Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Concluding observations on the initial report of Armenia *

I.Introduction

1.The Committee considered the initial report of Armenia (CRPD/C/ARM/1) at its 312th and 313th meetings (see CRPD/C/SR.312 and 313), held on 29 and 30 March 2017. It adopted the present concluding observations at its 325th meeting, held on 7 April 2017.

2.The Committee welcomes the initial report of Armenia, which was prepared in accordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for the written replies (CRPD/C/ARM/Q/1/Add.1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee (CRPD/C/ARM/Q/1).

3.The Committee appreciates the fruitful dialogue held with the State party’s large delegation and commends the State party for the strength of its delegation, which included representatives of relevant government ministries and departments. It also commends the delegation’s frank responses to the questions posed by members of the Committee.

II.Positive aspects

4.The Committee welcomes the efforts of the State party to ensure the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities enshrined in the Convention. In particular, it welcomes:

(a)The adoption, in 2014, of the Law on making supplements and amendments to the Law on general education, which provides for a transition from general education to inclusive education for children with disabilities by 2025;

(b)The adoption of the Law on road transport, in 2016, which is aimed at increasing the physical accessibility of public transportation for persons with disabilities;

(c)The adoption of the comprehensive plan for 2017-2021 on social inclusion of persons with disabilities, in 2017;

(d)The initiative of the Government to declare 2016 a “Year of Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities”.

III.Principal areas of concern and recommendations

A.General principles and obligations (arts. 1-4)

5.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The insufficient and selective consultation of representative organizations of persons with disabilities, including the lack of appropriate support and reasonable accommodation, when drafting disability-related legislation, policies, strategies and action plans;

(b)The use of the concepts of prevention and treatment of disability in the revised Constitution (art. 48) and in the newly adopted comprehensive plan for 2017-2021 on social inclusion of persons with disabilities;

(c)The fact that the draft law on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion is not in line with the Convention, including the concept of disability, and provides for the prevention and treatment of disability and for legal incapacity;

(d)The fact that the State party has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention;

(e)The medically based determination of disability, which relies on impairments without considering social barriers and individual requirements for social participation;

(f)The lack of awareness of public servants working with persons with disabilities regarding the rights of those persons;

(g)The lack of concrete, effective and transparent measures taken by the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to implement the Convention.

6. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Take the measures necessary to ensure the full and equal involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the process of decision-making for and drafting of all disability-related legislation, policies, strategies and action plans. The State party should also provide appropriate support and reasonable accommodation to ensure the participation of representatives of all persons with disabilities, including women, children, refugees and asylum seekers, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, persons with hearing and visual impairments, persons living with HIV/AIDS, persons living in rural areas and persons in need of a high level of support, in consultation processes;

(b) Review its legislation and plans referring to the prevention and treatment of disability and align them with the human rights-based model of disability;

(c) Review the draft law on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion to ensure that it is in line with the Convention and the Committee ’ s general comments;

(d) Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention;

(e) Adopt a human rights-based concept of disability and ensure that disability determination focuses on the barriers to the social participation of persons with disabilities and refers to individual requirements, will and preferences;

(f) Provide regular training for public servants working with persons with disabilities, including teachers, law enforcement officers, judges, lawyers and medical staff, on the rights of persons with disabilities;

(g) Enhance the capacity of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to ensure intersectoral coordination and implementation of disability-related actions in public policies.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5-30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

7.The Committee is concerned about discrimination against persons with disabilities. It also notes with concern that:

(a)Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination are not prohibited;

(b)The concept of reasonable accommodation and the denial of such accommodation as a form of discrimination are not included in anti-discrimination laws;

(c)There is a lack of publicly available information on cases of disability discrimination and their outcomes.

8. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Expedite the adoption of the draft law on anti-discrimination and ensure that it encompasses a definition of disability-based discrimination in the public and private sectors, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, particularly gender-based discrimination, and set up mechanisms to impose sanctions for contravening the rights of persons with disabilities;

(b) Include the concept of reasonable accommodation in anti-discrimination legislation and recognize the denial of such accommodation as a form of discrimination;

(c) Make available information about cases of disability-based discrimination and legal remedies, including on the sanctions imposed on perpetrators and redress for victims, in accessible formats.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

9.The Committee is concerned that women and girls with disabilities face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and exclusion in all areas of life. In particular, it is concerned about:

(a)The lack of reference to women with disabilities in disability and gender-related national legislation and policies;

(b)The lack of accessibility of mainstream services and reasonable accommodation for women and girls with disabilities, especially women with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities;

(c)The lack of legislation and relevant regulations protecting women and girls with disabilities from gender-based violence, particularly at home and in institutions, as well as the lack of access to shelters and adequate services for victims of such violence;

(d)The persistence of cases of neglect, violence, restraint and seclusion, as well as sexual abuse, of women with disabilities.

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 strengthen measures to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities. It also recommends that the State party:

(a) Incorporate a disability perspective in all national legislation and policies related to women and girls;

(b) Take all measures necessary to increase accessibility of mainstream services and reasonable accommodation for all women and girls with disabilities, including by ensuring the involvement of representative organizations of women with disabilities in the development, implementation and monitoring of service provision programmes;

(c) Strengthen its efforts to develop efficient community-based services to advance the deinstitutionalization of women and girls with disabilities and prevent any new institutionalization;

(d) Implement effective legal, policy and practical measures to address gender-based violence against women with disabilities, particularly those living in institutions; prevent and investigate violations of their human rights and prosecute and punish those responsible; and ensure that those affected have access to immediate protection and accessible support services, including reasonable accommodation in mainstream services and shelter facilities, as well as means of redress;

(e) Ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence;

(f) Implement the recommendations contained in the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women concerning women with disabilities (see CEDAW/C/ARM/CO/5-6, paras. 27, 34-35 and 37).

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

11.The Committee is concerned by:

(a)Reports on the institutionalization of a high number of children with disabilities in orphanages and residential special schools, including their transinstitutionalization from one institution to another under the guise of deinstitutionalization, and the continuing investment in such institutions;

(b)The lack of State support, including early intervention, for children with disabilities and their families, and the high poverty rate among children with disabilities and their families, especially in rural and remote areas;

(c)The insufficiency of measures to promote and encourage the adoption of children with disabilities;

(d)Various forms of neglect, violence and abuse against children with disabilities, including in domestic and institutional settings;

(e)Stigmatizing attitudes towards children with disabilities.

12. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Prioritize the deinstitutionalization of all children with disabilities and their resettlement in family settings, including by promoting foster care and providing appropriate community-based support to parents;

(b) Provide children with disabilities and their families with adequate assistance, including early intervention, and implement specific measures to reduce poverty among them;

(c) Promote and appropriately support adoption of children with disabilities;

(d) Prohibit and criminalize all forms of violence and abuse against children with disabilities in all settings, including in the home and residential institutions;

(e) Promote a positive image of children with disabilities;

(f) Implement the recommendations contained in the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning children with disabilities (see CRC/C/ARM/CO/3-4, para. 36).

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

13.The Committee is concerned about the overall negative image of persons with disabilities and the lack of programmes to raise awareness about their rights, as well as about media coverage of disability that is based on stereotypes and perpetuates discriminatory attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

14. The Committee recommends that the State party implement, with the participation of organizations of persons with disabilities, systematic awareness-raising programmes, including media campaigns, aimed at portraying positive images of persons with disabilities as human rights holders.

Accessibility (art. 9)

15.The Committee is concerned about the overall lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities in the State party. It is also concerned about the lack of implementation of the existing accessibility norms and standards set out in the national legislation to eliminate obstacles and barriers relating to facilities, urbanism, construction and public services such as transport, information and communication services. It is also concerned that the Code on Administrative Offences does not stipulate sanctions for breaches of accessibility norms and standards, and that there are no monitoring mechanisms in place at the State level to ensure the effective implementation of such norms and standards.

16. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Take all measures to ensure the implementation of legal guarantees to accessibility in all areas, including urbanism, construction and public services such as transportation, information and communication services;

(b) Remove all barriers to access to buildings and public services, such as transportation, information and communication services, including by promoting universal design, Braille, subtitling, sign language interpretation, and easy-read formats and other alternative modes of communication;

(c) Review the Code on Administrative Offences to include appropriate sanctions for breaches of accessibility norms and standards, and set up a monitoring mechanism based on reporting at the State level to ensure the effective implementation of such norms and standards;

(d) Adopt a time-bound accessibility strategy and plan of action and ensure their implementation and monitoring in close consultation with persons with disabilities through their representative organizations, in line with the Committee ’ s general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility and Goal 9 and targets 11.2 and 11.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

17.The Committee is concerned that legislation, protocols and plans relating to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies do not take the requirements of persons with disabilities into consideration.

18. The Committee recommends that the State party include a disability perspective in all legislation, protocols and plans relating to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies and take measures in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

19.The Committee notes with concern the discriminatory legal provisions in the Constitution and the Civil Procedure Code that allow for the deprivation of legal capacity and the appointment of a guardian on the basis of psychosocial or intellectual disability. It is also concerned by the lack of mechanisms to replace the system of substituted decision-making with a supported decision-making regime.

20. Recalling its general comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law, the Committee recommends that the State party repeal the discriminatory legal provisions in the Constitution and the Civil Procedure Code, restore the full legal capacity of all persons with disabilities and introduce supported decision-making regimes.

Access to justice (art. 13)

21.The Committee is concerned about the very limited accessibility of most of the State party’s courts, and administrative and notary buildings. It is also concerned about the lack of legal safeguards to ensure the right to a fair trial, due process and the safe and full participation of persons with disabilities, especially persons with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities, in all judicial proceedings, including through the provision of procedural and gender- and age-appropriate accommodation, in particular sign language interpretation for persons with hearing impairment and accessible formats of legal and judicial information and communication for persons with visual impairment. It is further concerned about the insufficient availability of accessible and affordable legal services for persons with disabilities.

22. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure the provision of procedural and gender- and age-appropriate accommodation on the basis of the free choice and preference of persons with disabilities, and establish related safeguards to enable the participation of persons with disabilities in all legal proceedings on an equal basis with others. It also recommends that the State party take measures to increase training and capacity-building programmes on the Convention for law enforcement personnel, and for persons with disabilities to increase their legal awareness, and that it ensure that persons with disabilities have access to free legal aid. The Committee recommends that the State party be guided by article 13 of the Convention in its implementation of target 16.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

23.The Committee is concerned about:

(a)The legal provisions allowing arbitrary deprivation of liberty, including involuntary hospitalization and forced institutionalization, of persons with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities for lengthy periods of time, sometimes their entire life, and the lack of sufficient safeguards and legal assistance for persons with disabilities who are deprived of their liberty in institutions;

(b)The overcrowding and poor living and sanitary conditions, including inappropriate nutrition, in places of deprivation of liberty, in particular in residential and penitentiary institutions;

(c)The lack of reasonable accommodation, including advocacy support, for persons with disabilities in penitentiary institutions.

24. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Repeal laws and prohibit detention, including involuntary hospitalization and forced institutionalization, as well as non-consensual psychiatric treatment, on the grounds of impairment;

(b) Ensure that all places of deprivation of liberty, including residential, psychiatric and penitentiary institutions, maintain accessible and humane living conditions responding to the requirements of all persons with disabilities;

(c) Ensure access to reasonable accommodation, including advocacy support, for persons with disabilities in penitentiary institutions.

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

25.The Committee is concerned about the inhuman and degrading treatment of persons with disabilities in institutions, including children with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities in specialized institutions, perpetrated by staff members, caregivers and other residents, as well as about neglect and the use of physical restraints as means of treatment and punishment. It is also concerned about the inefficiency and inadequacy of complaints systems and the lack of monitoring of institutions.

26. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to protect persons with disabilities who remain institutionalized, in particular children with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, from coercive, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and prohibit all forms of such treatment. It also recommends that the State party develop an effective investigation and monitoring system to prevent all forms of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons with disabilities in institutions, and to ensure the prompt investigation of such cases.

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

27.The Committee is concerned about the high incidence of violence and abuse of persons with disabilities in institutions, including reported cases of neglect resulting in the death of children and adults with disabilities. It is further concerned about the labour and sexual exploitation of persons with disabilities.

28. The Committee recommends that the State party take legislative and practical measures to protect persons with disabilities who remain institutionalized and prevent and combat neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation. It also recommends that the State party investigate cases of violence, abuse and exploitation of persons with disabilities, prosecute perpetrators and provide the staff of institutions with regular and mandatory training sessions on the prevention of such violence, abuse and exploitation. It also recommends that the State party ensure effective and independent human rights-based monitoring of all residential and specialized institutions in close collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities.

Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)

29.The Committee is concerned about structural barriers preventing persons with disabilities from obtaining passports and identity cards on an equal basis with others.

30. The Committee recommends that the State party take all measures necessary to ensure that persons with disabilities can obtain passports and identity cards on an equal basis with others, including by providing reasonable accommodation to facilitate access to public offices and passport delivery procedures.

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

31.The Committee is concerned about the slow progress of the deinstitutionalization process and the large number of children and adults with disabilities still living in residential institutions. It is also concerned about the very limited support to enable them to live independently within the community.

32. The Committee recommends that the State party expedite the process of deinstitutionalization and implement, without delay, its action plan for deinstitutionalization, including timelines for closing all remaining institutions. It also recommends that the State party adopt legal measures and allocate sufficient resources for the development of support services, including personal assistance, that would facilitate the independent living of all persons with disabilities in the community. The Committee further recommends that persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, be involved in all stages of the deinstitutionalization process (planning, implementation, evaluation and monitoring).

Personal mobility (art. 20)

33.The Committee is concerned about the lack of availability of and support for mobility aids, devices and other assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and intermediaries and about the lack of an individualized approach to their acquisition.

34. The Committee recommends that the State party create a mechanism for facilitating access to quality mobility aids, assistive equipment, devices and technologies at an affordable cost for all persons with disabilities, taking into consideration their individual requirements.

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

35.The Committee is concerned that accessibility of information and communication is very limited for persons with disabilities, and that:

(a)Training of sign language interpreters is insufficient, resulting in an inadequate number of interpreters in public and private services, and that television programmes lack subtitles for persons with hearing impairment;

(b)Accessible technologies and formats of information and communication, including Internet websites and easy-read formats, are critically limited, particularly for persons with visual impairments and those with intellectual disabilities, and the use of Braille is restricted to specialized, segregated settings;

(c)Sign language is not recognized as an official language of the State party.

36. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Invest in the systematic training of sign language interpreters and provide sign language interpretation in public and private services, and ensure that television programmes are duly interpreted and subtitled for persons with hearing impairment;

(b) Adopt accessible information and communication formats and technologies that are appropriate for persons with disabilities, including web accessibility, Braille and easy-read and plain formats, in relation to all public services;

(c) Recognize the use of sign language in official interactions.

Respect for privacy (art. 22)

37.The Committee is concerned that children with disabilities are publicly displayed for medical or charity purposes.

38. The Committee recommends that the State party protect the privacy of all children with disabilities, in particular in relation to their personal, health, habilitation and rehabilitation status.

Respect for home and the family (art. 23)

39.The Committee is concerned about provisions in the Family Code that prevent persons with specific forms of impairments from adopting children and exercising parental rights and that prevent persons who have been deprived of their legal capacity from marrying. It is also concerned about the lack of services for families that have members with disabilities.

40. The Committee recommends that the State party take the measures necessary, including the repeal of legislation, to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to marriage, family and parental rights. It also recommends that the State party develop the inclusive support measures necessary in this regard, including access to personal assistance and mainstream services, to ensure adequate support for families that have a member with a disability.

Education (art. 24)

41.The Committee is concerned that, despite the increasing trend towards inclusive education, many children with disabilities remain in segregated educational settings and do not receive the support they need to access inclusive education. It is also concerned about the lack of accessibility and reasonable accommodation for children with disabilities in mainstream schools, and the lack of sufficient support and training for administrative and teaching staff with regard to inclusive education. The Committee is further concerned about the absence of a comprehensive strategy to promote inclusive education in urban and rural areas.

42. Recalling its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education and Sustainable Development Goal 4, especially targets 4.5 and 4 (a), the Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts towards inclusive education, in particular that it:

(a) Intensify efforts to implement the Law on making supplements and amendments to the Law on general education in order to ensure an inclusive education system at all levels by 2025;

(b) Ensure accessibility and allocate the resources necessary to guarantee reasonable accommodation to facilitate the access of persons with disabilities, including those living in urban and rural areas, to inclusive and quality education, including preschool and tertiary education;

(c) Make training on inclusive education and on its implementation mandatory for administrative and teaching staff.

Health (art. 25)

43.The Committee is concerned about the lack of awareness among medical professionals of the rights of persons with disabilities and that health-care services and facilities, including emergency services and HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programmes, remain inaccessible and unavailable to many persons with disabilities, especially in rural areas. It is also concerned about the lack of accessibility of medical services and facilities for women with disabilities, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

44. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Adopt training courses and ethical standards on the rights of persons with disabilities for medical professionals.

(b) Ensure the availability and accessibility of health-care services and facilities for all persons with disabilities throughout the country, including emergency services and HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programmes;

(c) Take measures to ensure that women with disabilities have accessible medical services and facilities, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)

45.The Committee is concerned that habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes for persons with disabilities in the State party are not adequately rights based. It also notes with concern that more than half of children with disabilities do not benefit from an individual rehabilitation plan.

46. The Committee recommends that the State party create accessible, comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes, such as early intervention, providing comprehensive, multidisciplinary and individualized support for persons with disabilities, especially women and children.

Work and employment (art. 27)

47.The Committee is concerned about the significant unemployment rates among persons with disabilities and the lack of adequate employment policies and programmes to complement the use of quotas to enable persons with disabilities to participate effectively in the open labour market.

48. The Committee recommends that the State party mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities into national employment policies and programmes and enforce the implementation of the Law on employment, including the mandatory quotas and incentive measures for employers in the public and private sectors. The Committee also recommends that the State party support the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market, including through the provision of vocational training programmes and reasonable accommodation in the labour sector, in line with the Convention and in view of target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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

49.The Committee is concerned that the majority of persons with disabilities live in poverty, including in rural and remote areas, and that the available social allowances are insufficient to cover the minimum necessary for an adequate standard of living and the additional expenses related to disability. It also notes with concern that the State party did not take appropriate measures to increase the accessibility of social protection programmes, including public housing.

50. The Committee recommends that the State party guarantee an adequate standard of living for all persons with disabilities, including through the provision of appropriate pensions and social allowances, ensuring that social protection and poverty reduction programmes take into account the additional costs related to disability and that persons with disabilities have access to mainstream services and public housing programmes. It also recommends that the State party pay attention to the links between article 28 of the Convention and target 1.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

51.The Committee is concerned that persons with disabilities do not participate in electoral processes on an equal basis with others, as a result of inaccessible polling stations and the lack of support services and election-related information in accessible formats. It is also concerned about the low rates of participation of persons with disabilities, in particular women with disabilities, in political life and public decision-making.

52. The Committee recommends that the State party take the legal and other measures necessary to enable the political and public participation of all persons with disabilities, including with respect to their right to vote and stand for elections, ensure that voting procedures, facilities and materials are accessible for all persons with disabilities and promote the participation of persons with disabilities, in particular women, in political life and public decision-making.

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

53.The Committee is concerned about the limited access and participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, especially those living in rural areas, with respect to sports and cultural activities and events. The Committee is also concerned that the State party has not yet ratified the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.

54. The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to and actively participate in cultural and sports activities and have equal access to facilities and services, such as libraries, sports and other cultural events and facilities. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt all appropriate measures to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty without delay.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31-33)

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

55.The Committee notes with concern the lack of disaggregated statistical data on the situation of persons with disabilities in the State party, which hinders the effective implementation of the Convention.

56. In view of target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party develop systematic data collection and reporting procedures that are in line with the Convention, and collect, analyse and disseminate disaggregated data on the characteristics of its population with disabilities, including sex, age, ethnicity, type of impairment, socioeconomic status, employment and place of residence, and on the barriers that persons with disabilities face in society.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

57.The Committee is concerned about the lack of resources allocated to the national monitoring mechanism and the insufficient participation of organizations of persons with disabilities in the monitoring process.

58. Taking into account its guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their participation in the work of the Committee (CRPD/C/1/Rev.1, annex) and the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), the Committee recommends that the State party provide adequate funding for the functioning of the independent monitoring mechanism and ensure the full participation of organizations of persons with disabilities in the monitoring process.

IV.Follow-up and dissemination

Dissemination of information

59.The Committee requests that the State party provide information, within 12 months of the adoption of the present concluding observations and in accordance with article 35 (2) of the Convention, on the measures taken to implement the Committee’s recommendations contained in paragraphs 12 (children with disabilities) and 32 (living independently and being included in the community).

60.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, local authorities and members of relevant professional groups, such as education, medical and legal professionals, as well as to the media, using modern social communication strategies.

61.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.

62.The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding observations widely, including to non-governmental organizations and representative 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, including easy-read formats, and to make them available on the government website on human rights.

Next report

63.The Committee requests the State party to submit its combined second and third periodic reports by 21 October 2020 and to include in them information on the implementation of the recommendations made in the present concluding observations. The Committee invites the State party to consider submitting the above-mentioned reports under the Committee’s simplified reporting procedure, according to which the Committee prepares a list of issues at least one year prior to the due date set for the report of a State party. The replies of a State party to such a list of issues constitute its report.