"Make the right real": Recommendations to States to strengthen CRPD implementation

We, the participants of the international workshop on the implementation of the CRPD, organised by KDF, KPNPD and IDA on 23-24 November 2015 in Seoul, Korea, in support of Goal 9 of the Incheon Strategy, and noting the recent adoption of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gathered to share our experiences and learning about challenges and opportunities concerning the realisation of rights of persons with disabilities in our respective countries.

Representatives of organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) coming from 14 countries, including seven countries which have passed through the review process of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), we have participated directly before the CRPD Committee as well as other treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and been actively engaged in advocacy to implement the recommendations resulting from these processes at the national level.

We recognise that since the adoption of the CRPD, DPOs, States Parties, UN agencies and others have together succeeded to place the rights of persons with disabilities on the agenda at many different levels. The recent adoption of a more inclusive agenda 2030 is the testimony that persons with disabilities are no longer invisible and that a momentum for inclusion is emerging.

However, this momentum has not yet translated into effective policies and budget allocation to improve the lives of the majority of persons with disabilities, particularly those who face greater marginalisation.

Our experience with the CRPD Committee review of our countries and the diversity of recommendations that the CRPD Committee has made to our governments indicates the need in low, middle, and high income countries to advance more actively in the shift of paradigm towards non-discrimination and inclusion of persons with disabilities. Doing so is not solely a matter of financial resources, it is also very much about design, social innovation and preparedness of the mainstream systems to change. Good practices and lessons learned can come from anywhere. In that regard, exchanges among countries and comparative data collection in Asia Pacific within UN ESCAP are interesting examples of cooperation that should inspire other regions.

To make the right real, there is a need to significantly increase development assistance and resources dedicated to inclusion of persons with disabilities as well as provide more technical assistance to governments, DPOs and key stakeholders in the form of collection of good practices, comparative policy analysis, resource material, training guidelines, training of trainers and experts in many fields in order to promote understanding of CRPD compliance and disability inclusive development.

On the basis of this context, we make the following recommendations:

1. Mobilisation across government

Adopt human rights based approach (shifting from welfare/medical model)
Ensure mainstreaming of CRPD standards and twin track approach across all government departments, programmes etc including international cooperation and Agenda 2030 related programmes
Establish focal points within all government departments and at different levels as well as a coordination mechanism across government bodies
Consult with and engage all government sectors and levels in devising an action plan on implementation of CRPD, identifying responsibilities and obligations at every level (national/federal, regional, local)
Withdraw reservations, interpretive declarations
Ratify the Optional Protocol to CRPD

2.DPO leadership and participation

Ensure inclusion and diversity for meaningful DPO participation (all groups of disability constituencies, women, children, older persons, indigenous persons, urban, rural, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Internally Displaced People, LGBTI, persons living in poverty, persons living in institutions, etc), and active involvement and close consultation by:
- All government bodies including the focal point/coordinating mechanism - Art 33(1)
- the independent monitoring framework (ensure independent framework is sufficiently resourced with capacity to fulfil its mandate) - Art 33(2)
Respecting DPO leadership, other stakeholders such as parents' organisations and advocacy groups should also be included in consultation
This applies across all recommendations

3. Legal harmonisation

Engage in formal review of legislation to identify departures from CRPD standards with a view to legal reform of both general and disability specific laws and regulations
- Eliminate discriminatory provisions and derogatory terminology
- Incorporate CRPD principles and standards across domestic legislation including bylaws and regulations to enable full inclusion of persons with disabilities
- Conduct periodic monitoring and review of newly adopted legislation

4. Enforcement mechanisms and remedies

Identify and strengthen institutional weaknesses for implementation to establish effective enforcement and monitoring mechanisms of CRPD obligations to ensure that individuals can exercise and invoke their rights in practice and have access to effective remedies and redress through complaints mechanisms.

5. Training and awareness-raising

Incorporate training on CRPD and the human rights based approach into all current and future training programmes for public administration, civil servants, judiciary, etc
Conduct CRPD training pre CRPD review process
Conduct training and awareness raising for public/private sectors and general public including children at all levels of education
Ensure involvement of persons with disabilities in the design and delivery of training and awareness raising
Conduct training and awareness raising to persons with disabilities and their families about their human rights and information about available resources, support services and complaint and redress mechanisms
Disseminate CRPD Committee recommendations across all government sectors

6. Data collection

Ensure systematic disability disaggregated data collection across all sectors, within national surveys/census and administrative data collection
Compile, analyse and disseminate those data with a view to inform policy decision and monitoring
Set milestones for CRPD implementation and related indicators for monitoring progress
Ensure that monitoring of the SDGs will include disaggregation of all population and other relevant targets and indicators by disability

7. Resource allocation

Resource allocation- ensure CRPD compliant mobilisation and use of public and other available resources including international development finance:
- Meaningfully increase resources in a strategic manner to policies and programmes enabling participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities
- Reallocate funds away from policies and programs non compliant with the CRPD
- Ensure that public expenditure does not perpetrate or create barriers including compliance with accessibility standards in all public procurement and investment
- Support DPOs with funding and capacity building to be effective partners in CRPD implementation
- Ensure that development cooperation funds and programs are inclusive of persons with disabilities
- Dedicate part of development cooperation funds to support directly empowerment of persons with disabilities

8. Mainstreaming rights of persons with disabilities in all global processes

Ensure reporting on rights of persons with disabilities when engaging in other global and regional processes- other human rights treaties, UPR as well as in the development of the SDGs review process
Actively support DPO engagement and participation in these processes

9. International cooperation

Contribute to international cooperation, as well as consider requesting technical assistance to enhance capacity for implementation of the CRPD and to that effect collaborate with other member states, UN agencies, DPOs and other relevant stakeholders
Ensure that all international cooperation programs are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities
Ensure that the implementation of agenda 2030 and SDGs will be truly inclusive
Call on the United Nations and its agencies as well as international financial institutions to significantly increase resource mobilisation and technical assistance capacities to support members states and DPOs (in line with Articles 32, 37 and 38 of the CRPD), learning from the experience of UNAIDS as well as the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in order to:
- Mobilise greater resources for technical assistance,
- Coordinate among agencies technical assistance efforts
- Tackle pre condition for inclusion and neglected issues and groups for which no UN agencies has clear mandate
- Develop technical assistance resources and make available CRPD and disability inclusive development experts to provide overall cross cutting technical assistance to member states
- Contribute to make SDGs and agenda 2030 truly inclusive
- Develop regional and global multi stakeholder clusters among UN agencies, States, DPOs, NGOs, donor countries and development agencies that are interested in working on common issues, such as CRPD compliant social protection, economic empowerment, access to justice, accessibility…

The CRPD will not be implemented and the Sustainable Development Goals will hardly foster inclusion of persons with disabilities if there is not significantly more investment in terms of finance, institutional and human resources, including for international cooperation. The scope of work is very wide. We need to be creative together, continuing to learn from each other, supporting each other so that each country can make use of all resources available to ensure the enjoyment of all human rights by all persons with disabilities.

Go to the top of this page. | Go to the upper category.