UN disability rights experts issue findings on Haiti, Nepal, Oman, Sudan, Slovenia, Seychelles and Russian Federation

GENEVA (12 March 2018) – The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has published its findings on the following countries which it examined during its latest session from 14 February to 9 March in Geneva: Haiti, Nepal, Oman, Sudan, Slovenia, Seychelles and Russian Federation.

The findings cover how the respective State is doing with regard to the rights of persons with disabilities, detailing positive developments, main areas of concern, and recommendations for action. The findings, officially known as concluding observations, can be found here.

At the close of its session, the Committee also adopted new legal guidance on equality and non-discrimination. The text, known as a General Comment, helps States parties to the Convention understand their obligations.

“The General Comment also helps persons with disabilities and their representative organizations hold member States accountable to the promise they made when their ratified the Convention,” said Theresia Degener, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That promise is to ensure that all forms of disability based discrimination are effectively combated, she added.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is composed of 18 international independent experts, who monitor implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified to date by 176 States.

The Committee will next meet from 27 August to 21 September, 2018 in Geneva to review Bulgaria, Poland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Philippines, South Africa, and Algeria.

More information may be found here.

ENDS

If you are a reporter interested in writing about the Committee’s concluding observations, and would like to request an interview with a Committee member, please contact Media Officer Julia Gronnevet in Geneva at jgronnevet@ohchr.org or by phone (+41) 22 917 9310.

Background

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a human rights treaty negotiated by representatives of the international community - including persons with disabilities, government officials, representatives of nongovernmental organizations and others – designed to change the way persons with disabilities are viewed and treated in their societies.

Rather than considering disability as an issue of medicine, charity or dependency, the Convention challenges people worldwide to understand disability as a human rights issue. The Convention covers many areas where obstacles can arise, such as physical access to buildings, roads and transportation, and access to information through written and electronic communications. The Convention also aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, which are often reasons why persons with disabilities are excluded from education, employment and health and other services.
The Committee is the international monitoring body that oversees the implementation of the Convention by those States that have ratified it and has a mandate to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

For more information on the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, please see here.