Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Twenty-third session

9–27 March 2020

Item 5 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports submitted by parties to the Convention under article 35

Replies of Estonia to the list of issues in relation to its initial report *

[Date received: 10 December 2019]

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

Reply to paragraph 1 (a) and (b) of the list of issues CRPD/C/EST/Q/1

1.Advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in line with the principles of the Convention is mainstreamed into several development plans and strategies, the most relevant of them being the Welfare Development Plan 2016–2023.

2.Problems faced by the target group and the relevant policy instruments are more or less directly described in all four sub-objectives. However, sub-objective no 3 focuses more directly on improving the accessibility and quality of social services, the development of services that include people in society, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Reply to paragraph 1 (c) of the list of issues

3.In 2016, a new system was set up for supporting working ability, which renewed the way of assessing working ability, also the subsidies’ system and the range of services provided by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. The system is based on individual approach and case management for every disabled person. Also mental health issues are considered in advising and supporting job search.

4.The new work ability support system has had a significantly positive effect on the labour market participation. Initially, a goal was set that by the year 2022 the number of persons with reduced working ability in employment would increase by over 50% – which was established already in 2017. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Finance, by the year 2022, there will be 19 100 more persons in employment and 16 400 more persons actively looking for work due to the work ability reform, compared to how many there would have been with the old system.

5.The awareness of society about disabilities and people with special needs has increased.

Reply to paragraph 1 (d) of the list of issues

6.Pursuant to the Government of the Republic Act, the Government has enacted a regulation “Rules for Good Legislative Practice and Legislative Drafting”. Pursuant to subsection 1 (5) of the Regulation, according to which interest groups and the public shall be involved in the preparation of statements of intent to draft a legislative act, policy conceptions and draft parliamentary Acts. They shall be coordinated in compliance with the Good Practice of Engagement, that require the Government authorities to engage interest groups and the public in decision-making processes to ensure the best possible quality and legitimacy of decisions taken.

7.The Good Practice of Engagement provides the guidelines for engaging all relevant interests groups on an equal basis, including persons with disabilities. The e-Consultation System enables public access to drafts and to their proceedings, and provides the opportunity to submit opinions. Feedback on drafts that are being prepared can be given via the internet in the public consultation and coordination stage.

8.Estonia’s parliament has also issued guidelines for legislative drafting which also require the active engagement of stakeholders and consultations with the general public.

Reply to paragraph 1 (e) of the list of issues

9.In 2014, the Ministry of Finance adopted a guiding principles for development. This document sets out five main topics to be considered, one of them being equal opportunities, that also include a subsection on disability. The subsection describes the general situation of persons with disabilities in Estonia and proposes several indicators to be taken into account. The section also addresses intersectionality.

10.The Programme of Action of the Government for 2019–2023 sets several goals:

Ensure professional counselling for teachers, including general pedagogical, psychological and teaching advice for teaching students with special educational needs;

Improve cooperation in health, social and education to ensure the availability and quality of support services for children, regardless of the place of residence of the child and the existence of special educational needs.

11.Furthermore, inclusive education has been one of the central priorities in the in-service training programme for teachers, teaching teams and school leaders.

12.Also, one of the elective modules in initial teacher training and part of teacher’s professional standard is the skill of supporting a learner with special educational needs.

13.The Supreme Court organizes trainings for judges in 2019 on work capacity reform and hearing of people with mental disorders. In 2020, the Judicial Training Programme will include trainings on forensic psychiatry and forensic science, closed childcare services, social services on placing persons in closed institutions.

14.Members of the prosecution services are encouraged to partake in international seminars and training.

Reply to paragraph 2 (a) of the list of issues

15.The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice have decided to go through derogatory terminology issues in national legislation during the coming years and update the terms according to the Convention.

Reply to paragraph 2 (b) of the list of issues

16.Estonian legislation defines disability in the Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act § 2 section 1 and in the Equal Treatment Act § 5. The definition in both acts is slightly narrower as in the Convention. The difference lies in the wording of Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act § 2 section 1 where disability is set as “/.../ the loss of or an abnormality in an anatomical, physiological or mental structure or function of a person which in conjunction with different relational and environmental restrictions prevents participation in social life on equal bases with the others.” The Conventions’ wording uses the term “may hinder”.

17.However in practice, various alternatives (although not equivalents) to the term “disability” are used in different contexts to describe a similar state: “special needs”, which is broader, “reduced workability”, “incapacity to work” etc. In surveys conducted also terms such as “activity restriction” and “long-term health loss” are used to describe the state as set in the Convention.

18.In 2019, an analysis on the disability assessment mechanism was conducted. Work on the results and policy changes relying on these will be further developed in the framework of long-term care reform.

Reply to paragraph 2 (c) of the list of issues

19.In 2018, a regulation of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology came into force that provides detailed requirements for buildings related to the special needs of persons with disabilities. The regulation applies first and foremost to the buildings or parts of buildings where public services are provided and to public roads in urban areas and publicly accessible private roads.

20.As of January 2019, Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority performs state supervision over the application of the regulation.

21.In 2018, also another regulation of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology came into force that complemented the earlier regulation on “Requirements set on living space”. The new regulations’ goal is to improve the accessibility of living space and it requires having an elevator in the houses that have at least four or more floors. This requirement applies to building projects implemented from the 1st of August 2019.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

Reply to paragraph 3 (a) of the list of issues

22.The Gender Equality Acts’ (Entry into force 01.05.2004) purpose is to ensure equal treatment of men and women as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and to promote equality of men and women as a fundamental human right and for the public good in all areas of social life (§ 1).

23.The Act applies to all areas of social life with the exceptions of professing and practicing faith or working as a minister of a religion in a registered religious association; and relations in family or private life. It also defines and prohibits direct and indirect discrimination based on sex.

24.The purpose of Equal Treatment Act is to ensure the protection of persons against discrimination on grounds of nationality (ethnic origin), race, colour, religion or other beliefs, age, disability or sexual orientation (§ 1).

25.The scope of application differs depending on the grounds, providing a wider protection against discrimination on grounds of nationality (ethnic origin), race or colour (covering access to the services of social welfare, social security and healthcare, including social benefits, the area of education and access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the public, including housing). Discrimination on the grounds of religion or beliefs, age, disability and sexual orientation is prohibited in relation to work life and vocational training.

26.A draft proposal amending the Equal Treatment Act is currently being prepared to widen the scope of application of the Equal Treatment Act concerning discrimination of persons on grounds of religion and other beliefs, age, disability and sexual orientation. The aim is to widen the scope outside the field of employment to also cover access to the services of social welfare, social security and healthcare, including social benefits, the area of education and access to and supply of goods and services, which are available to the public, including housing. As the new government formed in spring 2019, the draft proposal has not been discussed yet.

Reply to paragraph 3 (b) of the list of issues

27.In terms of prevention, various awareness raising campaigns have been launched during recent years (see also answers in article 8 point 6).

28.The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner monitors compliance with the Equal Treatment Act and the Gender Equality Act both in public and in private sector (see also answers in art. 5 point 3d and 3e, art. 6 point 4 b etc.).

29.The Chancellor of Justice has from the 1st of January 2019 the tasks of the framework indicated in Article 33 point 2 of the CRPD to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention (see also answers in art. 29, p. 22, art. 33 p. 24 b, art. 5 p. 3 e).

Reply to paragraph 3 (c) and (d) of the list of issues

30.According to the Estonian Occupational Health and Safety Act § 101 the work, work equipment and workplace of a disabled employee shall be adapted to his or her physical and mental abilities. That means that the building, workroom, workplace and work equipment have to be accessible and usable for disabled employee. This requirement also applies to rest conditions, commonly used routes and non-workrooms used by disabled employees.

31.Employers shall take appropriate measures where needed in a particular case, to enable a person with a disability to have access to, participate in or advance in employment, or to undergo training, unless such measures would impose a disproportionate burden on the employer.

32.An employee has the right to refuse to carry out work or to stop the work performance of which endangers his or her health or that of other persons or does not allow to comply with environmental safety requirements (Estonian Occupational Health and Safety Act § 14 subsection 5 clause 4).

33.Noncompliance with the Estonian Occupational Health and Safety Act § 101 is not directly punishable. However, it is punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units if the employer does not take appropriate measures to guarantee the health and safety requirements of the work place, therefore endangering the employees’ health and safety, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act § 27.

34.The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner monitors compliance with the Equal Treatment Act and provides opinions concerning alleged cases of discrimination on the basis of the applications filed by persons, which can be used by the claimant in court or other instances of law.

Reply to paragraph 3 (e) of the list of issues

35.The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner monitors compliance with the Equal Treatment Act and the Gender Equality Act both in public and in private sector.

36.According to the Commissioners’ office statistics, the total number of claims issued to the Commissioner during the period of 2015–2019 was 1450. The proportion of the claims based on disability was 17%.

37.Claimants who filed claims of discrimination based on disability were 60% female, 20% male and 20% were filed by companies, 3rd sector or unknown. Data on the age of claimants is not collected.

38.The sector in which the complaints were filed were 58% unknown, 26% public sector, 13% private sector, 3% 3rd sector. Barriers identified in 2017–2019 considered 26% in employment, 13% education, 10% access to products and services, 5% social aid, social services and healthcare, 46% unknown, outside Commissioners’ competence. In 2016: 27% access to products and services, 24% employment, 18% social aid, social services and healthcare, 16% education , 16% unknown, outside Commissioners’ competence.

39.The Commissioner cannot impose sanctions, but provides opinions.

40.The Chancellor of Justice Office statistics show, that the number of claims has been increasing (being 1484 in 2016 and 1652 in 2018). However, as the person does not always declare his or her disability, it is not possible to give exact numbers on the claimants. Still, the claims concerning the rights of persons with disabilities has had a steady yearly increase, being 37 in 2016 and 88 in 2019 (as of September 2019).

41.There have been no high court decisions found making reference to the CRPD.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

Reply to paragraph 4 (a) of the list of issues

42.Women’s support centre service is a compound service with the objective to help all women and their children who have fallen victim to violence against women and to restore ability to cope independently by providing safe environment and counselling and, if necessary, temporary accommodation for the woman and the children accompanying her. The service must be accessible to all victims, regardless of their age, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, state of health and social status.

43.In practice, women with disabilities are being counselled either in their homes or in public places, or in cooperation with local social services departments’ accessible counselling rooms are found. Not all women’s support centre counselling offices are accessible. Of all victims who receive help, only 10 % need to use the shelter service. In Estonia there is one out of 15 shelters that is built especially for women with disabilities, others are partly accessible and some not at all. Still, all women who have reached the service and who have had any kind of disability have been provided with help in collaboration with local government social service departments. Sign language interpreters have also been used.

Reply to paragraph 4 (b) of the list of issues

44.To raise awareness of the services of women’s support centres, Pärnu Women’s Support Centre launched a mini-campaign with sign language in 2019 called “There is an exit from violence” targeting women experiencing violence in intimate relationships. The campaign got a very positive feedback.

45.With the support of Norway grants, a service quality guide will be developed in 2020–2022. To raise the quality of support centres’ service in terms of rights of women with disabilities, the development will be done in cooperation with Estonian Association of Disabled Women.

46.In 2013–2016, the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner`s Office implemented a project under the Norway Grants. In the framework of this project, information materials on equal treatment principle were compiled and published, with a special focus on minority communities and vulnerable social groups concerning ethnic origin, disability, age and sexual orientation.

47.In the framework of the same project, equality measurement model was developed. A study report on an equality measurement framework was published in 2016, where indicators were proposed to monitor inequality based on gender, disability, ethnic origin, age and sexual orientation. In addition, an analysis of the situation of persons belonging to different population groups was provided.

48.With the support of Norway Grants, in 2013–2016 the Commissioner`s Office implemented a project with an aim to promote gender equality through empowerment, awareness raising and gender mainstreaming. One set of activities under the project aimed at increasing the effectiveness of legal protection against gender based discrimination by raising rights awareness and helping victims of discrimination directly through strategic litigation and by increasing the capacity of officials assisting discrimination victims. The project had a special focus on minority communities and vulnerable social groups who are more likely to be victims of gender discrimination and multiple discrimination.

Reply to paragraph 4 (c) of the list of issues

49.In spring 2019, Praxis Centre for Policy Studies launched a new 22-month project “Nudging Women to Power” which aims to improve women’s access to high-level political decision-making. The European Commission and several smaller co-financers, including Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, fund the project.

50.The project does not target women with disabilities specifically, but has a more general goal of increasing knowledge, awareness and understanding of the importance of gender equality in public policy making and media’s as well as political organizations’ role in empowering women for achieving higher positions as well as visibility and credibility in public domains.

51.Usable solutions, suggestions, best practices and toolkits to improve the situation are developed and disseminated. The strategies for awareness raising and nudging are based on initial qualitative research with women politicians, including those who have previously been, currently are or are aspiring to become members of parliament, and journalists who cover politics in different media. Due to this approach, the proposed solutions are based on personal experiences (and those relating to the colleagues in political parties and factions) and, thus, open to the accounts of women with disabilities. Where possible, the accounts, needs and experiences of different women, e.g. with different ethnical, socio-economic background, abilities etc., are explored and taken into account in developing strategies and nudges.

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

Reply to paragraph 5 (a) of the list of issues

52.The number and proportions of children with disabilities in institutions has decreased yearly, as seen in the table below.

Table 1

Number and proportions of children with disabilities in institutions (at the end of year)

	2015	2016	2017	2018
Number of children with disabilities	12 067	12 896	13 928	12 949
Number of children with disabilities in alternative care institutions	467	475	446	383
Proportion of children with disabilities in institutions, %	3 . 9%	3 . 7%	3 . 2%	3 . 0%

Source: Social Insurance Board .

53.The changes of the Social Welfare Act, which reorganized alternative care services, managing and funding, came into force 1.01.2018. Important aims of the changes were to increase the rate of family-based care and to ensure equality for children living in different forms of alternative care services. The changes established the obligation to local governments to prefer family-based foster family form if alternative care is needed. Created coefficient based financing system also directs the local governments to prefer family-based alternative care service forms.

54.Additional important activities to develop high-quality deinstitutionalization have been implemented. These are training and counselling services for alternative care service providers, increasing the awareness of society about the family-based alternative care and recruiting of foster families. The activities were financed from the European Social Fund. Since 2018, the disability allowances are paid equally to the children living in family-based or family-like alternative care service forms.

Reply to paragraph 5 (b) of the list of issues

55.There are several social services offered by local authorities:

Support person which objective is to support child in co-operation with the person raising the child, the development of the child, including performance of care procedures in the case of a disabled child, if necessary;

Childcare service which objective is to support the ability of a person raising a child to cope or to work or to reduce the care burden arising from the special needs of the child;

Social transport.

56.Since 2017, the state provides once a year financial support to local authorities to provide services for children with severe or profound disabilities. A local authority may use the support for the provision of childcare service, support person service, social transport service or other social services to children with a severe or profound disability in order to help to reduce the care burden of the family of a child with a severe or profound disability or an additional need arising from the disability.

Table 2

Number of children who received services during 2018 and expenses

	Number of children who received services during 2018	Expenses in euros
Children with severe disability	Children with profound disability
Period 2018	2 455	474	3 702 593 . 51
Child care	654	116	684 575 . 57
Support person	893	148	1 620 504 . 76
Social rehabilitation services	176	27	102 944 . 95
Counseling services	172	8	36 594 . 57
Social transport	426	175	654 650 . 92
Else	465	110	603 322 . 74

Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, social welfare statistics .

57.Assistance Organized by State:

Technical aids (Social Insurance Board covers 90% of the costs);

Social rehabilitation services. Services of specialists: occupational therapist, creative therapist, social worker, psychologist, special education teacher, speech therapist, physiotherapist, experience counsellor, doctor and nurse are provided for children with complex needs. Maximum amount that Social Insurance Board covers is 2580 euros (this amount has increased almost every year);

Disabled child allowance is paid monthly to a child with a moderate, severe or profound disability for compensation for the additional expenses caused by the disability and for the activities prescribed in the rehabilitation plan. The amounts of this allowance has stayed the same for years, but in the begging of this year parliament decided to raise it from next year.

58.The financial support sums in 2019 were for a child with a moderate disability – 69,04 € and for a child with a severe or profound disability – 80,55 €. In 2020 and further the sums will be raised as follows: for a child with a moderate disability – 138,08 €, for a child with a severe disability – 161,1 € and for a child with a profound disability – 241,65 €.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

Reply to paragraph 6 (a) of the list of issues

59.There have been regular social awareness raising campaigns concerning persons with disabilities during the recent years.

60.In 2017, a campaign called “Don’t worry” was launched, introducing disabled people as a legitimate part of our society, living everyday life and working successfully. In 2018 “Never mind”, introducing people with mental problems and giving advice about communicating with them and 2019 “Open your senses”, introducing people with visual and hearing disabilities successfully managing their work, studies etc.

61.The aim of the campaigns has been to recognise persons with disability in the society, to address stigmatization and raise awareness of their contribution. All campaigns have been successful and warmly welcomed by the general public and media.

62.Additionally, accessibility day is celebrated. In 2019, the focus was more on people with disabilities: a universal design exhibition was launched and a happening took place in one central shopping mall in Tallinn, where people could step into the shoes of a disabled person. The activities included moving around with a guide-dog, overcoming physical obstacles in a wheel chair, trying to eat with a boxing-glove (motor disorder) etc. In addition, an awareness-raising event to high policy officers from various fields was organised, focusing on the difficulties visually impaired people face in the everyday life.

Reply to paragraph 6 (b) and (c) of the list of issues

63.Special efforts have been made to ensure accessibility when launching and carrying out the awareness raising activities, therefore all above-mentioned campaigns have been made accessible to people with visual and hearing disabilities.

64.The preparation of all here mentioned campaigns has been in close cooperation with the representative organisations in order to have persons with disabilities involved in the preparation phase. The campaigns have successfully involved disabled people also as spokespersons. Having real people as spokespersons has helped the public to relate with the messages of the campaigns and has increased their success.

65.Consultation and cooperation with the relevant representative organisations has also taken place when preparing and carrying out thematic analysis or studies.

Accessibility (art. 9)

Reply to paragraph 7 (a) of the list of issues

66.Accessibility and universal design have become a priority for Estonia. In 2018, a regulationof the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology came into force that provides detailed requirements for buildings related to the special needs of persons with disabilities. The regulation applies primarily to the buildings where public services are provided, to public roads in urban areas and publicly accessible private roads.

67.To promote accessibility of public services to people with intellectual disability, a project supported by the Norway Grants 2014–2021 through Active Citizens Fund in Estonia was launched. The project will enhance the use of simple language by for example libraries, local governments, sports facilities etc.

68.The Ministry of Social Affairs has an ongoing analysis on public transport stops’ accessibility all over Estonia. The results will give an overview of a selection of most important junctions and related public transport stops together with cost calculations of needed adjustments in early 2020.

69.From 2018–2022 the Ministry of Social Affairs is conducting a pilot project on social transportation. The aim of the project to test new service delivery models of social transportation and find more information on who is a social transport customer and what kind of financing model should be used for a more efficient policy on the matter. The pilot project is carried out in five counties, in which four county public transport operators work in close cooperation with local governments to design and provide social transportation service in their region. The pilot project is financed from European Social Fund and partners’ own financing.

Reply to paragraph 7 (b) of the list of issues

70.The requirements for accessibility on public sector websites are constituted in section 32 of the Public Information Act (the sections’ entry into force 01.12.2018).

71.Requirements for buildings due to the special needs of disabled people provide that in buildings, where any kind of public service is to be provided, the needs of disabled people are taken into account. That includes also buildings used for offering, for example accommodation services.

72.Additionally, different awareness-raising activities regarding accessibility in tourism have been conducted. That includes accessibility seminars and other educational material to assist tourism companies regarding the accessibility, also audits covered both physical and digital accessibility in different towns.

73.Additionally, the European Accessibility Act was adopted on 17th of April 2019. The Act sets requirements for products and services in the Union. The Act will come into force on 28th of June 2025 and will certainly speed up the development of accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Reply to paragraph 6 (c) of the list of issues

74.The Directive has been transposed into Estonian law by section 32 of the Public Information Act. A working group was created for transposing the directive into national law, which inter alia included representatives from the Estonian Blind Union and the Estonian Chamber of Disabled People.

75.On the basis of section 32 (2) of the Act, the Minister for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology issued a regulation outlining the requirements for the accessibility of websites and mobile applications, and the rules for publishing information describing accessibility.

Article 11 Disaster risk management

76.Disaster risk management in Estonia is regulated in the Internal Security Strategy. In 2018, Civil Protection Concept was adopted, setting a human- and community-based approach in terms of crisis and disaster management. The concept also pays attention to vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities.

77.To increase the accessibility of help to persons with disability, the Emergency Response Centre has developed a SMS-112 service. This enables people with hearing or speech disability to send a free SMS if they need rescue workers, an ambulance or police. In order to use the service, it is necessary to create a user account.

78.The communication and awareness raising of such possibility among the target groups has been organised in cooperation with representative NGOs.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

Reply to paragraph 6 (a), (b) and (c) of the list of issues

79.The General Part of the Civil Code Act § 8 (3) declares that if a guardian is appointed by a court for a person who due to mental illness, mental disability or other mental disorder is permanently unable to understand or direct his or her actions, the person is presumed to have restricted active legal capacity to the extent in which a guardian has been appointed to him or her. It is important to emphasize that a person’s active legal capacity is not restricted, but rather is presumed to be restricted when a guardian has been appointed to him or her, and only a specified level of mental disability provides a basis to establish guardianship over a person.

80.According to § 203 of the Family Law Act (FLA), if an adult person is permanently unable to understand or direct his or her actions due to mental illness, mental disability or other mental disorder, a court shall appoint a guardian for him or her on the basis of an application of the person, his or her parent, spouse or adult child or rural municipality or city government or on its own initiative. A guardian shall be appointed only for the performance of the functions for which guardianship is required. Guardianship is not required if the interests of an adult can be protected by granting authorization and through family members or other assistants. Upon establishment of guardianship, a court shall assess the person’s capability to understand the legal consequences of a contract of marriage, acknowledgement of paternity and other transactions under family law. A guardian’s duties may include exercise of a ward’s rights in relation to third persons.

81.A court shall verify at least once every five years whether the continuation of guardianship over a ward is necessary for the protection of the interests of the ward and whether grounds exist for extension or restriction of the duties of the guardian and issue a corresponding court order. Therefore, according to the FLA, guardianship shall only be established in cases where use of supported decision-making mechanisms would not be possible due to the severity of the mental disorder of the person, and the extent of the guardianship shall always be as narrow as possible.

82.This is also the reason why Estonia does not currently intend to withdraw its interpretative declaration on article 12 of the Convention. In 2018, there were 60 70adults (18 years old and older) who were under guardianship for at least one day this year. Here we cannot distinguish people with official disability.

Access to justice (art. 13)

Reply to paragraph 10 of the list of issues

83.Pursuant to subsection 3 of section 9 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) the investigative bodies, Prosecutors’ Offices and courts shall treat the participants in a proceeding without defamation or degradation of their dignity.

84.The participation of a counsel throughout a criminal proceeding is mandatory if due to his or her mental or physical disability, the person is unable to defend himself or herself or if defence is complicated due to such disability (section 45 subsection 2 clause 2). If a body conducting proceedings has not received appropriate training, involvement of a child protection official, social worker, teacher or psychologist in the hearing of a minor is mandatory if the witness has a speech impairment, sensory or learning disability or mental disorder (section 70 subsection 2 clause 3).

85.Pursuant to section 152, subsections 4 and 5, a report on investigative activities or other procedural acts shall be signed by the person conducting the proceedings, qualified persons, persons subject to the act and the persons participating in the act. If a person is unable to sign the report due to a physical disability, a notation concerning the refusal and the reasons therefor or concerning the person’s inability to sign the report shall be made in the report and confirmed by the official of the investigative body.

86.A court may not summon a minor at the request of a party to the court proceeding and allow to submit the testimony given by the minor in pre-trial procedure as evidence, provided the testimony was video recorded, and the counsel has had the opportunity to pose questions to the witness in pre-trial proceedings about the facts relating to the subject of proof, if the witness has a speech impairment, sensory or learning disability or mental disorder (section 290-1 subsection 1 clause 3).

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

Reply to paragraph 11 (a), (b) and (c) of the list of issues

87.It is possible to order coercive psychiatric treatment by the court if, at the time of commission of an unlawful act, the person lacks capacity or if he or she, after the making of the court judgment but before the service of the full sentence, becomes mentally ill or feeble-minded or suffers from any other severe mental disorder, or if it is established during preliminary investigation or the court hearing of the matter that the person suffers from one of the aforementioned conditions and therefore his or her mental state at the time of commission of the unlawful act cannot be ascertained and he or she poses danger to himself or herself and to the society due to his or her unlawful act and mental state and is in need of treatment (section 86 subsection 1 of the Penal Code). Coercive psychiatric treatment may be administered in the form of out-patient treatment if the person does not pose danger to himself or herself and the society upon subjection to coercive psychiatric treatment and it is likely that the person adheres to the treatment regime.

88.Pursuant to section 290-1 of the Penal Code, causing of great or consistent physical or mental pain by an official without legal grounds to a person with the intention of receiving statements from him or her or third persons, punishment, frightening, coercion or discrimination, as well as instigation by an official to such act or consent to such act is punishable by one to seven years’ imprisonment. The same act, if committed against two or more persons; or against a person of less than eighteen years of age; or by a group, is punishable by two to ten years’ imprisonment.

89.Pursuant to section 118 of the Code, causing health damage which results in danger to life; a health disorder which persists for at least four weeks or which results in partial or no work ability; severe mental disorder; miscarriage; permanent mutilating facial injury; loss or cessation of functioning of an organ; or death, is punishable by four to twelve years’ imprisonment. According to section 125 of the Code, termination of a pregnancy against the will of the pregnant woman is punishable by three to twelve years’ imprisonment.

90.The following are considered aggravating circumstances under section 58 of the Code, clauses 2–3:

Commission of the offence with peculiar cruelty, or degradation of the victim;

Commission of the offence knowingly against a person who is less than eighteen years of age, pregnant, in an advanced age, in need of assistance or has a severe mental disorder.

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

Reply to paragraph 12 (a) of the list of issues

91.Pursuant to the Voluntariness of termination of pregnancy Act § 5 section 1 and 2 a woman’s pregnancy may only be terminated at her own request. Nobody is allowed to force or influence a woman to terminate her pregnancy. Consent for termination of pregnancy shall be in written form. Pregnancy of a woman with restricted active legal capacity may be terminated with her own consent or with the consent of her legal representative according to subsection 766 (4) of the Law of Obligations Act.

92.A person may only be sterilised at his or her own request. A request for sterilisation shall be in written form. The sterilisation of a person with restricted active legal capacity shall be decided by a county court in proceedings on petition of the guardian of a person. Minors may not be sterilised (§ 19).

93.A person is admitted to involuntary psychiatric treatment only if the person has a severe mental disorder which restricts his or her ability to understand or control his or her behaviour; without in-patient treatment, the person endangers the life, health or safety of himself or herself or others due to a mental disorder; other psychiatric care is not sufficient (§ 3).

94.As Social Welfare Act stipulates, a special care service shall not be provided directly by an activity supervisor whose criminal record for an intentionally committed criminal offence may endanger the life, health and property of the person entitled to receive the service. Circumstances of isolating 24-hour special care service user and restriction on freedom of movement of such adults receiving special care services are precisely listed.

Reply to paragraph 12 (b) of the list of issues

95.In the past few years, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice has increased its monitoring of facilities in which persons with disabilities may be deprived of their liberty, in particular special care homes and psychiatric clinics. Small additional funds have been allocated from the budget to allow for greater use of experts during its inspections, including psychiatrists.

96.See also answers in article 5 p3 (e) and article 33 p24 (b).

Reply to paragraph 12 (c) of the list of issues

97.There have been various awareness raising campaigns, ongoing active contribution by the representative organisations of persons with disability, policy making by the Ministry of Social Affairs etc. to raise the awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities. In the field of health, medical workers are obliged to have professional training for 60 hours per year, care workers 40 hours per year. However, the topics of the trainings are not fixed. See also answers provided under article 1–4 p1 (c) and (e), article 6, article 8 and article 11.

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

Reply to paragraph 13 (a), (b) and (c) of the list of issues

98.Pursuant to section 133 of the Penal Code, subsections 1 and 2, placing a person, for the purpose of gaining economic benefits or without it, in a situation where he or she is forced to marry, work under unusual conditions, engage in prostitution, beg, commit a criminal offence or perform other disagreeable duties, and keeping a person in such situation, if such act is performed through deprivation of liberty, violence, deceit, threatening to cause damage, by taking advantage of dependence on another person, helpless or vulnerable situation of the person, is punishable by one to seven years’ imprisonment.

99.The same act if committed against two or more persons; committed against a person of less than eighteen years of age; committed against a person in a helpless situation; committed in a torturous or cruel manner; serious health damage is caused thereby; danger to life is caused thereby; committed by a group; committed by taking advantage of official position; serious consequences are caused thereby; committed by a person who has previously committed a criminal offence provided for in this section or similar sections of the Code, is punishable by three to fifteen years’ imprisonment.

100.Commission of any offence knowingly against a person who is less than eighteen years of age, pregnant, in an advanced age, in need of assistance or having a severe mental disorder is considered an aggravating circumstance under section 58 of the Code, clause 3. The law protects in particular persons who are in need of assistance (in Estonian, literally ‘helpless person’); sexual offences committed against such victims not capable of initiating resistance or comprehending the situation are considered more serious.

101.Pursuant to section 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, investigative bodies and Prosecutors’ Offices are required to conduct criminal proceedings upon the appearance of facts indicative of a criminal offence, unless the circumstances provided for in § 199 of the Code exist which preclude criminal procedure or unless the grounds to terminate criminal proceedings pursuant to subsection 201 (2), §§ 202, 203, 203-1, 204, 205, 205-1, 205-2 or subsection 435 (3) of the Code exist. Termination of criminal proceedings is not likely to be lawful if the offence is one of the first degree, as is the case with torture, serious health damage, human trafficking, rape and other similar offences. Pursuant to sections 306 and 307 of the Penal Code, non-disclosure of and failure to report first degree offences is an offence punishable by up to five years imprisonment. Thus, officials and any person having knowledge of such an offence is legally bound to report it to a law enforcement authority. Reporting may be done by any and all possible channels, including anonymous reporting to a hotline, by electronic means, in writing and in person.

102.See also answers provided under article 5 p3 (a), (b), (e) and article 6 (a) and (b).

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

Reply to paragraph 14 (a), (b) and (c) of the list of issues

103.Transition from institutional to community-based care (deinstitutionalisation) is one of the priorities in Estonia. The initial plans for the process were made more than a decade ago, while more progress has been made recently by developing new services and analysing the possibilities of including local governments in the service provision.

104.The process includes two dimensions:

1. Developing and providing community-based, supportive services for preventing the need for institutionalisation and enabling people to live independently;

2.Providing services in smaller, home-like institutions (family-type houses).

105.By 2013, 55 family-type houses with 550 places were built. Additional investments from European Regional Development Funds are planned for the period 2014–2020. EUR 56 million will be used to reorganise 1,200 places, create at least 200 new places and build family-type houses.

106.Parallel with transition from institutional to community-based care process Estonia have started service design in special care service. The aim of service deign is to work out integrated, person-centred and flexible special care service system.

107.There are currently 503 specialized care clients, who are using community living service. 2276 clients are using 24-hour special care services, from which some are small units with 24 clients divided into 6-persons “families”. Units are located across Estonia and when building or buying new houses or apartments, the location is selected keeping in mind the possibility to use mainstream services, so the new places are located near cities or in the cities.

108.There were approximately 1300 people with mental disorder,who received 24-hour special care services in older type of institutions with 30 or more service places in 2018. This was about 54% of all 24-hour special care service users.

109.An activity “Development and Provision of Support Services for Disabled Children” was carried out in the framework of the European Social Fund’s action “Social Welfare Services Supporting Participation in the Labour Market” for 2014–2020.

110.The objective was to develop and provide support services aimed at children with a severe or profound disability – childcare, support person and transport as a supporting service – so that the services would be available to all whose need for such services has been assessed by the local child protection or social work specialist. Before the launch of this project in 2015, there were service providers only in some local authorities. Now there are service providers in every county and they are covering all local authorities where there are children with severe or profound disabilities.

111.During the 2018 services were provided to 1906 children with severe or profound disabilities. This number has raised every year.

112.Please see also the answer under article 7 point 5b.

Personal mobility (art. 20)

Reply to paragraph 15 of the list of issues

Table 3

Expenditure on personal mobility technical aids, 2015 – 2018

	2015¹	2016	2017	2018
Total cost	2 919 685	2 412 113	2 797 570	3 028 843
Expenditure from the state budget (including ESF funds)	2 321 344	1 919 066	2 170 748	2 375 024
from the state budget	2 321 344	1 312 986	1 427 584	1 592 198
ESF funds		606 079	743 164	782 826
State budget resources of the total cost of mobility technical aids, %	79 . 5	79 . 6	77 . 6	78 . 4
Spending on personal mobility technical aids as a % of the state budget expenditure on technical aids granted on preferential terms	25 . 9	19 . 0	19 . 1	20 . 0

¹ includes all mobility technical aids. Source: Social Insurance board .

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

Reply to paragraph 16 (a), (b), (c) and (c) of the list of issues

113.In November 2018 amendments to the Copyright Act came into force, the aim of which was to transpose into Estonian legislation the Marrakech directive and to provide an exception for the use of works without authorisation of author and without payment of remuneration for benefit of persons who are blind or visually impaired. The most recent step has been the completion of transposition of the European Web Accessibility Act for public sector websites into Estonian legislation.

114.Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services sets out the requirements applicable to the private sector. The Directive will be transposed into national law by 2022.

115.The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications had the Guidelines translated into Estonian in 2013 and they are freely available on Internet. In addition, Directive (EU) 2019/882 also sets out accessibility requirements for public sector websites, these are applicable by their timeline.

116.In addition, since September 2018 the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has been organising practical trainings and seminars for editors of websites and developers of websites and mobile applications. The Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate is responsible for the supervision of the accessibility requirements.

117.Please also see answers provided under article 1–4 point 1 (d) and (c), article 6 (b), article 7, article 8, article 9 and article 11.

Respect for home and the family (art. 23)

Reply to paragraph 14 (a) and (b) of the list of issues

118.In June 2019 Estonia started piloting the model of integrated care for children with support needs in at least two areas (education, health or social care). 8 local municipalities with their partners (different service providers) are included to the project. The purpose of this project is to develop a new cooperation model that can be used in all local municipalities and it helps the child and its family in cooperation of different experts and systems, to provide each child and family the help according to their needs and in location they are actually at (in school or at home) and to provide services that are available, effective, in good quality and provided on time. The project is coordinated by the Social Insurance Board and will be carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Research. At least 71 children and their families are involved in the project.

119.This pilot gives input to the children with special needs support system analysis. Proposals must be presented to the government in February 2020.

Education (art. 24)

Reply to paragraph 18 (a) of the list of issues

General Education (basic and upper-secondary school)

120.In 2018, changes in the educational arrangements for pupils with special educational needs were made into the Basic and Upper-Secondary School Act, creating greater opportunities for schools and school keepers to organise pupils’ individual needs and to implement support systems. Main amendments included an increase in the state budget to raise teachers’ wages and to increase the operating expenditure support for the implementation of enhanced or special support for students and the labour costs of support specialists; a breakdown of special classes and elimination of maximum class capacity level.

121.The school provides general support for a student who is unable to fulfil school duties or is lagging behind in achieving learning outcomes. The volume and content of the support to be implemented does not depend as much on the medical diagnosis or assigned disability of the student, but on the training organisation and support services the student needs. The role of national supervision increased to improve monitoring over the teaching arrangements of children in need of support.

Vocational Education and Training

122.From September 2019, a new regulation is in force. The educational institutions will be able to use the data entered by the Estonian Education Information System’s prior educational institution, such as the support provided to the student, and continue to provide support services immediately starting the study process. This reduces the burden of persons with special needs (and their parents or caregivers) to prove their special needs when moving between educational levels or institutions.

123.The definition of special needs has changed as well. It is no longer focused on the type of special needs, but on the need for support and is more responsive to the specific needs of complex educational needs. The overall financial scheme has become differentiated and allows for more resources for schools implementing comprehensive educational support measures to carry out the learning process.

Higher Education

124.According to Higher Education Act, Higher Education Institutions may establish different admission requirements for different groups, based on the prior qualifications or special needs of the applicants.

125.Higher Education Institutions are not entitled to the reimbursement of study costs from a student who has not complied with the requirements concerning full-time studies if he or she is a person with a moderate, severe or profound disability or if he or she is the parent or guardian of a child under 7 years of age or a disabled child.

126.The same group of students also has exceptions related to academic leave. In general, a student is not entitled to complete the curriculum during the period of academic leave except if:

1. He or she is a person with a moderate, severe or profound disability;

2. He or she is the parent or guardian of a child under 3 years of age or a disabled child;

[…]

127.Additionally, besides guidance and counselling service, Estonia has several scholarships and study allowances (scholarship for students with special needs, needs-based special allowance) for different groups, but they are not coordinated through higher education institutions.

Reply to paragraph 18 (b) and (c) of the list of issues

128.According to the Estonian Education Information System, the amount of students receiving support in studies is 20% of all children studying in stationary general education: 14% of students receive general support, 6% of students receive enhanced or special support (3.4% and 2.7% of all students, respectively).

129.Ministry of Education and Research collects disaggregated data on students with disabilities and uses analysis based on it to enhance the educational system. However, the Ministry is not at liberty to share this detailed data as in some cases the datasets are very small and/or do not reflect the real situation (i.e. one person may have several types of disabilities; a person is physically but not intellectually impaired, etc.).

Health (art. 25)

Reply to paragraph 19 (a), (b) and (c) of the list of issues

130.According to the Health Insurance Act § 2 section 2 health insurance is based on the solidarity of and limited cost-sharing by insured persons, on the principle that services are provided according to the needs of insured persons, that treatment is equally available in all regions and that health insurance funds are used for their intended purpose.

131.Pursuant to the Act § 5 section 4 point 3 and 31 persons who receive a state pension persons who have been found to have partial work ability or no work ability under the Work Ability Allowance Act are insured persons.

132.Social rehabilitation services have not been fully accessible to all disabled people during the last 10 years mostly because of the lack of financial resources. In order to improve the provision/accessibility of rehabilitation services the level in service prices the state pays and the total amount of budget for rehabilitation has been changed during the past five years. Also the special assessment for the service need has been used starting from 2016 by Social Insurance Board to be sure only the ones really need rehabilitation, enter the services.

133.Therefore, there is no longer a waiting list at the Social Insurance Board and after the assessment is done and the need for services has been identified, the person can go to the service provider.

134.Also the principal that every person should receive the services in her own community, has been explained several times to the service providers. This is also the reason why transportation costs within this service have not been raised during the last couple of years.

135.Health Insurance covers all services including sexual and reproductive health services for persons with disabilities.

136.Please see also answers provided under article 6 point (B), article 9, article 11, article 15, article 16 and article 19.

Work and employment (art. 27)

Reply to paragraph 20 (a) and (b) of the list of issues

137.The work ability reform, which created a new performance of the work ability support system, started in Estonia in 2016. The aim of the amendments is to change attitudes towards people with reduced work ability and to help them find and keep a job. According to the new system, percentage of loss of work capacity is no longer assigned. Assessment of work ability is organised by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund and this includes the abilities, capacity and suitable work available. The assessment is supposed to identify whether the person has work ability, partial work ability or missing work ability.

Figure 1

Employment rate compared to employment rate for people with reduced ability for work and employment rate for people with disabilities (16-pension age)

S ource: Statistics Estonia .

Figure 2

Total unemployment rate compared to unemployment rate for people with reduced ability for work and unemployment rate for people with disabilities (16-pension age)

Source: Statistics Estonia .

Table 4

Employed in open labour market and sheltered employment

	2016	2017	2018
Employed (16-pension age)
sheltered employment	176	230	187
Open labour market
employed disabled persons	20 100	21 200	26 500
employed persons with limited capacity for work	54 900	55 600	54 200

Source: Unemployment Insurance Fund, Statistics Estonia

138.According to the Estonian Occupation Health and Safety Act the work, work equipment and workplace of a disabled employee shall be adapted to his or her physical and mental abilities. Which means that the building, workroom, workplace, work equipment have to be accessible and usable for disabled employee.

139.A contract has been concluded with the Estonian Employers’ Confederation to promote employment of people with reduced work ability.

140.If, due to disability or decreased working ability, the person is unable to perform duties using the employer’s equipment, Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund will provide the person, free of charge, the assistive equipment necessary to carry out the work.

141.If the employee has difficulties accessing their workspaces or using the work equipment provided, we will help adjust the workplace and work equipment in a way that makes them accessible and usable. Depending on the case and the reasonable cost of the adjustment, up to 100% of the adjustment costs may be compensated.

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

Reply to paragraph 21 (a) and (b) of the list of issues CRPD/C/EST/Q/1

142.Poverty and poverty of disabled persons is one of the issues addressed horizontally and with specific measures in the Welfare Development Plan 2016–2023. For example, coping of the elderly and people with low wages shall be improved through additional support schemes; to solve the problem of poverty among the unemployed, proposals shall be developed for increasing the mutual coverage of the unemployment insurance benefit and the unemployment benefit. The benefits’ scheme for people with disabilities shall be analysed and proposals shall be made for its better coherence with social and other services.

Table 5

At-risk-of-poverty rate by disability and sex in 2015 – 2017, %

		2015	2016	2017
Total	Disabled persons	41 . 6	40 . 4	42 . 7
Persons with and without disability	21 . 7	21 . 0	21 . 9
Males	Disabled persons	34 . 5	32 . 2	36 . 1
Persons with and without disability	19 . 2	18 . 4	19 . 3
Females	Disabled persons	46 . 7	46 . 1	47 . 6
Persons with and without disability	24 . 0	23 . 3	24 . 2

Source: Statistics Estonia, Estonian Social Survey 2016 – 2018 (income years 2015 – 2017) .

Table 6

Absolute poverty rate by disability and sex in 2015 – 2017, %

		2015	2016	2017
Total	Disabled persons	2 . 2	1 . 7	1 . 1
Persons with and without disability	4 . 3	3 . 2	2 . 7
Males	Disabled persons	3 . 0	..	..
Persons with and without disability	5 . 0	4 . 0	3 . 6
Females	Disabled persons	1 . 5	..	..
Persons with and without disability	3 . 7	2 . 6	1 . 9

Source: Statistics Estonia, Estonian Social Survey 2016 – 2018 (income years 2015 – 2017) .

data have not been calculated; data not available; unreliable data due to small size of the sample

Table 7

Severe material deprivation rate by disability and sex in 2015-2018, %

		2015	2016	2017	2018
Total	Disabled persons	9 . 7	10 . 9	8 . 1	7 . 6
Persons with and without disability	4 . 5	4 . 7	4 . 1	3 . 8
Males	Disabled persons	10 . 1	12 . 3	6 . 9	7 . 7
Persons with and without disability	4 . 3	4 . 6	3 . 6	3 . 7
Females	Disabled persons	9 . 4	9 . 9	9 . 0	7 . 5
Persons with and without disability	4 . 7	4 . 8	4 . 5	3 . 8

Source: Statistics Estonia, Estonian Social Survey 2015 – 2018 .

143.Universal design principles are applied both in the development of the infrastructure and in the use of vehicles through procurement processes with more or less success.

144.See also answers under article 7 point 5 (b) and article 9 etc.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

Reply to paragraph 22 of the list of issues

145.All persons who have reached the statutory age have an equal right to vote and participate or stand in elections. Pursuant to electoral law, all eligible voters must have the possibility to vote in the manner of their choice: in a polling station, electronically or at home. As a rule, voters are to vote independently. However, voters who want or need assistance in filling out a ballot have the right to assistance from whomever they choose, as long as that person is not a candidate in the particular electoral district. The Riigikogu Election Act also requires that the electronic voting application must provide support to visually impaired persons.

146.Polling stations in Estonia are located in public buildings, which must comply with the requirements of a Regulation of the Minister of Enterprise and Information Technology “Requirements for Structures arising from the Special Needs of Disabled Persons”adopted on the basis of the Building Code.

147.The State Electoral Office provides information on its website for persons with special needs, including information on which polling stations are fully accessible for persons in wheelchairs or with prams.

148.In Estonia, all persons also have the right to vote electronically, which means that they can choose to vote from any location with internet service that they choose. The rules governing electronic voting (§ 483 (5) of the Riigikogu Election Act) also require that the voting application must provide support to visually impaired persons, and this requirement is fulfilled in practice such that visually impaired persons can exercise their right to vote without assistance.

149.In 2019, elections were held in Estonia both to the national parliament Riigikogu and also to the European Parliament.

150.After both elections had been held, the Chancellor of Justice addressed the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu, the State Electoral Office and the National Electoral Committee to point out both successful examples as well as shortcomings with regard to accessibility for persons with disabilities during the elections. The Chancellor of Justice made a number of recommendations for improvements in the organisation of elections. In November 2019, the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu and the State Electoral Office held discussions on the issue of accessibility and elections.

151.See also answers under article 6.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)

Reply to paragraph 23 of the list of issues

152.It is one part of the Statistics Estonia working program to collect statistical information on the situation of disability. Therefore, where it is possible, the collected data from individuals is linked to the disability information and where it is possible (depending on the survey’s sample size), the data is published in the Statistics Estonia database.

153.On the other hand, if necessary, Ministry of Social Affairs has conducted also specific surveys by focusing on the families who have a disabled child or adults with a disability. Those surveys have been carried out to collect specific information about usage of different services, occurring problems etc.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

Reply to paragraph 24 (a) of the list of issues

154.The Ministry of Social Affairs has been actively involved in promoting and coordinating accessibility through supporting the work of the Accessibility Council that brings together different stakeholders from relevant ministries, private sector representatives to representative organisations of disabled persons. Ministry of Social Affairs has been active in furthering discussions on the development of relevant legal regulation. This has had some positive results such as requirements for buildings related to the special needs of persons with disabilities (a regulation adopted in 2018by the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology).

155.Ministry of Social Affairs is the national coordinator and a promoter of accessibility across sectors. We have also been actively involved in the negotiations of the European Accessibility Act.

156.Estonian government recently launched a task force to develop a comprehensive accessibility policy. The task force bringing together all relevant stakeholders from the government, NGOs and private sector had its first meeting in November 2019 and its mandate is for two years.

Reply to paragraph 24 (b) of the list of issues

157.On 13th of June 2018, the Estonian Parliament adopted an amendment to the Chancellor of Justice Act the aim of which was to designate the institution of the Chancellor of Justice with the tasks of the framework indicated in Article 33 point 2 of the CRPD to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention. The amendment came into force from the 1st of January 2019.

158.The Chancellor of Justice is an independent official who reviews the legislation for conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and the Acts of the Republic of Estonia. Her tasks include also, for example, exercising supervision over the compliance of the legislation with international agreements and resolving discrimination disputes, which arise between persons in private law on the basis of the Constitution and other Acts.

159.The budget allocated for the tasks related to the implementation of the Convention are 100 000 euros in 2019.

Reply to paragraph 24 (c) of the list of issues

160.Involving civil society, consulting with the representative bodies of persons with disabilities and engaging them in policy design is in the responsibility of every Ministry and government office making policy.

161.Monitoring the implementation of the Convention has been done through several actions mentioned in many of the answers above.

162.Please see also answers given under article 15 point 12. (b), article 29, art. 33 point (a), (b) etc.