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Japan:
Obligations of State Parties (Internal measures for implementation)
New Zealand:
As outlined in the Bangkok statement New Zealand believes that the
Convention should contain a clear statement of the obligations of States
to implement its provisions. To ensure that the Convention places
realistic and achievable obligations on States, there is a need to
recognise and distinguish between those specific rights which are
immediately applicable (as already required under existing human rights
treaties), and those which are required to be progressively achieved. The
latter would acknowledge that structural and social changes to society
occur over time with proactive intervention from governments and legal
systems. States should be obliged to ensure an enabling environment and a
barrier-free society.'
States should be obliged to take legislative, programmatic and policy actions to implement the provisions of the Convention, in particular the obligations to respect, ensure and provide enforcement mechanisms for violations of the rights set out in the Convention. These measures should include specific constitutional or legislative guarantees of the rights of disabled people to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination.
The Convention should also clearly set out the obligations of States in relation to the acts of non-State actors that involve the denial of the human rights of disabled people. In these ways States should provide guarantees of equality of opportunity and of non-discrimination, both generally and in the enjoyment of rights guaranteed in the Convention.
New Zealand considers that an essential and successful part of its approach to ensure that disability issues are adequately understood and addressed, and to ensure disabled peoples' rights are realised, is to develop government policy in partnership with disabled people. This principle of partnership is a goal in its own right as well as an important part of the process for achieving other goals for disabled people. New Zealand believes this principle of partnership needs articulation as a general obligation in the Convention. That all States and international bodies should develop all polices and practices, in relation to the Convention and any other matter with a significant impact on disabled people, in partnership with their disabled citizens.
African Regional Workshop:
28. The Convention should place a positive obligation on State Parties to
take legislative, programmatic and policy actions to achieve the
Convention's objectives.
29. The Convention should recognise the responsibility of State Parties to ensure a barrier free society through the establishment of an effective enabling environment.
30. The Convention should recognize the vulnerability of persons with disabilities in situations of crisis such as conflict and natural disasters.
Commonwealth and Asia Pacific Region
International Workshop:
19. The Convention should place a positive obligation on State Parties to
take legislative, programmatic and policy actions to achieve the
Convention's objectives.
20. The Convention should recognise the responsibility of State Parties to ensure an enabling environment and a barrier free society.
Meeting of Bangkok:
noted that the Convention should include specific obligations relating to
national institutional frameworks, in particular providing that States
Parties should use national institutions to monitor and promote compliance
with the Convention, in which national human rights institutions can play
a role. There should be provision for handing of complaints, and for
promotion, litigation, monitoring and reporting functions. There should be
enforcement mechanisms, including provision of remedies, within
institutional and/or judicial systems. The Meeting considered that such
national frameworks should be adequately resourced. The Meeting also noted
the importance at the national level of the establishment of consultative
bodies incorporating persons with disabilities and DPOs.
Chair's draft:
Article 4
General obligations of States Parties
Article 5
Obligations in relation to remedies
Article 29
National implementation framework
Article 13
States Parties shall take necessary administrative measures to promote
overall improvement of status of persons with disabilities and to realize
all rights of persons with disabilities, in particular:
Article 14
For effective implementation of the Convention, it is encouraged to carry
out international cooperation. For this purpose:
Article 3: Legislative Measures
State Parties shall agree to adopt legislative, political, judicial, administrative, and any other kind of measures aimed at achieving the objectives of this Convention. This Convention shall ensure the right to life, developmental rights, participation rights, protection rights, and rights against discrimination, exploitation and abuse. The principle of indivisibility of rights with reference to persons with disabilities shall be respected. To this end, they shall:
1. Specifically incorporate in their national legislations, the principles and perspectives of equality, human rights issues and non-discrimination against people with disabilities and abolish or amend any legislation that permits the contrary.
2. Establish measures to prevent the sanction of any practice which constitutes discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Article 15 : Budgetary Allocation
State shall ensure the necessary demarcation of budgetary provision be made available for the implementation of measures envisaged in this convention
Article 17: Obligations of Developed Countries
State Parties shall recognize inter-state differences in terms of financial and technical resources in the implementation of this Convention and respect the principle of reasonable accommodation within the States' capacities while ensuring that standards and quality in programmes for disabled persons are not below the norms for the general population prevailing in each State.
(a) Since persons with disabilities are over-represented in the population which live at, or below the poverty line, and since 80% of 600 million with disability worldwide, live in developing countries, and since many of the developing countries have non-existent or incomplete states of social security nets, it shall be the responsibility of developed countries to support, guide and in every way assist the developing countries to set in place comprehensive social security systems which, inter alia, cover health, nutrition, shelter, medical, personal and economic security.
(b) Developed countries to take concrete measures for the devolution of financial resources to developing countries and to the least developed countries, for the implementation of this Convention.
(c) Developed countries to take similar cognizance of non-availability of technical resources and establish measures for sharing of technical resources.
Article 18: General obligations of the State Parties
The State Parties shall condemn inequality and discrimination on the basis of disability in all its forms and agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination on the grounds of disability and promoting equality of persons with disabilities, to this end, undertake:
(a) To respect, to ensure and to fulfill the rights recognized in the Convention for all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, without discrimination of any kind on grounds such as race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, caste, sex, disability or other means;
(b) To embody the principles of equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of disability in their National Constitutions or other appropriate legislations if not still incorporated therein, to ensure, through law and other appropriate means the practical application of these principles, and to amend or repeal any legislation that is inconsistent with those principles,
(c) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discriminations on the ground of disability.
Mexico:
Article 3
States Parties agree to adopt legislative, judicial, administrative, and any other kind of measures aimed at achieving the objectives of this Convention. To this end, they shall:
Article 17
In accordance with their legal systems, States Parties shall promote the
establishment and strengthening of national institutions responsible for
safeguarding the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
Article 18
States Parties agree to consult and collaborate with each other, regarding
the putting into practice the content of this Convention, as well as to
work together in a spirit of cooperation to achieve its objectives. To
this end, they commit to:
Venezuela:
Article 3
Purposes
In order to achieve the objectives of this Convention, the States parties
undertake to:
Article 21
National monitoring and evaluation bodies
States parties undertake to establish or strengthen institutions for the
intragovernmental coordination, design and implementation of policies to
address the needs of disabled persons at the central, regional,
departmental or provincial and local government levels, in accordance with
their internal legal systems, which shall be responsible for ensuring the
rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Organizations of persons
with disabilities and their families shall be represented in such bodies
at all levels. The principal functions of such institutions shall include
the permanent monitoring of the implementation of the Convention, in
particular of the objectives established in article 3, and the formulation
of appropriate recommendations for its fulfilment to the relevant
government bodies.
The institutions to which this article refers may assume at the national
level, preferably, the structure of presidential office, council,
institute or department. If they are not attached to the Office of the
President of the Republic, they shall be assigned to ministries
responsible for social development policies and programmes. Such
institutions shall function as mechanisms for coordination with disabled
persons' organizations at the national, provincial, departmental, regional
or local level. The institutions established shall conduct a triennial
evaluation of national implementation of the Convention and of the
measures to be applied in order to fulfil its objectives.
Article 22
Intergovernmental cooperation
States parties agree to consult and cooperate with each other regarding
the implementation of the provisions of this Convention. To that end they
undertake to promote:
Consultation and international cooperation mechanisms for the prevention
of disabilities. Regional and international programmes to comprehensively
target disability as a common problem, ensure equal opportunities and
treatment for persons with disabilities and achieve all the objectives set
forth in this Convention.
Effective exchange of the latest advances in scientific research and the
development of technology pertaining to the prevention of disabilities and
the treatment, rehabilitation and social integration of persons with
disabilities.
Research, training and refresher training through inter-country and
international events such as seminars, congresses, symposia, courses,
workshops and meetings of various kinds.
Seminar of Quito:
suggested the following changes to Mexico's text:
Article 3
Suggested title: Legal Framework
a) Incorporate in their national legislations the principle of equality of rights and equalization of opportunities and non-discrimination for all people and abolish or amend any legislation that permits the contrary.
d) Establish in their national legislations the necessary positive actions to promote the autonomy and independent lives of persons with disabilities and to achieve their full participation, integration and inclusion, under conditions of equality, in all activities of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political life.
Article 17:
Suggested Title: National organizations
States parties should promote the creation or strengthening of national institutions responsible for coordination of actions and the definition of policies and rules in the area of disabilities as well as safeguarding the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, with the significant and decisive participation of persons with disabilities
Add:
Urge States party to designate a national organization to be responsible
for follow-up and evaluation of implementation of the present convention.
Include:
Urge States part to harmonize, a soon as possible, their national
legislation with what is included in the present convention and in other
international instruments concerned with disability.
Article 18:
Title Suggested: International cooperation and the article should be expanded to include text about sources of financing that contribute to the implementation of the Convention especially in the developing countries.
Bangkok Draft:
Article 4 General obligations of
States Parties
Article 5 Obligations in relation to remedies
Article 32 Restrictions on economic, social and cultural rights
States Parties may subject the rights guaranteed in Part III of this Convention only to such limitations are determined by law only in so far as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society.
Article 33 Collection of statistics and data
Article 34 National implementation framework
Part IV Duty of State Parties (Domestic Cooperation)
1. In order to abolish all forms of discrimination imposed upon persons
with disabilities, State Parties have the duty to immediately implement
the rights stated in Part II (Civil freedoms of people with disabilities)
of the Convention.
To that end, after ratifying this convention, State Parties may not enact
such statutes that would have an effect such as imposing restriction of
activities on the ground of disabilities, imposing restriction of
obtaining qualifications, and imposing restriction of use and
participation. In addition, effective measures need to be taken to amend,
abolish or void current statutes in effect.
2. In order for persons with disabilities to achieve an
average-standard life of persons without disabilities in a political,
economical, social cultural or any other context related to living
conditions, State Parties shall take measures to implement these rights
stated in Part III (Social, Economic and Cultural Rights of persons with
disabilities) to the fullest extent possible within the State's
legislation and other available methods within the State.
Furthermore, active improvement measures that are favorable with the
objectives to guarantee the rights of freedom and equality of persons with
disabilities are not regarded as discrimination during the period which
the objective is being met.
3. State Parties shall survey the status of rights regarding this convention, examine the contents of I implementation measures carried out by the State Parties concerned, additionally expressing their opinions to the State Parties concerned, and establish a domestic monitoring committee to promote this convention. State Parties shall allow participation of persons with disabilities concerned at all levels of this organization.
Part VI International Cooperation
Taking into consideration that eighty percent of all persons with disabilities live in developing countries, in the process of examining this convention the importance of international cooperation contributing to promote and protect the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities need to be well examined. In that respect, along with the role of specialized organizations and other international organizations, the right to development need also be well considered.
To that end, State Parties pledge to ensure:
Awareness raising and dissemination
Attitudinal barriers faced by many persons with disabilities can only partly be overcome through legal action. Thus, awareness raising of the general population as well as training to more targeted groups on the rights of persons with disabilities can play a major contribution to the removal of negative stereotypes and social stigma encountered by persons with disabilities.
The Convention should include a specific article, obliging States to undertake these actions in consultation with representative disability organisations.
The Importance of the role of disability organisations
Rule 18 of the UN Standard Rules foresees the right of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations to be involved in policy-making processes.
Consistent with principles of due process and participation under international human rights law and the UN Standard Rules, the UN Convention must provide for the meaningful participation of people with disabilities.
In this regard, the Convention must provide for the involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in its implementation, and accordingly provide adequate support for this involvement.
Development co-operation and the Convention
The UN Convention shall undoubtedly influence the way development co-operation is provided.
Both donor governments and agencies and recipients of development co-operation funds, must ensure that these funds contribute to the enforcement of the UN Convention by:
The World Blind Union recognises there is substantial variation in the rights status of disabled people in different countries. This variation is due to economic, cultural and political factors. Inevitably the time taken to implement a Convention to protect the rights of disabled people will take longer in those countries where disabled people's rights are less developed. We at the World Blind Union therefore recommend that a process for implementing and monitoring the Convention be introduced that takes account of the differing levels of rights development in UN Member States. However, it will be essential to ensure that even though some Member States will need longer to fully implement the Convention, every State that is a signatory to the Convention should attain full implementation within an agreed period of time. During this period there must not be any regression in rights or any diminution in services. "Progressivity" should be a key aspect of the implementation of the Convention.
With this in mind, the World Blind Union proposes that a staged process for the implementation of the Convention should be introduced. Every Member State would work through each of the stages and participate in the associated monitoring arrangements. However, some states would attain full implementation earlier than those States that begin the process with a less developed level of rights for disabled people.
A staged process could work as follows:
Stage 1
States accept a binding commitment, backed by national legislation, to
fully implement the Convention. This commitment will recognise that the
Convention constitutes an international standard for the establishment of
rights for disabled people in each UN Member State. This legislation is to
be enacted within two years of a country becoming a signatory to the
Convention, providing the necessary minimum number of signatories has been
met. WBU proposes that the number of signatory countries required to
activate the Convention should be 20.
Obligations
1. Any international or national legal provision and/or administrative arrangement or decision in contravention with or derogation of the provisions of this convention shall be deemed void ab initio.
Basic Articles: What are state obligations?
The convention must require states to adopt anti-discrimination laws and repeal all laws which themselves perpetuate discrimination.
The rights guaranteed by the convention must give rise to enforceable remedies in national tribunals, and states must also accept an obligation to protect against violation of rights by non-governmental agents. Such provisions are essential in a human rights treaty and comparable to obligations already undertaken in other treaties.
On-line CONSULTATION:
Comments on Article 18 of the Mexican text:
Subparagraph (h): The issue of mainstreaming disability issues in development cooperation is extremely important and should be reflected in this article. The observed tendency is to address disability as a sectoral issue of concern to health and medical rehabilitation or labour and social welfare. There is no consideration of disability in the context of mainstream development. Building on Rule 21 of the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, "Technical and economic cooperation" :
Take measures to achieve the equalization of opportunities of persons with disabilities by be integrating them into all forms of technical and economic cooperation, bilateral and multilateral, governmental and non-governmental.