Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Closes Twenty-seventh Session after Adopting its Concluding Observations on Reports of Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Macau Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this afternoon closed its twenty-seventh session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Macau Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. The Committee also adopted the report of its twenty-seventh session, which included a chapter on the situation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine.

Odelia Fitoussi, Committee Rapporteur, informed about the decisions adopted by the Committee during the twenty-seventh session and contained in the session report. The Committee adopted concluding observations in relation to the initial reports of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. It also adopted concluding observations in relation to the combined second and third periodic reports of People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Macao Special Administrative Region of China, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.

Ms. Fitoussi said the Committee had considered four individual communications, finding violations of the Convention in two of them. For the remaining two, one was inadmissible and the second was discontinued. The Committee considered matters related to inquiries pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the Convention. The Committee adopted general comment number eight on the rights of persons with disabilities to work and employment, and adopted guidelines on the deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities, including in emergencies. The Committee also adopted a joint statement, with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, on the situation of persons with disabilities affected by flooding in Pakistan.

In closing remarks, Rosemary Kayess, Committee Chairperson, said that the twenty-seventh session had a regional focus on Asia and the Pacific, with all but one of the meetings conducted in-person in Geneva. The Committee adopted general comment number eight on article 27, work and employment, and guidelines on deinstitutionalisation, including in emergencies. The general comment and the guidelines were both significant pieces of work which would contribute to the ongoing implementation of the Convention. The Committee had also undertaken a section 36(1) of the Convention to receive further information on the impact of the war in Ukraine on persons with disabilities. Information was sought from Ukraine and the Russian Federation and those countries that had been receiving Ukrainian refugees since 24 February 2022.

Ms. Kayess said that the lead up to the session had seen Pakistan, one of the world’s countries most vulnerable to climate change, experience record flooding, resulting in the biggest natural disaster in the history of the country. These events were particularly threatening for at-risk populations, including people with disabilities. During the session, the Committee released a joint statement with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, which highlighted the need for immediate and long-term action to respond to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies. There had been a series of challenges that related to article 11 of the Convention – the COVID pandemic, armed conflict in several regions, and disasters that were a result of climate change. Therefore, the Committee was committed to developing its next general comment on article 11, situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies. Ms. Kayess acknowledged all Committee members for their willingness to work flexibly and thanked four colleagues who were finishing their term in December with the Committee.

The Committee then heard closing remarks from a number of speakers.

International Disability Alliance congratulated the Committee members on the twenty-seventh session. The logistical aspects of the session had gone very well, and the Secretariat had accommodated a room change to ensure accessibility. The adoption of the guidelines on deinstitutionalisation had been a collaborative process. General comment number eight was warmly welcomed as a much-anticipated document which would benefit many stakeholders, promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities in economic communities. The impacts of the pandemic, armed conflicts, and climate change emergencies made it clear that a general comment on article 11 was needed. International Disability Alliance remained fully committed to supporting the work of the Committee.

Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalisation congratulated the Committee on the adoption of the guidelines of deinstitutionalisation, including in emergencies. These were a significant development in providing concrete guidelines to States parties in achieving independent living, and would help avoid common mistakes, such as building group homes. Deeply rooted in fundamental human rights standards, the guidelines were unique in addressing these issues in a comprehensive manner and unique in their focus on emergency situations. In Ukraine, it could be seen how keeping people in institutions during war increased, rather than reduced risk for both children and adults with disabilities. Abuse, exploitation, and death were happening right now in institutions around the world, and proactive steps were needed to stop them. The guidelines would serve as a powerful tool for the Committee, including when conducting reviews under the Convention and when adopting concluding observations. All bodies were urged to support the guidelines and their implementation and States parties must align reform processes with the guidance provided to them.

Centre for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry welcomed the guidelines on deinstitutionalisation and was pleased that they called for reparation mechanisms to address the harms done by institutions to survivors and society. The World Health Organization and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had issued a document on mental health, human rights, and legislation, which overlapped with the guidelines, reinterpreting these materials through a mental health lens. The use of the medical model health framework to approach health and human rights should be rejected, as these features of the World Health Organization and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights document were contrary to the Committee’s guidelines. If the mental health legislative guidance was adopted it was likely to supplant the deinstitutionalisation guidelines, in all matters relating to the mental health system. The Centre called on the World Health Organization and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to withdraw their draft guidance, and instead widely circulate the deinstitutionalisation guidelines to all stakeholders.

International Disability Alliance, Transforming Communities for Inclusion- Asia Pacific warmly welcomed the adoption of the guidelines on deinstitutionalisation, and appreciated the participatory manner in which the guidelines were developed. There was serious concern about the draft mental health guidance by the World Health Organization and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on mental health, human rights, and legislation, which violated many articles of the Convention. This guidance embedded the algorithms of disqualifying persons with disabilities of their human rights, and there was a threat of coercion in the guidance given. There was no need for a standalone mental health law, and any efforts in addressing mental health legislation should start afresh, harmonising with the deinstitutionalisation guidelines. The guidance must be withdrawn.

The twenty-eighth session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is scheduled to be held in Geneva from 6 to 24 March 2023.