B. Alternative reports
1. Civil society/NHRI input into the reporting cycle
Reporting to the Convention is not a single or isolated event. Instead, it is a process and civil society organizations and
national human rights institutions (NHRIs) can contribute to the various stages of the process. The participation of representative
organizations of persons with disabilities should be given particular attention, taking into account articles 35 (4) and 4
(3) of the Convention. The overall process is as follows (indicating where civil society organizations and NHRIs can influence):
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Drafting the State party report – the State is responsible for preparing its initial and periodic reports. In some countries, the State reaches out to civil
society and national human rights institutions when preparing the report. They might hold a consultation with key organizations
or circulate the report for review. Some countries annex the views of civil society to the report. Even where these practices
are not present, civil society organizations and NHRIs can attempt to have their say in the preparation and content of the
report by contacting Convention focal points in the Government or, where it exists, the coordination mechanism.
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Preparing the list of issues – on the basis of the State party report the Committee will develop a list of issues for the State party to prepare for the
constructive dialogue. The State party should also provide answers to the list of issues prior to the session – which helps
to focus the discussion. Civil society organizations can provide information at the time of submission of the State party
report and, in this way, influence the list of issues that are provided to the State for clarification in preparation of the
interactive dialogue. In addition, civil society organizations can provide answers to the list of issues which will ensure
the Committee has the widest possible information before it.
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The Committee session – during the Committee's session, civil society organizations and NHRIs can play an active role. The Committee will generally
meet with civil society organizations and NHRIs related to the reporting country to hear issues of interest and concern. Individuals
can also use the opportunity of being in Geneva to meet with Committee members to discuss various implementation issues they
face nationally. Civil society organizations and NHRIs can also be present during the dialogue with the State party. Following
the dialogue in this way can clarify how the Committee identified its various concluding observations, which in turn can help
with follow-up later at the country level.
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Follow-up to concluding observations – civil society organizations and NHRIs have crucial roles in ensuring follow-up. While the ultimate responsibility for implementing
concluding observations rests with the Government, civil society organizations and NHRIs can also play their part. This is
considered in greater detail below.
2. What are alternative reports?
Alternative reports are one way—and a significant one—in which civil society and NHRIs can have their say in the reporting
process. There is no strict definition of an alternative report and there is no strict format to follow as such. In general,
an alternative report provides the Committee with complementary information to that provided by the State party with a view
to ensuring the Committee has the fullest information before it.
An alternative report will not necessarily contradict the State report, but simply add to it or provide an alternative perspective
on issues raised in the State report. However, if a State report does not provide the most accurate or up-to-date information,
the alternative report can alert the Committee to such information.
By providing complementary information, the ultimate aim of alternative reports is to ensure the most relevant concluding
observations and recommendations to assist with future implementation.
3. Structure of the report
There is no requirement to structure alternative reports in a particular way; however, drafters should consider a methodological
approach that assists the Committee to understand how the report was compiled and that identifies in as clear a manner as
possible the issues civil society and NHRIs wish to raise with the Committee as well as possible solutions.
The following is one possible structure, drawn in large part from the Committee's reporting guidelines:
- 1. Executive summary setting out the principal concerns, advances and recommendations
- 2. Table of contents
- 3. Methodology for preparing the report, including the process of data collection and which organizations have been involved
in preparing and finalizing the report
- 4. Discussion of the general background— political, economic, social, cultural—that might help the Committee better understand
the context of the report
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5. Key issues:
- (a) Articles 1–4: purpose, definitions, general principles and general obligations
- (b) Articles 5–30: in relation to specific rights
- (c) Articles 6 and 7: boys, girls and women with disabilities
- (d) Articles 31–33: specific obligations in relation to data and statistics, international cooperation and national implementation
and monitoring frameworks
- 6. Recommendations, to be as precise and focused as possible. There is no need to include many.
4. Methodology: forming a coalition for an alternative report
Although not a requirement, it can be useful to form a coalition of national stake-holders to prepare the alternative report.
This helps the Committee by providing it with one document covering the various concerns of civil society across the country.
In addition:
- Forming a coalition to draft the report also helps to form national civil society coalitions to work on issues beyond the
alternative report. For example, the coalition might not only prepare the alternative report but work together on implementing
the Committee's recommendations.
- Similarly, it allows stakeholders to understand issues of concern in areas beyond their own focus. For example, one organization
focusing on service delivery for persons with physical disabilities might learn about the concerns of another that is working
to protect the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities in prisons. This provides an opportunity to learn about the
work of other disability groups and identify common areas of activities such as advocacy.
- Furthermore, forming coalitions allows groups to capitalize on knowledge and expertise. For example, a DPO might have extensive
experience on protecting disability rights nationally and could pair up with the more general human rights organization with
extensive experience in treaty body reporting. Both organizations bring something to the table and can make for an effective
process and useful alternative report.
Some issues to consider in forming coalitions are:
- Are all disability constituencies represented?
- Is the diversity of society reflected as much as possible, e.g., women and men, a child perspective, older persons, racial
and ethnic minorities, indigenous persons and so on.
- Is there sufficient knowledge about the treaty body reporting system?
- Is there sufficient capacity to consult with as wide a group as possible?
5. Content: specific rights
It is advisable for alternative reports to follow the Committee's reporting guidelines. This means that the report aligns
with the Committee's practice and also with the State report, assuming that the State has followed the reporting guidelines
when preparing its report. As noted above, the Committee groups the rights and obligations in the Convention as follows:
- Definitions, general principles and general obligations;
- Specific rights;
- The rights of women, boys and girls with disabilities;
- Specific obligations, namely data and statistics, international cooperation and national implementation and monitoring frameworks.
The reporting guidelines also provide a list of questions that should be addressed in relation to the various provisions under
these headings.
For example, the Committee's guidelines for article 5 on non-discrimination and equality are:
This article recognizes that all persons are equal before the law with entitlement to equal protection and benefit of the
law on equal grounds without any discrimination.
States parties should report on:
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Whether persons with disabilities are able to use the law to protect or pursue their interests on an equal basis with others
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Effective measures taken to guarantee persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection against all types of
discrimination, including the provision of reasonable accommodation
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Policies and programmes, including affirmative action measures, to achieve the de facto equality of persons with disabilities,
taking into account their diversity.
Spain provided the following information in response to these questions in its initial report (CRPD/C/ESP/1, paras. 15–16,
emphasis added):
In summary:
- Spanish legislation ensures full compliance with article 5;
- Some legislation nevertheless requires revision in the light of the Convention, such as the General Health Act;
- Legislation together with the supervisory mechanisms and sanctions imposed for breaches of the law provide an effective regime
to guarantee equality and non-discrimination.
The alternative report provides the Committee with a longer response to its questions as well as complementary information.
It notes that:
6. Recommendations
It is important for alternative reports to propose action that the Committee can take, such as questions that the Committee
could put to the State representatives. Alternatively, it could propose recommendations to be included in the concluding observations.
The important thing to remember is that recommendations should be as clear and targeted as possible so that they can be implemented
and reflected in the next periodic report. Vague or general recommendations might be confusing for the State party to implement
or lead to non-implementation or ineffective implementation.
Some guidelines for recommendations are:
- They should be clear
- Each one should contain only one action
- They should specify who should implement them
- If possible, they should be measurable
- Where relevant, they should specify a time frame for implementation
- They should be linked to a particular implementation challenge
- They should not be vague or general.
Still in connection with article 5, the alternative report on Spain's implementation makes two sets of recommendations.
In relation to the claim that protection against discrimination fails to protect certain persons with disabilities, it proposes
a focus not on percentages of disability but on vulnerability:
In relation to the claim that the supervisory and sanctions mechanisms were not completely effective, the alternative report
recommends:
The recommendations are helpful, although not all of them meet the suggestions listed above. Consider the following recommendation:
Include indicators monitoring the efficacy of the protection systems following up matters both in the administrative disciplinary
area and follow-up indicators in the legal area
In general terms, the recommendation is helpful:
- It is clear
- It is measurable
- It links with and responds to an implementation challenge
- It is not vague or general.
It could be improved by:
- Specifying which governmental authority should develop the indicators
- Setting a time frame for this to occur.
7. Data collection and analysis
There are several data sources that could be helpful for the alternative report:
- Laws and policies. The alternative report, as with the State report, should provide the Committee with information on the
legal and policy context as it relates to the Convention's implementation. This requires a mapping of laws and a gap analysis.
See the forthcoming OHCHR publication on law review, which will aim to assist in analysing the extent to which national legislation
is in compliance with the Convention.
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✓ Review of secondary materials. Civil society organizations might not have the time or the resources to collect new data.
One way to overcome this situation is to rely on trustworthy secondary sources of information. For instance:
Reports, such as census data or ad hoc reports, from the national statistical institute
Data from ministries of education, health, justice, social affairs, transport
Reports from the United Nations and the World Bank might either include information on persons with disabilities or even focus
specifically on disabilities
National human rights institutions might have information such as research reports
Academic institutions might have undertaken research or surveys on the rights of persons with disabilities.
- Information on complaints (such as court cases, complaints to the ombudsman and so on) can show whether individuals are using
complaints mechanisms and whether such mechanisms are effective. An analysis of complaints can also identify challenging and
recurring issues in implementation.
- It might be possible for civil society organizations to undertake their own research for the alternative report. Techniques
such as household surveys can provide quantitative information, while interviews with key experts and interviews with groups
reflecting the diversity of disability can provide important qualitative information that could add depth to the report, for
example, by reflecting an individual's actual experience of human rights in the national context.
8. Submitting the report to the Committee
The drafters should submit their alternative report to the Committee in time for it to be considered in full. This could be
done:
- At the time of submission of the State report. However, given the delays in the Committee's review of State reports, this
might require updating the report prior to the constructive dialogue.
- Prior to the Committee's session preceding its review of the State party report. For example, if the State party will be reviewed
at the tenth session, the Committee's secretariat should receive the alternative report before the ninth session, so the report
can influence the list of issues.
- Prior to the session itself. In this way, the alternative report can still influence the constructive dialogue with the State
and will be fully up to date.
The report should be sent to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, secretariat of the Committee
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, at crpd@ohchr.org.
Civil society organizations might also consider attending the Committee's sessions either:
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✓ At the session prior to the constructive dialogue with the State. The International Disability Alliance holds a lunchtime
session for the Committee's members, which is open to the public, to discuss issues relating to the State party whose report
will be reviewed at the next session;
or
- At the session of the constructive dialogue. The Committee will set aside time to meet civil society organizations and NHRIs
prior to the constructive dialogue to have their views. These sessions are normally closed.
9. Follow-up to the Committee's session
There are many ways in which civil society organizations, either separately or in partnership with the authorities, can follow
up on the Committee's concluding observations and recommendations. For example, they may:
- Issue a press release to raise awareness of the concluding observations and recommendations
- Continue the coalition that drafted the alternative report, meet and strategize on ways to move forward on the concluding
observations
- Meet staff in the relevant ministries to ensure that a workplan for the implementation of the concluding observations is developed
- Meet parliamentarians to raise awareness of specific recommendations that require law and policy reform
- Meet the United Nations country team to encourage United Nations agencies to advocate implementation of the concluding observations
and to align programming with the Committee's recommendations
- Hold a national conference to raise awareness of the concluding observations
- Hold workshops on specific issues
- Identify recommendations that civil society could assist in implementing
- Follow implementation of recommendations over time to maintain focus
- Report on implementation to the Committee as well as to other international processes such as the universal periodic review.