Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

List of issues in relation to the initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina *

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

1.Please provide information on the involvement of and consultations with organizations representing persons with disabilities, including those not affiliated with the Council of Persons with Disabilities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on their input into the initial report and in implementing related national policies.

2.Please provide an overview of social and financial assistance in terms of the availability of resources to improve the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and support for organizations of persons with disabilities to advocate for those rights.

3.Please describe the measures taken to ensure a single definition of persons with disabilities, based on the human rights approach to disability, that is applied in all sectors, beyond employment, and to all groups of persons with disabilities, including persons with autism.

4.Please describe the measures taken to conduct a review of all existing and draft legislation and policies and to ensure their compliance with the Convention.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5-30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

5.Please inform the Committee as to how persons with disabilities are protected against discrimination in all areas of life, including against the denial of reasonable accommodation, and how they can seek redress and the imposition of sanctions.

Women with disabilities (art. 6)

6.Please describe the implementation of the Non-discriminatory Law in the field of education and with regard to the common traditionally held opinions (CRPD/C/BIH/1, para. 232). Please provide information on temporary specific measures taken to address gender inequality and on activities focused on special needs of women and girls with disabilities, as well as on the measures taken to combat multiple and intersectional discrimination.

7.Please explain the measures taken to ensure that the rights of women and girls with disabilities are included in the State’s gender equality policies and action plans, and how women and girls with disabilities and their representative organizations are consulted in the preparation of such policies and plans.

Children with disabilities (art. 7)

8.Please explain whether corporal punishment of children, including children with disabilities, is explicitly prohibited in the family home and in alternative care and day-care settings throughout the State party.

Awareness-raising (art. 8)

9.Please provide concrete information on campaigns, awareness-raising programmes and training targeting personnel in the public and private media, and whether the text of the Convention has been made available in sign language(s).

Accessibility (art. 9)

10.Please inform the Committee about the concrete obligations relevant to disabilities other than the physical disabilities referred to in the decree on the prevention of architectural-urban barriers for persons with physical disabilities, the law on spatial planning and construction in the Republika Srpska and the rulebook on conditions for the planning and design of structures for the free movement of persons with reduced physical abilities (CRPD/C/BIH/1, para. 24), as well as steps taken to monitor and improve the implementation of related legal provisions. Please provide information on any plan, road map or suitable indicators and sanctions that are to be applied in creating a barrier-free environment and barrier-free services.

Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)

11.Please inform the Committee about the accessibility of information related to situations of risk, humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters and evacuation plans, especially in terms of evacuation procedures, as well as about the involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in formulating such procedures.

Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)

12.Please provide the Committee with information on the number of persons upon whom the designation of “full limitation of legal incapacitation” is imposed each year, on measures to repeal the legal provisions permitting such designations, on the decrease in the number of persons subjected to total deprivation of legal capacities and on measures to move to a supported decision-making system. Please explain whether only one medical expert is indeed sufficient to provide a medical opinion regarding legal capacity.

Access to justice (art. 13)

13.Please provide information about the scope of reasonable and procedural accommodations during civil judicial procedures, including notary-assisted services. Please specify the safeguards and accessibility measures in place to ensure access to justice, especially for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, and provide additional information on the draft law on free legal assistance (CRPD/C/BIH/1, para. 83) and the outcomes of the project aimed at providing legal assistance to persons with disabilities (ibid., para. 84).

Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)

14.Please inform the Committee about the definitions and protocols relevant to detention measures for persons with disabilities, in particular for those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. Please also inform the Committee about measures taken to prohibit disability-based detention and forced treatment of persons with disabilities.

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

15.What measures and safeguards are available for persons living in residential institutions and for minor or legally incapacitated patients regarding consent to medical or scientific research or the provision of medical treatment?

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

16.Please describe the effective legal measures in place to prevent and eliminate violence, exploitation and abuse against persons with disabilities, in particular women, girls and boys, particularly those placed in institutions. Please also provide information on the accessibility of helplines, shelters and services and on measures to train police and professionals.

Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)

17.Please provide information on conditions under which guardians may authorize medical intervention, in particular with respect to reproductive rights and the practice of forced sterilization, without the consent of the person concerned.

Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)

18.Please provide information on how persons with disabilities are provided with access to public services on an equal basis with others.

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

19.Please inform the Committee about the role of day centres for elderly persons in the deinstitutionalization process, with reference to relevant figures. Please indicate whether the State party is considering adopting comprehensive national deinstitutionalization strategies.

Personal mobility (art. 20)

20.Please inform the Committee about the conditions that persons with disabilities must meet to obtain assistive devices for mobility and communication, and about the scope of the funds of the lottery to cover all persons with disabilities eligible for aid and rehabilitation regardless of the entity of residence.

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

21.Please inform the Committee about the accessibility of information provided by public broadcasters and private media, and about the incentives and sanctions are available with regard to improving accessibility in accordance with the Law on free access to information.

Respect for home and the family (art. 23)

22.Please describe the measures being taken to prevent children with disabilities from being separated from their families and placed in institutions and to provide the necessary support for families with members with disabilities.

Education (art. 24)

23.Please provide information on budgetary and other measures introduced to ensure inclusive education at all levels throughout the State party. What are the outcomes of the 2008-2014 initiative on strategic directions in the development of education?

Health (art. 25)

24.Please inform the Committee as to the measures being taken to ensure the accessibility of health services, including through staff training, for all persons with disabilities, including with regard to access by women with disabilities to reproductive health services.

Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)

25.What steps have been taken to increase the availability and accessibility of habilitation and rehabilitation services, including assistive technologies, relevant to independent living?

Work and employment (art. 27)

26.Please indicate the effectiveness of the affirmative action measures implemented to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market and the public sector. Please provide relevant figures for persons with disabilities in terms of employment, unemployment, inactive status and access to support and provision of reasonable accommodation.

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

27.Please inform the Committee about the implementation of the Law on social protection, particularly regarding the deinstitutionalization process. Please explain how entitlements and services are ensured for all persons with disabilities and describe measures taken to eliminate the differences in treatment that exist across different groups of persons with disabilities.

Participation in political and public life (art. 29)

28.Please inform the Committee about the legislation on and the relevant practice in place for providing alternative voting material, in particular in Braille and easy-to-read formats. Please explain further how the right to vote for persons with disabilities still under guardianship is ensured.

C.Specific obligations (arts. 31-33)

Statistics and data collection (art. 31)

29.Please explain how the State party intends to improve systematic collection of data in the field of disability, in particular with regard to the outcome of the 2013 census.

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)

30.Please inform the Committee about the designation of the focal point referred to in article 33 (1) of the Convention, and about any independent monitoring mechanism in the State party, in particular regarding the mandate, independence and transparency of the latter. Please provide information on budgetary support for the independent involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities in monitoring activities.