Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Report of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on its eighth session , 17 - 28 September 201 2

Contents

Paragraphs Page

I.States parties to the Convention and its Optional Protocol1-23

II.Opening of the eighth session of the Committee3-63

III.Membership of the Committee73

IV.Working methods84

V.Drafting of general comments9-114

VI.Days of general discussion12-134

VII.Activities related to the Optional Protocol14-155

VIII.Accessibility of the Committee’s meetings 165

IX.Other decisions17-185

X.Future sessions19-205

XI.Cooperation with relevant bodies21-225

A.Cooperation with other United Nations organs215

B.Cooperation with non-governmental organizations225

XIIConsideration of reports submitted in accordance with article 35236

Annexes

I.States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to the Optional Protocol as at 28 September 2012 7

II.Submission of reports by States parties under article 35 of the Convention, as at 28 September 201215

III.Decisions adopted by the Committee during its eighth session19

IV.Working groups of the Committee 20

V.Statement of the Committee on the report of the High Commissioner ofHuman Rights on the strengthening of the United Nations human rights treatybody system21

VI.Decision of the Committee on the guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa Guidelines)23

VII.Statement of the Committee on the half day of general discussion on women and girlswith disabilities24

I.States parties to the Convention and its Optional Protocol

As at 28 September 2012, the closing date of the eighth session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, there were 124 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and 72 States parties to its Optional Protocol.

The lists of States parties to the Convention and the Optional Protocol are contained in annex I of the present report.

II.Opening of the eighth session of the Committee

The eighth session opened in a public meeting with welcoming remarks by Mr. Ronald McCallum, Chairperson of the Committee.The Chairperson highlighted the fact that the Committee was meeting for the first time in its history in a two-week session, and the importance of webcasting of the Committee’s meetings as a reasonable accommodation to enable the participation of persons with disabilities in the work of the Committee. The Chairperson congratulated the members of the Committee who were re-elected in the fifth Conference of States Parties to the Convention: Mohammed Al-Tarawneh, Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Ana Pelaez Narvaez and Silvia Quan-Chang, as well as the newly elected members who would take up their functions as of 1 January 2013. He especially thanked the outgoing members of the Committee whose terms of office would end in December 2012. The Chairperson announced that the Committee would pursue its request for additional meeting time to the General Assembly, to tackle the backlog of initial reports pending to be considered.

The opening statement of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was delivered by the Chief of the Groups in Focus Section, Treaties Division, Wan-Hea Lee, who briefed the Committee on the most recent developments in the treaty body strengthening process that had taken place since the Committee’s seventh session, including the release of the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the subject, the most recent developments in the intergovernmental process on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, and the endorsement of the Addis Ababa Guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies by the Annual Meeting of Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty Bodies. She also referred to the most important developments that had taken place in the field of human rights and disabilities, such as the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which spells out that sustainable development requires meaningful active participation of persons with disabilities.

The Committee reviewed and adopted the provisional agenda and tentative programme of work for the eighth session (CRPD/C/8/1).

The Chairperson reported on the activities undertaken between the seventh and eighth sessions of the Committee.

III.Membership of the Committee

The list of members of the Committee indicating the duration of their terms of office is contained in annex IV of the previous biennial report (A/66/55). All members attended the eighth session.

Elections of nine members whose terms of office will end in December 2016 took place on 12 September 2012, during the fifth Conference of States Parties to the Convention. The following members were re-elected for the period 2013-2016: Mr. Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan), Ms. Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes (Chile), Ms. Ana Pelaez Narvaez (Spain) and Ms. Silvia Quan-Chang (Guatemala). The following members were elected for the same period: Mr. Martin Babu (Uganda), Mr. Monthian Buntan (Thailand), Mr. Laszlo Lovaszy (Hungary) Ms. Safak Pavey (Turkey) and Ms. Diane Mulligan (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

IV.Working methods

The Committee discussed various issues related to its working methods and adopted several decisions in this regard. The Committee:

(a)Appointed a Rapporteur for the follow-up of concluding observations;

(c) Adopted a statement in support of the report of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on the strengthening of the United Nations human rights treaty body system (see annex V);

(c) Adopted the Addis Ababa Guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (A/67/222, annex I) and decided to incorporate these guidelines as an integral part of its rules of procedure (see annex VI).

(d)Appointed Working Groups and Focal Points to further streamline its methods of work.

V.Drafting of general comments

The Committee appointed Edah Maina as interim Chairperson of the Working Group on a general comment on equal recognition before the law (art. 12), from the period between January and April 2013.

The Working Group on a general comment on legal capacity (art. 12) considered a draft concept paper prepared by the Chair, and agreement was found on eight points of consensus, in particular with regard to holding consultations with State parties and other actors about their practices. The Working Group on a general comment on accessibility (art. 9) reported back to the Committee on the progress made and challenges encountered in discharging its mandate.

VI.Days of general discussion

The Committee reiterated its decision to hold a half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities in April 2013, during its ninth session. The Committee adopted a statement (CRPD/C/8/3) underlining the importance of the half day of general discussion given the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by women and girls with disabilities, which hinder their meaningful participation on an equal basis with other individuals in all spheres of life.

The Committee invited all persons with disabilities and their organizations to submit their inputs to the Committee no later than 17 February 2013.

VII.Activities related to the Optional Protocol

The Committee established a Working Group on communications and inquiries consisting of five members, with membership to be reviewed in April 2013.

The Committee decided that communication No. 6/2011 K.M. v. United Kingdom (CRPD/C/8/D/6/2011) was inadmissible ratione temporis under the Optional Protocol. The Committee made a decision declaring admissible another communication submitted under the Optional Protocol. It also decided to accept third-party interventions under article 73, paragraph 2, of its rules of procedure, provided that there is consent of one of the parties to the communication.

VIII. Accessibility of the Committee’s meetings

The Committee was informed about the preliminary findings of the accessibility assessment carried out by Microsoft, MiddlesexUniversity and AbilityNet in April 2012.

IX . Other decisions

The Committee adopted the report of its seventh session (CRPD/C/7/2).

The Committee took a number of other decisions, which are listed in annex III of the present report.

X . Future sessions

The ninth session of the Committee is scheduled to take place from 15 to 19 April 2013. The tenth session of the Committee will be held from 2 to 13 September 2013.

The Committee decided that at its next session it would review the initial report of Paraguay (CRPD/C/PRY/1), and adopt lists of issues on the initial reports of Austria (CRPD/C/AUT/1); Australia (CRPD/C/AUS/1) and El Salvador (CRPD/C/SLV/1).

XI.Cooperation with relevant bodies

A.Cooperation with United Nations organs

On 17 September 2012 (74th meeting), the Committee met with the representatives of the Council of Europe, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to discuss ways of cooperation, as provided for under article 38 of the Convention.

B.Cooperation with non-governmental organizations

Also at its 74th meeting, on 17 September 2012, the Committee was addressed by representatives of the non-governmental organizations Human Rights Watch, the International Social Service, and the International Disability Alliance.

XII.Consideration of reports submitted in accordance with article 35 of the Convention

During its seventh session, at its 77th and 78th meetings, held on 18 and 19 September 2012 respectively, the Committee considered the initial report of China (CRPD/C/CHN/1); at its 79th and 80th meetings, held on 19 and 20 September 2012 respectively, the Committee considered the initial report of Argentina (CRPD/C/ARG/1); and at its 81st and 82nd meetings, held on 20 and 21 September 2012 respectively, the Committee considered the initial report of Hungary (CRPD/C/HUN/1). At its 92nd meeting, the Committee adopted concluding observations on those reports (see the website for the eighth session at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/Session8.aspx).

Annexes

Annex I

States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to the Optional Protocol as at 28 September 2012

A.States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Participant	Signature	Formal confirmation (c), accession (a), ratification
Afghanistan		18 September 2012
Albania	22 December 2009
Algeria	30 March 2007	4 December 2009
Andorra	27 April 2007
Antigua and Barbuda	30 March 2007
Argentina	30 March 2007	2 September 2008
Armenia	30 March 2007	22 September 2010
Australia	30 March 2007	17 July 2008
Austria	30 March 2007	26 September 2008
Azerbaijan	9 January 2008	28 January 2009
Bahrain	25 June 2007	22 September 2011
Bangladesh	9 May 2007	30 November 2007
Barbados	19 July 2007
Belgium	30 March 2007	2 July 2009
Belize	9 May 2011	2 June 2011
Benin	8 February 2008	5 July 2012
Bhutan	21 September 2010
Bolivia ( Plurinational State of)	13 August 2007	16 November 2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina	29 July 2009	12 March 2010
Brazil	30 March 2007	1 August 2008
Brunei Darussalam	18 December 2007
Bulgaria	27 September 2007	22 March 2012
Burkina Faso	23 May 2007	23 July 2009
Burundi	26 April 2007
Cambodia	1 October 2007
Cameroon	1 October 2008
Canada	30 March 2007	11 March 2010
Cape Verde	30 March 2007	10 October 2011
Central African Republic	9 May 2007
Chile	30 March 2007	29 July 2008
China	30 March 2007	1 August 2008
Colombia	30 Mar 2007	10 May 2011
Comoros	26 September 2007
Congo	30 March 2007
Cook Islands		8 May 2009 (a)
Costa Rica	30 March 2007	1 October 2008
Côte d’Ivoire	7 June 2007
Croatia	30 March 2007	15 August 2007
Cuba	26 April 2007	6 September 2007
Cyprus	30 March 2007	27 June 2011
Czech Republic	30 March 2007	28 September 2009
Denmark	30 March 2007	24 July 2009
Djibouti		18 June 2012
Dominica	30 March 2007
Dominican Republic	30 March 2007	18 August 2009
Ecuador	30 March 2007	3 April 2008
Egypt	4 April 2007	14 April 2008
El Salvador	30 March 2007	14 December 2007
Estonia	25 September 2007	30 May 2012
Ethiopia	30 March 2007	7 July 2010
European Union	30 March 2007	23 December 2010 (c)
Fiji	2 June 2010
Finland	30 March 2007
France	30 March 2007	18 February 2010
Gabon	30 March 2007	1 October 2007
Georgia	10 July 2009
Germany	30 March 2007	24 February 2009
Ghana	30 March 2007	31 July 2012
Greece	30 March 2007	31 May 2012
Grenada	12 July 2010
Guatemala	30 March 2007	7 April 2009
Guinea	16 May 2007	8 February 2008
Guyana	11 April 2007
Haiti		23 July 2009 (a)
Honduras	30 March 2007	14 April 2008
Hungary	30 March 2007	20 July 2007
Iceland	30 March 2007
India	30 March 2007	1 October 2007
Indonesia	30 March 2007	30 November 2011
Iran (Islamic Republic of)		23 October 2009 (a)
Ireland	30 March 2007
Israel	30 March 2007	28 September 2012
Italy	30 March 2007	15 May 2009
Jamaica	30 March 2007	30 March 2007
Japan	28 September 2007
Jordan	30 March 2007	31 March 2008
Kazakhstan	11 December 2008
Kenya	30 March 2007	19 May 2008
Kyrgyzstan	21 September 2011
Lao People's Democratic Republic	15 January 2008	25 September 2009
Latvia	18 July 2008	1 March 2010
Lebanon	14 June 2007
Lesotho		2 December 2008 (a)
Liberia	30 March 2007	26 July 2012
Libya	1 May 2008
Lithuania	30 March 2007	18 August 2010
Luxembourg	30 March 2007	26 September 2011
Madagascar	25 September 2007
Malawi	27 September 2007	27 August 2009
Malaysia	8 April 2008	19 July 2010
Maldives	2 October 2007	5 April 2010
Mali	15 May 2007	7 April 2008
Malta	30 March 2007
Mauritania		3 April 2012 (a)
Mauritius	25 September 2007	8 January 2010
Mexico	30 March 2007	17 December 2007
Micronesia (Federated States of)	23 September 2011
Monaco	23 September 2009
Mongolia		13 May 2009 (a)
Montenegro	27 September 2007	2 November 2009
Morocco	30 March 2007	8 April 2009
Mozambique	30 March 2007	30 January 2012
Myanmar		7 December 2011 (a)
Namibia	25 April 2007	4 December 2007
Nauru		27 June 2012 (a)
Nepal	3 January 2008	7 May 2010
Netherlands	30 March 2007
New Zealand	30 March 2007	25 September 2008
Nicaragua	30 March 2007	7 December 2007
Niger	30 March 2007	24 June 2008
Nigeria	30 March 2007	24 September 2010
Norway	30 March 2007
Oman	17 March 2008	6 January 2009
Pakistan	25 September 2008	5 July 2011
Palau	20 September 2011
Panama	30 March 2007	7 August 2007
Papua New Guinea	2 June 2011
Paraguay	30 March 2007	3 September 2008
Peru	30 March 2007	30 January 2008
Philippines	25 September 2007	15 April 2008
Poland	30 March 2007	25 September 2012
Portugal	30 March 2007	23 September 2009
Qatar	9 July 2007	13 May 2008
Republic of Korea	30 March 2007	11 December 2008
Republic of Moldova	30 March 2007	21 September 2010
Romania	26 September 2007	31 January 2011
Russian Federation	24 September 2008	25 September 2012
Rwanda		15 December 2008 (a)
San Marino	30 March 2007	22 February 2008
Saudi Arabia		24 June 2008 (a)
Senegal	25 April 2007	7 September 2010
Serbia	17 December 2007	31 July 2009
Seychelles	30 March 2007	2 October 2009
Sierra Leone	30 March 2007	4 October 2010
Slovakia	26 September 2007	26 May 2010
Slovenia	30 March 2007	24 April 2008
Solomon Islands	23 September 2008
South Africa	30 March 2007	30 November 2007
Spain	30 March 2007	3 December 2007
Sri Lanka	30 March 2007
St. Lucia	22 September 2011
St. Vincent and the Grenadines		29 October 2010 (a)
Sudan	30 March 2007	24 April 2009
Suriname	30 March 2007
Swaziland	25 September 2007	24 September 2012
Sweden	30 March 2007	15 December 2008
Syrian Arab Republic	30 March 2007	10 July 2009
Thailand	30 March 2007	29 July 2008
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	30 March 2007	29 December 2011
Togo	23 September 2008	1 March 2011
Tonga	15 November 2007
Trinidad and Tobago	27 September 2007
Tunisia	30 March 2007	2 April 2008
Turkey	30 March 2007	28 September 2009
Turkmenistan		4 September 2008 (a)
Uganda	30 March 2007	25 September 2008
Ukraine	24 September 2008	4 February 2010
United Arab Emirates	8 February 2008	19 March 2010
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	30 March 2007	8 June 2009
United Republic of Tanzania	30 March 2007	10 November 2009
United States of America	30 July 2009
Uruguay	3 April 2007	11 February 2009
Uzbekistan	27 February 2009
Vanuatu	17 May 2007	23 October 2008
Viet Nam	22 October 2007
Yemen	30 March 2007	26 March 2009
Zambia	9 May 2008	1 February 2010

B.States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Participant	Signature	Formal confirmation (c), accession (a), ratification
Afghanistan		18 September 2012 (a)
Algeria	30 March 2007
Andorra	27 April 2007
Antigua and Barbuda	30 March 2007
Argentina	30 March 2007	2 September 2008
Armenia	30 March 2007
Australia		21 August 2009 (a)
Austria	30 March 2007	26 September 2008
Azerbaijan	9 January 2008	28 January 2009
Bangladesh		12 May 2008 (a)
Belgium	30 March 2007	2 July 2009
Benin	8 February 2008	5 July 2012
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	13 August 2007	16 November 2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina	29 July 2009	12 March 2010
Brazil	30 March 2007	1 August 2008
Bulgaria	18 December 2008
Burkina Faso	23 May 2007	23 July 2009
Burundi	26 April 2007
Cambodia	1 October 2007
Cameroon	1 October 2008
Central African Republic	9 May 2007
Chile	30 March 2007	29 July 2008
Congo	30 March 2007
Cook Islands		8 May 2009 (a)
Costa Rica	30 March 2007	1 October 2008
Côte d’Ivoire	7 June 2007
Croatia	30 March 2007	15 August 2007
Cyprus	30 March 2007	27 June 2011
Czech Republic	30 March 2007
Djibouti		18 June 2012 (a)
Dominican Republic	30 March 2007	18 August 2009
Ecuador	30 March 2007	3 April 2008
El Salvador	30 March 2007	14 December 2007
Estonia		30 May 2012 (a)
Fiji	2 June 2010
Finland	30 March 2007
France	23 September 2008	18 February 2010
Gabon	25 September 2007
Georgia	10 July 2009
Germany	30 March 2007	24 February 2009
Ghana	30 March 2007	31 July 2012
Greece	27 September 2007	31 May 2012
Guatemala	30 March 2007	7 April 2009
Guinea	31 August 2007	8 February 2008
Haiti		23 July 2009 (a)
Honduras	23 August 2007	16 August 2010
Hungary	30 March 2007	20 July 2007
Iceland	30 March 2007
Italy	30 March 2007	15 May 2009
Jamaica	30 March 2007
Jordan	30 March 2007
Kazakhstan	11 December 2008
Latvia	22 January 2010	31 August 2010
Lebanon	14 June 2007
Liberia	30 March 2007
Lithuania	30 March 2007	18 August 2010
Luxembourg	30 March 2007	26 September 2011
Madagascar	25 September 2007
Mali	15 May 2007	7 April 2008
Malta	30 March 2007
Mauritania		3 April 2012 (a)
Mauritius	25 September 2007
Mexico	30 March 2007	17 December 2007
Mongolia		13 May 2009 (a)
Montenegro	27 September 2007	2 November 2009
Morocco		8 April 2009 (a)
Mozambique		30 January 2012 (a)
Namibia	25 April 2007	4 December 2007
Nepal	3 January 2008	7 May 2010
Nicaragua	21 October 2008	2 February 2010
Niger	2 August 2007	24 June 2008
Nigeria	30 March 2007	24 September 2010
Panama	30 March 2007	7 August 2007
Paraguay	30 March 2007	3 September 2008
Peru	30 March 2007	30 January 2008
Portugal	30 March 2007	23 September 2009
Qatar	9 July 2007
Romania	25 September 2008
Rwanda		15 December 2008 (a)
San Marino	30 March 2007	22 February 2008
Saudi Arabia		24 June 2008 (a)
Senegal	25 April 2007
Serbia	17 December 2007	31 July 2009
Seychelles	30 March 2007
Sierra Leone	30 March 2007
Slovakia	26 September 2007	26 May 2010
Slovenia	30 March 2007	24 April 2008
Solomon Islands	24 September 2009
South Africa	30 March 2007	30 November 2007
Spain	30 March 2007	3 December 2007
St. Vincent and the Grenadines		29 October 2010 (a)
Sudan		24 April 2009 (a)
Swaziland	25 September 2007	24 September 2012
Sweden	30 March 2007	15 December 2008
Syrian Arab Republic		10 July 2009 (a)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	29 July 2009	29 December 2011
Togo	23 September 2008	1 March 2011
Tunisia	30 March 2007	2 April 2008
Turkey	28 September 2009
Turkmenistan		10 November 2010 (a)
Uganda	30 March 2007	25 September 2008
Ukraine	24 September 2008	4 February 2010
United Arab Emirates	12 February 2008
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	26 February 2009	7 August 2009
United Republic of Tanzania	29 September 2008	10 November 2009
Uruguay		28 October 2011 (a)
Yemen	11 April 2007	26 March 2009
Zambia	29 September 2008

Annex II

Submission of reports by States parties under article 35 of the Convention, as at 28 September 2012

State party	Entry into force (date of ratification+30 days)	Date due	Date received	Date examined
Algeria	4 January 2010	4 January 2012
Argentina	2 October 2008	2 October 2010	6 October 2010	19 September 2 012
Armenia	22 October 2010	22 October 2012
Australia	17 August 2008	17 August 2010	3 December 2010
Austria	26 October 2008	26 October 2010	2 November 2010
Azerbaijan	27 February 2009	27 February 2011	16 February 2011
Bahrain Bangladesh	22 October 2011 30 December 2007	22 October 2013 30 December 2009
Belgium	2 August 2009	2 August 2011	28 July 2011
Belize	2 July 2011	2 July 2013
Benin	5 August 2012	5 August 2014
Bolivia ( Plurinational State of)	16 December 2009	16 December 2011
Bosnia and Herzegovina	12 April 2010	12 April 2012
Brazil	1 September 2008	1 September 2010	25 May 2012
Bulgaria	22 April 2012	22 April 2014
Burkina Faso	23 August 2009	23 August 2011
Canada	11 April 2010	11 April 2012
Cape Verde	10 November 2011	10 November 2012
Chile	29 August 2008	29 August 2010	14 August 2012
China	1 September 2008	1 September 2010	30 August 2010	18 September 2012
Colombia	10 June 2011	10 June 2013
Cook Islands	8 June 2009	8 June 2011	9 December 2011
Costa Rica	1 November 2008	1 November 2010	29 March 2011
Croatia	15 September 2007	15 September 2009	27 October 2011
Cuba	6 October 2007	6 October 2009
Cyprus	27 July 2011	27 July 2013
Czech Republic	28 October 2009	28 October 2011	1 November 2011
Denmark	24 August 2009	24 August 2011	24 August 2011
Djibouti	18 July 2012	18 July 2014
Dominican Republic	18 September 2009	18 September 2011	5 December 2011
Ecuador	3 May 2008	3 May 2010	8 September 2011
Egypt	14 May 2008	14 May 2010
El Salvador	14 January 2008	14 January 2010	5 January 2011
Estonia	30 June 2012	30 June 2014
Ethiopia	7 August 2010	7 August 2012
European Union	23 January 2011	23 January 2013
France	18 March 2010	18 March 2012
Gabon	1 November 2007	1 November 2009
Germany	24 March 2009	24 March 2011	19 September 2011
Ghana	31 August 2012	31 August 2014
Greece	30 June 2012	30 June 2014
Guatemala	7 March 2009	7 March 2011
Guinea	8 March 2008	8 March 2010
Haiti	23 August 209	23 August 2011
Honduras	14 March 2008	14 March 2010
Hungary	20 August 2007	20 August 2009	14 October 2010	20 September 2012
India	1 November 2007	1 November 2009
Indonesia	30 December 2011	30 December 2013
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	23 November 2009	23 November 2011
Israel	28 October 2012	28 October 2014
Italy	15 June 2009	15 June 2011
Jamaica	30 April 2007	30 April 2009
Jordan	30 April 2008	30 April 2010	3 October 2012
Kenya	19 June 2008	19 June 2010	3 April 2012
Lao People ’ s Democratic Republic	25 October 2009	25 October 2011
Latvia	1 April 2010	1 April 2012
Lesotho	2 January 2009	2 January 2011
Liberia	26 August 2012	26 August 2014
Lithuania	18 September 2010	18 September 2012	18 September 2012
Luxembourg	26 October 2011	26 October 2013
Malawi	27 September 2009	27 September 2011
Malaysia	19 August 2010	19 August 2012
Maldives	5 May 2010	5 May 2012
Mali	7 May 2008	7 May 2010
Malta	10 November 2012	10 November 2014
Mauritania	3 May 2012	3 May 2014
Mauritius	8 February 2010	8 February 2012
Mexico	17 January 2008	17 January 2010	27 April 2011
Mongolia	13 June 2009	13 June 2011	8 December 2011
Montenegro	2 December 2009	2 December 2011
Morocco	8 May 2009	8 May 2011
Mozambique	28 February 2012	28 February 2014
Namibia	4 January 2008	4 January 2010
Nepal	7 June 2010	7 June 2012
New Zealand	25 October 2008	25 October 2010	8 May 2012
Nicaragua	7 January 2008	7 January 2010
Niger	24 July 2008	24 July 2010
Nigeria	24 October 2010	24 October 2012
Oman	6 February 2009	6 February 2011
Pakistan Panama	5 August 2011 7 September 2007	5 August 2013 7 September 2009
Paraguay	3 October 2008	3 October 2010	21 October 2010
Peru	27 February 2008	27 February 2010	8 July 2010	17 April 2012
Philippines	15 May 2008	15 May 2010
Poland	25 October 2012	25 October 2014
Portugal	23 October 2009	23 October 2011	8 August 2012
Qatar	13 June 2008	13 June 2010	19 June 2012
Republic of Korea	11 January 2009	11 January 2011	27 June 2011
Republic of Moldova	21 October 2010	21 October 2012
Romania	27 February 2011	27 February 2013
Russian Federation	25 October 2012	25 October 2014
Rwanda	15 January 2009	15 January 2011
San Marino	22 March 2008	22 March 2010
Saudi Arabia	24 July 2008	24 July 2010
Senegal	7 October 2010	7 October 2012
Serbia	31 August 2009	31 August 2011	20 June 2012
Seychelles	2 November 2009	2 November 2011
Sierra Leone	4 November 2010	4 November 2012
Slovakia	26 June 2010	26 June 2012	26 June 2012
Slovenia	24 May 2008	24 May 2010
South Africa	30 December 2007	30 December 2009
Spain	3 January 2008	3 January 2010	3 May 2010	20 September 2011
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	29 November 2010	29 November 2012
Sudan	24 May 2009	24 May 2011
Swaziland	25 October 2012	25 October 2014
Sweden	15 January 2009	15 January 2011	7 February 2011
Syrian Arab Republic	10 August 2009	10 August 2011
Thailand	29 August 2008	29 August 2010	3 December 2012
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	29 January 2012	29 January 2014
Togo	1 April 2011	1 April 2013
Tunisia	2 May 2008	2 May 2010	1 July 2010	12 April 2011
Turkey	28 October 2009	28 October 2011
Turkmenistan	4 October 2008	4 October 2010	5 December 2011
Uganda	25 October 2008	25 October 2010
Ukraine	4 March 2010	4 March 2012	12 April 2012
United Arab Emirates	19 April 2010	19 April 2012
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	8 July 2009	8 July 2011	24 November 2011
United Republic of Tanzania	10 December 2009	10 December 2011
Uruguay	11 March 2009	11 March 2011
Vanuatu	23 November 2008	23 November 2010
Yemen	26 April 2009	26 April 2011
Zambia	1 March 2010	1 March 2012

Annex III

Decisions adopted by the Committee during its eighth session

To adopt a statement expressing support to several proposals contained in the High Commissioner’s report on the strengthening of the United Nations treaty body system.

To adopt the Addis Ababa guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies and to include them as an integral part of its rules of procedure.

To accept third party interventions under rule 73, paragraph 2, of the rules of procedure provided that there is consent of one of the parties to the communication; to amend its rules of procedure to reflect this approach; to prepare a note on third party interventions.

To reiterate its decision to request additional meeting time from the General Assembly, subject to rule 22 of its rules of procedure.

To allow submissions to be presented during the half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities scheduled to take place in April 2013; and to adopt a statement to inform the public about the half day of general discussion.

To hold a meeting with States parties during its tenth session (September 2013).

To appoint the following members of the Committee as country rapporteurs: Sweden: Stig Langvad; Austria: Ron McCallum; Australia: Edah Maina; El Salvador: Carlos Rios Espinoza.

To encourage the governments of Italy and Armenia to submit their initial reports as soon as possible.

To split the consideration of reports into two separate days.

To request the secretariat to facilitate further engagement between the Committee and the Council of Europe.

Annex IV

Working groups and rapporteurs of the Committee

1.The Committeeagreed that members would serve on the following working groups:

Working group on a general comment on accessibility (article 9)

Chair:Mr. Mohammed Al-Tarawneh

Vice-chair:Mr. Damjan Tatic

Members:Ms. Jia Yang, Mr. Lotfi Ben Lallahom, Mr. Monsur A. Chowdhury, Mr. Gabor Gombos, Mr. Stig Langvad

Working group on a general comment on equal recognition before the law (article 12)

Chair:Mr. Gabor Gombos (until December 2012)

Members:Ms. Edah Maina, Ms. Maria Soledad Cisternas, Ms. Amna Al-Suwaidi, Mr. Ronald McCallum, Mr. Carlos Ríos Espinosa, Ms. Theresia Degener

Working group on access to public transportation and airline policies

Chair:Mr. Mohammed Al-Tarawneh

Members:Ms. Jia Yang, Mr. Lotfi Ben Lallahom, Mr. Monsur A. Chowdhury, Ms. Fatiha Hadj-Salah, Mr. Carlos Ríos Espinosa

Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations

Mr Carlos Ríos Espinosa

Annex V

Statement on the Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Strengthening the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System

The Committee on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities welcomes the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on “Strengthening the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System” published on 22 June 2012. It has been deeply engaged in the consultative process on which it is based and agrees with the essence of the proposals contained therein. As a new Committee that has already begun to accumulate a large backlog of reports that it cannot deal with in a timely manner due to severe resource constraints, it agrees that a comprehensive solution must be found to the concurrent problems of high levels of both compliance and non-compliance with reporting obligations, together with the issues of consistency, coherence, working methods and accessibility of the treaty bodies, as well as the resources necessary for them to perform effectively. It considers that the report of the High Commissioner constitutes an important step in this direction.

While the Committee will continue to discuss the proposals compiled in the report and pronounce itself on individual proposals in due course, it takes this opportunity to express support for some of the key measures proposed in the High Commissioner’s report, in particular:

Adoption of a comprehensive reporting calendar designed to ensure compliance by all States parties on an equal basis with their reporting obligations;

Strict adherence to page limitations on all documents received from States parties and as prepared by the treaty bodies;

Use of updated common core documents;

Systematization of the provision of searchable, indexed and captioned webcasting in the official languages of the Committee;

Formulation of focused concluding observations;

Designation by all treaty bodies of a focal point on reprisals;

Review of good practices regarding the application of rules of procedure and methods of work and adoption of common guidelines with regard to individual communications and inquiries;

Review of follow-up procedures; and

Aligned consultation process for the elaboration of general comments/ recommendations

The Committee does not find merit in the establishment of a joint Working Group on individual communications.

Other proposals will need to be further examined by the Committee in greater depth before it can pronounce itself on them.

With regard to the intergovernmental process of the General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, the Committee concurs with the views of other treaty bodies that the intergovernmental process must respect the integrity of the respective treaty bodies, the powers of the treaty bodies to decide on their own working methods and rules of procedure, and guarantee their independence.

The Committee stresses that to mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities throughout the treaty body system, measures of reasonable accommodation and accessibility must be factored into the proposals contained in the report of the High Commissioner.

93rd meeting, 28 September 2012

Annex VI

Decision of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (Addis Ababa guidelines)

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities welcomes the guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (Addis Ababa guidelines), endorsed by the twenty-fourth meeting of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies, which was held in Addis Ababa from 25 to 29 June 2012.

The Committee stresses the importance of the Addis Ababa Guidelines and considers them to be compatible with article 34 (3) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which establishes that the members of the Committee shall serve in their personal capacities and shall be of high moral standing and recognized competence and experience in the field covered by the present Convention.

The Committee decides that the Addis Ababa Guidelines shall be incorporated into its rules of procedure and therefore amends the rules of procedure to this end.

93rd meeting, 28 September 2012

Annex VII

Statement on the half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities, adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at its eighth session (17-28 September 2012)

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established in 2009 to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by Member States. The Committee examines reports submitted periodically by States partieson their implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention, makes recommendations to the State party concerned and considers individual complaints about alleged violations of the rights provided for in the Convention. The Committee at its seventh session in April 2012 decided to devote its half day of general discussion (DGD), to be held in 2013, to the rights of women and girls with disabilities.

This decision stems from the Committee’s review of the first national reports submitted since the beginning of its work and the scarcity of information on the situation of women and girls with disabilities in those reports. Indeed, the Committee is concerned by the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by women and girls with disabilities which hinder their meaningful participation on an equal basis with other individuals in all spheres of life.

The Committee expresses concern at the violence and abuses against women and girls with disabilities, as well as the restrictions to their sexual, reproductive and maternity rights. The Committee is further concerned at the generalized absence of gender as a cross-cutting issue in the national plans for persons with disabilities and the lack of a disability perspective in gender policies in general.

The work of the Committee is in line with initiatives taken by other human rights mechanisms. In its resolution 17/11, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a report examining the causes and manifestations of violence against women and girls with disabilities. The report was presented to the twentieth session of the Council in March 2012 (A/HRC/20/5). In its resolution 14/12, the Human Rights Council urged States to make available to women and girls with disabilities services that enable them to avoid and escape situations of violence and that prevent the recurrence of such violence. The Committee on the Rights of the Child devoted its general comment No. 9 (2006) to the rights of children with disabilities, while the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued general recommendation No. 18 (1991) on women with disabilities. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held a day of general discussion in November 2010 on the right to sexual and reproductive health. The Committee also recalls the first informal consultation meetings in September 2012 to prepare for the General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability to be held in 2013.

The Committee welcomes all input on strengthening the protection of human rights of women and girls with disabilities, particularly from organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs). Submissions should be as concise as possible (not more than 10 pages) and sent to the following address in WORD format no later than 17 February 2013: crpd@ohchr.org. All submissions should be accompanied by a brief presentation (one paragraph) of the submitting organization’s experience in the subject matter. Submissions will subsequently be posted on a webpage dedicated to the half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities.