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):

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:

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:

Some issues to consider in forming coalitions are:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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 could be improved by:

7. Data collection and analysis

There are several data sources that could be helpful for the alternative report:

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:

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:

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: