.
Health (art. 25)
36.The Committee is concerned about:
(a) The insufficient access of persons with disabilities to health service facilities and medical equipment;
(b) The insufficient measures taken to effectively guarantee persons with disabilities, particularly older persons with disabilities and women and girls with disabilities, access to comprehensive health-care services (see also the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, following her visit to Greece from 25 to 29 June 2018, para. 117), including sexual and reproductive health services, on an equal basis with others.
37. The Committee recommends that, taking into account targets 3.7 and 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the State party:
(a) Put in place a stable, continuous, long-term strategy containing effective and harmonized measures to guarantee persons with disabilities access to health services;
(b) Effectively monitor the implementation of the provision of health services by health service providers to persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. The Committee also recommends that the State party render health facilities, equipment and instruments accessible, particularly to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have access to sexual and reproductive health services in urban and rural areas.
Work and employment (art. 27)
38.The Committee is concerned about:
(a)The high level of unemployment among persons with disabilities and the insufficient efforts to ensure their inclusion in the open labour market, particularly with regard to women with disabilities;
(b) The lack of effective measures to improve and facilitate the provision of specific measures and individualized support in the workplace and of more effective and accessible services for persons with disabilities seeking employment.
39. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, in the open labour market, with a view to achieving target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals. It also recommends that the State party ensure the provision of specific measures and individualized support in the workplace; promote among employers the right of persons with disabilities to employment on an equal basis with others; and mainstream the disability dimension in all employment policies, measures and programmes , including in the policy design of the Greek Manpower Employment Organization.
Adequate standard of living and social protection (art. 28)
40.The Committee is concerned that the rights of persons with disabilities under article 28 of the Convention have been negatively affected by, inter alia:
(a) The changes in the insurance legislation and the disability certification system;
(b) The incoherence of the domestic legislation regarding the exclusion of welfare allowances on the grounds of disability from taxable income, as well as their insufficient protection from seizure;
(c) Reported instances of unequal treatment in the distribution of welfare allowances to persons with disabilities.
41. The Committee recommends that the State party revise the relevant legal provisions and practices on welfare allowances, benefits, pensions and tax exemptions for persons with disabilities, harmonizing the existing rules and repealing discriminatory rules and practices, including in the disability certification system. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure the effective implementation of the existing social protection framework, and progressively develop further measures to ensure an adequate standard of living for persons with disabilities.
Participation in political and public life (art. 29)
42.The Committee is concerned that persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities subject to judicial support are deprived of their right to vote. It is also concerned about the lack of accessibility of voting procedures, facilities and materials.
43. The Committee recommends that the State party revise the relevant voting framework, including laws, rules of procedure and support mechanisms, to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life and exercise their right to vote, inter alia, by guaranteeing unhindered physical access to voting, ensuring the secrecy of the ballot and the availability of other voting materials and information in accessible formats in line with general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility.
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (art. 30)
44.The Committee is concerned that persons with disabilities face barriers in their participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport on an equal basis with others due to, inter alia, the limited access to cultural materials and activities in accessible formats, cultural performances and services, sporting activities, monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
45. The Committee recommends that the State party take all steps necessary to provide and promote inclusive and accessible facilities for recreational, leisure and sporting activities, guaranteeing equal access and ensuring the participation of persons with disabilities, particularly children with disabilities. It encourages the State party to adopt all appropriate measures to ensure the effective implementation at the national level of the relevant European Union legislation enacted following the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.
C.Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)
Statistics and data collection (art. 31)
46.The Committee is concerned that data collection on persons with disabilities in the State party, such as the 2019 health survey and the national register of beneficiaries of social and welfare allowances, is based mainly on the medical model of disability and is fragmented, unsystematic, incomplete and not entirely adequate in order to understand the situation of persons with disabilities with a view to developing effective public policies. The Committee is also concerned that the State party has not adopted the methodology of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability.
47. Taking into consideration target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party develop a comprehensive data collection and reporting system in line with the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party systematically collect, analyse and disseminate data on persons with disabilities, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity, type of impairment, socioeconomic status, employment and place of residence, as well as on the barriers that persons with disabilities face in society, relying on the methodology of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability.
National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)
48.The Committee is concerned about:
(a) The lack of information on the effective operation of the national implementation and monitoring framework established under article 33 of the Convention;
(b) The insufficient level of involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the monitoring process;
(c) The absence of transparent and adequate financial support for organizations of persons with disabilities, including the lack of support for their participation ahead of the State party’s review, such as submitting alternative reports.
49. In line with the Convention and the guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their participation in the work of the Committee (CRPD/C/1/Rev.1, annex), the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its national monitoring and implementation framework, ensure its effective operation and interoperability between the competent structures involved, on the basis of transparent procedures and with the full participation of organizations of persons with disabilities. It encourages the State party to appoint the Greek National Commission for Human Rights as part of the independent monitoring framework under article 33 of the Convention. In light of its 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, the Committee also recommends that the State party ensure the provision of appropriate resources for organizations of persons with disabilities, including support through independent and self-managed funding, to take part in the independent monitoring frameworks tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention.
IV.Follow-up
Dissemination of information
50. 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 recommendations contained in paragraphs 16 (b) and (c), on vulnerability assessment and conditions in reception facilities for persons with disabilities who are refugees, asylum seekers and persons in refugee-like situations; 35 (c), on ensuring access of all refugee, asylum-seeking, migrant and Roma children with disabilities to formal education; and 22, on involuntary deprivation of liberty based on impairment.
51. 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.
52. 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.
53. The Committee requests the State party to 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
54. The Committee requests the State party to submit its combined second, third and fourth periodic reports by 31 June 2026 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.