THE
DISABILITY CONVENTION AND THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL:
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Preamble
The States
Parties to the present Convention,
(a) Recalling
the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations which recognize
the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in
the world,
(b) Recognizing
that the United Nations, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in
the International Covenants on Human Rights, has proclaimed and agreed that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without
distinction of any kind,
(c) Reaffirming
the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with
disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination,
(d) Recalling
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families,
(e) Recognizing
that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the
interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental
barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an
equal basis with others,
(f) Recognizing
the importance of the principles and policy guidelines contained in the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and in the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of the
policies, plans, programmes and actions at the
national, regional and international levels to further equalize opportunities
for persons with disabilities,
(g) Emphasizing
the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of
relevant strategies of sustainable development,
(h) Recognizing
also that discrimination against any person on the basis of disability is a
violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human person,
(i) Recognizing further the diversity of persons with
disabilities,
(j) Recognizing
the need to promote and protect the human rights of all persons with
disabilities, including those who require more intensive support,
(k) Concerned
that, despite these various instruments and undertakings, persons with
disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members
of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world,
(l) Recognizing
the importance of international cooperation for improving the living conditions
of persons with disabilities in every country, particularly in developing
countries,
(m) Recognizing
the valued existing and potential contributions made by persons with
disabilities to the overall well-being and diversity of their communities, and
that the promotion of the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their
human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full participation by persons with
disabilities will result in their enhanced sense of belonging and in
significant advances in the human, social and economic development of society
and the eradication of poverty,
(n) Recognizing
the importance for persons with disabilities of their individual autonomy and
independence, including the freedom to make their own choices,
(o) Considering
that persons with disabilities should have the opportunity to be actively
involved in decision-making processes about policies and programmes,
including those directly concerning them,
(p) Concerned
about the difficult conditions faced by persons with disabilities who are
subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination on the basis of race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or
other status,
(q) Recognizing
that women and girls with disabilities are often at greater risk, both within
and outside the home of violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
(r) Recognizing
that children with disabilities should have full enjoyment of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children, and recalling
obligations to that end undertaken by States Parties to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child,
(s) Emphasizing
the need to incorporate a gender perspective in all efforts to promote the full
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with
disabilities,
(t) Highlighting
the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities live in conditions of
poverty, and in this regard recognizing the critical need to address the
negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
(u) Bearing
in mind that conditions of peace and security based on full respect for the
purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations and
observance of applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for the
full protection of persons with disabilities, in particular during armed conflicts
and foreign occupation,
(v) Recognizing
the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural
environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in
enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and
fundamental freedoms,
(w) Realizing
that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to
which he or she belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion
and observance of the rights recognized in the International Bill of Human
Rights,
(x) Convinced
that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to protection by society and the State, and that persons with
disabilities and their family members should receive the necessary protection
and assistance to enable families to contribute towards the full and equal
enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities,
(y) Convinced
that a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and
protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities will make a
significant contribution to redressing the profound social disadvantage of
persons with disabilities and promote their participation in the civil,
political, economic, social and cultural spheres with equal opportunities, in
both developing and developed countries,
Have agreed
as follows:
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose
of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with
disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Persons with
disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or
sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their
full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
Article 2
Definitions
For the
purposes of the present Convention:
“Communication”
includes languages, display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large
print, accessible multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language,
human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of
communication, including accessible information and communication technology;
“Language”
includes spoken and signed languages and other forms of non spoken languages;
“Discrimination
on the basis of disability” means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on
the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or
nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with
others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all forms of
discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation;
“Reasonable
accommodation” means necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not
imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case,
to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal
basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;
“Universal
design” means the design of products, environments, programmes
and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible,
without the need for adaptation or specialized design. “Universal design” shall
not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with
disabilities where this is needed.
Article 3
General principles
The
principles of the present Convention shall be:
(a) Respect
for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s
own choices, and independence of persons;
(b)
Non-discrimination;
(c) Full and
effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) Respect
for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human
diversity and humanity;
(e) Equality
of opportunity;
(f)
Accessibility;
(g) Equality
between men and women;
(h) Respect
for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the
right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
Article 4
General obligations
1. States
Parties undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without
discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. To this end, States
Parties undertake:
(a) To adopt
all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the
implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention;
(b) To take
all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing
laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against
persons with disabilities;
(c) To take
into account the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with
disabilities in all policies and programmes;
(d) To
refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent with the
present Convention and to ensure that public authorities and institutions act
in conformity with the present Convention;
(e) To take
all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability
by any person, organization or private enterprise;
(f) To
undertake or promote research and development of universally designed goods,
services, equipment and facilities, as defined in article 2 of the present
Convention, which should require the minimum possible adaptation and the least
cost to meet the specific needs of a person with disabilities, to promote their
availability and use, and to promote universal design in the development of standards
and guidelines;
(g) To
undertake or promote research and development of, and to promote the
availability and use of new technologies, including information and
communications technologies, mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies,
suitable for persons with disabilities, giving priority to technologies at an
affordable cost;
(h) To
provide accessible information to persons with disabilities about mobility
aids, devices and assistive technologies, including new technologies, as well
as other forms of assistance, support services and facilities;
(i) To promote the training of professionals and staff
working with persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in this
Convention so as to better provide the assistance and services guaranteed by those
rights.
2. With
regard to economic, social and cultural rights, each State Party undertakes to
take measures to the maximum of its available resources and, where needed,
within the framework of international cooperation, with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice to those
obligations contained in the present Convention that are immediately applicable
according to international law.
3. In the development and implementation of legislation and policies to
implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making processes
concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall
closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including
children with disabilities, through their representative organizations.
4. Nothing
in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are more conducive
to the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and which may be
contained in the law of a State Party or international law in force for that
State. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of the human
rights and fundamental freedoms recognized or existing in any State Party to
the present Convention pursuant to law, conventions, regulation or custom on
the pretext that the present Convention does not recognize such rights or
freedoms or that it recognizes them to a lesser extent.
5. The
provisions of the present Convention shall extend to all parts of federal
states without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 5
Equality and non-discrimination
1. States
Parties recognize that all persons are equal before and under the law and are
entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection and equal benefit
of the law.
2. States
Parties shall prohibit all discrimination on the basis of disability and
guarantee to persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection
against discrimination on all grounds.
3. In order
to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, States Parties shall take all
appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided.
4. Specific
measures which are necessary to accelerate or achieve de facto equality of
persons with disabilities shall not be considered discrimination under the terms
of the present Convention.
Article 6
Women with disabilities
1. States
Parties recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject
to multiple discrimination, and in this regard shall take measures to
ensure the full and equal enjoyment by them of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
2. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the full development,
advancement and empowerment of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the
exercise and enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in
the present Convention.
Article 7
Children with disabilities
1. States
Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by
children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an
equal basis with other children.
2. In all
actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child
shall be a primary consideration.
3. States
Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express
their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due
weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other
children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to
realize that right.
Article 8
Awareness-raising
1. States
Parties undertake to adopt immediate, effective and appropriate measures:
(a) To raise
awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons
with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons
with disabilities;
(b) To
combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with
disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life;
(c) To
promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of persons with
disabilities.
2. Measures
to this end include:
(a)
Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns designed:
(i) To nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with
disabilities;
(ii) To promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards
persons with disabilities;
(iii) To promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities of persons
with disabilities, and of their contributions to the workplace and the labour market;
(b) Fostering
at all levels of the education system, including in all children from an early
age, an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities;
(c)
Encouraging all organs of the media to portray persons with disabilities in a
manner consistent with the purpose of the present Convention;
(d)
Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding
persons with disabilities and the rights of persons with disabilities.
Article 9
Accessibility
1. To enable
persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all
aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to
persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the
physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications,
including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other
facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in
rural areas. These measures, which shall include the identification and
elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:
(a)
Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor facilities,
including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;
(b) Information, communications and other services, including electronic
services and emergency services.
2. States
Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
(a) Develop,
promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines
for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the
public;
(b) Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are
open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility
for persons with disabilities;
(c) Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing persons
with disabilities;
(d) Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage in
Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
(e) Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides,
readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate
accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;
(f) Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons with
disabilities to ensure their access to information;
(g) Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and
communications technologies and systems, including the Internet;
(h) Promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible
information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so
that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.
Article 10
Right to life
States
Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and
shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons
with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
Article 11
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
States
Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international
law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights
law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with
disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict,
humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.
Article 12
Equal recognition before the law
1. States
Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition
everywhere as persons before the law.
2. States
Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on
an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.
3. States
Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with
disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal
capacity.
4. States
Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal
capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in
accordance with international human rights law. Such safeguards shall ensure
that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the rights,
will and preferences of the person, are free of conflict of interest and undue
influence, are proportional and tailored to the person’s circumstances, apply
for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular review by a
competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The safeguards
shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the person’s
rights and interests.
5. Subject
to the provisions of this article, States Parties shall take all appropriate
and effective measures to ensure the equal right of persons with disabilities
to own or inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and to have
equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, and
shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not arbitrarily deprived of
their property.
Article 13
Access to justice
1. States
Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities
on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural
and age-appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their effective role
as direct and indirect participants, including as witnesses, in all legal
proceedings, including at investigative and other preliminary stages.
2. In order
to help to ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities,
States Parties shall promote appropriate training for those working in the
field of administration of justice, including police and prison staff.
Article 14
1. States
Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with
others:
(a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;
(b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any
deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and that the existence of
a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty.
2. States
Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities are deprived of their
liberty through any process, they are, on an equal basis with others, entitled
to guarantees in accordance with international human rights law and shall be
treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of this Convention,
including by provision of reasonable accommodation.
Article 15
Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment
1. No one
shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free
consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
2. States
Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other
measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others,
from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Article 16
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
1. States
Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social,
educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both
within and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and
abuse, including their gender-based aspects.
2. States
Parties shall also take all appropriate measures to prevent all forms of
exploitation, violence and abuse by ensuring, inter alia,
appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for
persons with disabilities and their families and caregivers, including through
the provision of information and education on how to avoid, recognize and
report instances of exploitation, violence and abuse. States Parties shall
ensure that protection services are age-, gender- and disability-sensitive.
3. In order
to prevent the occurrence of all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse,
States Parties shall ensure that all facilities and programmes
designed to serve persons with disabilities are effectively monitored by
independent authorities.
4. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote the physical, cognitive
and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons
with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation, violence or
abuse, including through the provision of protection services. Such recovery
and reintegration shall take place in an environment that fosters the health,
welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and takes into
account gender- and age-specific needs.
5. States
Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies, including women-
and child-focused legislation and policies, to ensure that instances of
exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities are
identified, investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
Article 17
Protecting the integrity of the person
Every person
with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental
integrity on an equal basis with others.
Article 18
1. States
Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of
movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality, on an
equal basis with others, including by ensuring that persons with disabilities:
(a) Have the
right to acquire and change a nationality and are not deprived of their
nationality arbitrarily or on the basis of disability;
(b) Are not deprived, on the basis of disability, of their ability to obtain,
possess and utilize documentation of their nationality or other documentation
of identification, or to utilize relevant processes such as immigration
proceedings, that may be needed to facilitate exercise of the right to liberty
of movement;
(c) Are free
to leave any country, including their own;
(d) Are not deprived,
arbitrarily or on the basis of disability, of the right to enter their own country.
2. Children
with disabilities shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have
the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far
as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.
Article 19
Living independently and being included in the community
States
Parties to this Convention recognize the equal right of all persons with
disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall
take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons
with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in
the community, including by ensuring that:
(a) Persons
with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and
where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged
to live in a particular living arrangement;
(b) Persons
with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other
community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support
living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation
from the community;
(c) Community services and facilities for the general population are available
on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their
needs.
Article 20
Personal mobility
States
Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the
greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including by:
(a)
Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the manner
and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost;
(b) Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality mobility aids,
devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and
intermediaries, including by making them available at affordable cost;
(c)
Providing training in mobility skills to persons with disabilities and to
specialist staff working with persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and assistive
technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons with
disabilities.
Article 21
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion,
including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an
equal basis with others and through all forms of communication of their choice,
as defined in article 2 of the present Convention, including by:
(a)
Providing information intended for the general public to persons with
disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different
kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost;
(b) Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative
and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats
of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official
interactions;
(c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general public,
including through the Internet, to provide information and services in
accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information through the
Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities;
(e) Recognizing and promoting the use of sign languages.
Article 22
Respect for privacy
1. No person
with disabilities, regardless of place of residence or living arrangements,
shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her
privacy, family, home or correspondence or other types of communication or to
unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
Persons with disabilities have the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
2. States
Parties shall protect the privacy of personal, health and rehabilitation
information of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
Article 23
Respect for home and the family
1. States
Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to
marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others,
so as to ensure that:
(a) The
right of all persons with disabilities who are of marriageable age to marry and
to found a family on the basis of free and full consent of the intending
spouses is recognized;
(b) The
rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the
number and spacing of their children and to have access to age-appropriate
information, reproductive and family planning education are recognized, and the
means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights are provided;
(c) Persons
with disabilities, including children, retain their fertility on an equal basis
with others.
2. States
Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities of persons with
disabilities, with regard to guardianship, wardship,
trusteeship, adoption of children or similar institutions, where these concepts
exist in national legislation; in all cases the best interests of the child
shall be paramount. States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to
persons with disabilities in the performance of their child-rearing
responsibilities.
3. States
Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have equal rights with
respect to family life. With a view to realizing these rights, and to prevent
concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation of children with
disabilities, States Parties shall undertake to provide early and comprehensive
information, services and support to children with disabilities and their
families.
4. States
Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her
parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to
judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures,
that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. In no
case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of
either the child or one or both of the parents.
5. States
Parties shall, where the immediate family is unable to care for a child with
disabilities, undertake every effort to provide alternative care within the
wider family, and failing that, within the community in a family setting.
Article 24
Education
1. States
Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a
view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal
opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all
levels and life long learning directed to:
(a) The full
development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth, and the
strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human
diversity;
(b) The development by persons with disabilities of their personality, talents
and creativity, as well as their mental and physical abilities, to their
fullest potential;
(c) Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free
society.
2. In
realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) Persons
with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the
basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from
free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis
of disability;
(b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary
education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the
communities in which they live;
(c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual’s requirements is provided;
(d) Persons
with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education
system, to facilitate their effective education;
(e)
Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that
maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full
inclusion.
3. States
Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social
development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in
education and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall
take appropriate measures, including:
(a)
Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and
alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and
mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;
(b)
Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic
identity of the deaf community;
(c) Ensuring
that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf
or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate
languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in
environments which maximize academic and social development.
4. In order
to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take
appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities,
who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals
and staff who work at all levels of education. Such training shall incorporate
disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative
modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials
to support persons with disabilities.
5. States
Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access general
tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong learning
without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this end, States
Parties shall ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with
disabilities.
Article 25
Health
States
Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination
on the basis of disability. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures
to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are
gender-sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. In particular,
States Parties shall:
(a) Provide
persons with disabilities with the same range, quality and standard of free or
affordable health care and programmes as provided to
other persons, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health and
population-based public health programmes;
(b) Provide those health services needed by persons with disabilities
specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and
intervention as appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent
further disabilities, including among children and older persons;
(c) Provide these health services as close as possible to people’s own
communities, including in rural areas;
(d) Require health professionals to provide care of the same quality to persons
with disabilities as to others, including on the basis of free and informed
consent by, inter alia, raising awareness of the
human rights, dignity, autonomy and needs of persons with disabilities through
training and the promulgation of ethical standards for public and private
health care;
(e) Prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the provision
of health insurance, and life insurance where such insurance is permitted by
national law, which shall be provided in a fair and reasonable manner;
(f) Prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health services or food and
fluids on the basis of disability.
Article 26
Habilitation and rehabilitation
1. States
Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures, including through peer
support, to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum
independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full
inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. To that end, States Parties
shall organize, strengthen and extend comprehensive habilitation and
rehabilitation services and programmes, particularly
in the areas of health, employment, education and social services, in such a
way that these services and programmes:
(a) Begin at
the earliest possible stage, and are based on the multidisciplinary assessment
of individual needs and strengths;
(b) Support participation and inclusion in the community and all aspects of
society, are voluntary, and are available to persons with disabilities as close
as possible to their own communities, including in rural areas.
2. States
Parties shall promote the development of initial and continuing training for
professionals and staff working in habilitation and rehabilitation services.
3. States
Parties shall promote the availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices
and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities, as they relate to
habilitation and rehabilitation.
Article 27
Work and employment
1. States
Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal
basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living
by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market
and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with
disabilities. States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realization of the
right to work, including for those who acquire a disability during the course
of employment, by taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to,
inter alia:
(a) Prohibit
discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning
all forms of employment, including conditions of recruitment, hiring and
employment, continuance of employment, career advancement and safe and healthy
working conditions;
(b) Protect the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with
others, to just and favourable conditions of work,
including equal opportunities and equal remuneration for work of equal value,
safe and healthy working conditions, including protection from harassment, and
the redress of grievances;
(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their labour and trade union rights on an equal basis with
others;
(d) Enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to general
technical and vocational guidance programmes,
placement services and vocational and continuing training;
(e) Promote employment opportunities and career advancement for persons with
disabilities in the labour market, as well as
assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and returning to employment;
(f) Promote opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship, the
development of cooperatives and starting one’s own business;
(g) Employ persons with disabilities in the public sector;
(h) Promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector
through appropriate policies and measures, which may include affirmative action
programmes, incentives and other measures;
(i) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided
to persons with disabilities in the workplace;
(j) Promote the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work experience in
the open labour market;
(k) Promote vocational and professional rehabilitation, job retention and
return-to-work programmes for persons with
disabilities.
2. States
Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not held in slavery or
in servitude, and are protected, on an equal basis with others, from forced or
compulsory labour.
Article 28
Adequate standard of living and social protection
1. States
Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate
standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food,
clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions,
and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of
this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
2. States
Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection
and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of
disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the
realization of this right, including measures:
(a) To
ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and
to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other
assistance for disability-related needs;
(b) To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular women and
girls with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to social
protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes;
(c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families living in
situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability-related
expenses, including adequate training, counselling,
financial assistance and respite care;
(d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public housing programmes;
(e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement benefits
and programmes.
Article 29
Participation in political and public life
States
Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the
opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others, and shall undertake
to:
(a) Ensure
that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in
political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through
freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons
with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter alia,
by:
(i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and
materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use;
(ii) Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote by secret ballot
in elections and public referendums without intimidation, and to stand for
elections, to effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all
levels of government, facilitating the use of assistive and new technologies
where appropriate;
(iii) Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with disabilities
as electors and to this end, where necessary, at their request, allowing
assistance in voting by a person of their own choice;
(b) Promote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities can
effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, without
discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and encourage their
participation in public affairs, including:
(i) Participation in non-governmental organizations
and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country,
and in the activities and administration of political parties;
(ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities to
represent persons with disabilities at international, national, regional and
local levels.
Article 30
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
1. States
Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an
equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate
measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
(a) Enjoy
access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
(b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films,
theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats;
(c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as
theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible,
enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
2. States
Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to
have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and
intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the
enrichment of society.
3. States
Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law,
to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute
an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with
disabilities to cultural materials.
4. Persons
with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to
recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including
sign languages and deaf culture.
5. With a
view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis
with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties
shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To
encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of
persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
(b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize,
develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational
activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with
others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
(c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational
and tourism venues;
(d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other
children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting
activities, including those activities in the school system;
(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those
involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting
activities.
Article 31
Statistics and data collection
1. States
Parties undertake to collect appropriate information, including statistical and
research data, to enable them to formulate and implement policies to give
effect to the present Convention. The process of collecting and maintaining
this information shall:
(a) Comply
with legally established safeguards, including legislation on data protection,
to ensure confidentiality and respect for the privacy of persons with
disabilities;
(b) Comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms and ethical principles in the collection and use of
statistics.
2. The
information collected in accordance with this article shall be disaggregated,
as appropriate, and used to help assess the implementation of States Parties’
obligations under the present Convention and to identify and address the
barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising their rights.
3. States
Parties shall assume responsibility for the dissemination of these statistics
and ensure their accessibility to persons with disabilities and others.
Article 32
International cooperation
1. States
Parties recognize the importance of international cooperation and its
promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose
and objectives of the present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and
effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as
appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional
organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with
disabilities. Such measures could include, inter alia:
(a) Ensuring
that international cooperation, including international development programmes, is inclusive of and accessible to persons with
disabilities;
(b) Facilitating and supporting capacity-building, including through the
exchange and sharing of information, experiences, training programmes
and best practices;
(c) Facilitating cooperation in research and access to scientific and technical
knowledge;
(d) Providing, as appropriate, technical and economic assistance, including by
facilitating access to and sharing of accessible and assistive technologies,
and through the transfer of technologies.
2. The
provisions of this article are without prejudice to the obligations of each
State Party to fulfil its obligations under the
present Convention.
Article 33
National implementation and monitoring
1. States
Parties, in accordance with their system of organization, shall designate one
or more focal points within government for matters relating to the
implementation of the present Convention, and shall give due consideration to
the establishment or designation of a coordination mechanism within government
to facilitate related action in different sectors and at different levels.
2. States
Parties shall, in accordance with their legal and administrative systems,
maintain, strengthen, designate or establish within the State Party, a
framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to
promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention. When
designating or establishing such a mechanism, States Parties shall take into
account the principles relating to the status and functioning of national
institutions for protection and promotion of human rights.
3. Civil
society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative
organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the monitoring
process.
Article 34
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
1. There
shall be established a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(hereafter referred to as “the Committee”), which shall carry out the functions
hereinafter provided.
2. The
Committee shall consist, at the time of entry into force of the present
Convention, of twelve experts. After an additional sixty ratifications or
accessions to the Convention, the membership of the Committee shall increase by
six members, attaining a maximum number of eighteen members.
3. The
members of the Committee shall serve in their personal capacity and shall be of
high moral standing and recognized competence and experience in the field
covered by the present Convention. When nominating their candidates, States
Parties are invited to give due consideration to the provision set out in
article 4.3 of the present Convention.
4. The
members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties, consideration
being given to equitable geographical distribution, representation of the
different forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems, balanced
gender representation and participation of experts with disabilities.
5. The
members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of
persons nominated by the States Parties from among their nationals at meetings
of the Conference of States Parties. At those meetings, for which two thirds of
States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee
shall be those who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority
of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present and voting.
6. The initial
election shall be held no later than six months after the date of entry into
force of the present Convention. At least four months before the date of each
election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to
the States Parties inviting them to submit the nominations within two months.
The Secretary-General shall subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical order
of all persons thus nominated, indicating the State Parties which have
nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present
Convention.
7. The
members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. They shall
be eligible for re-election once. However, the term of six of the members
elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately
after the first election, the names of these six members shall be chosen by lot
by the chairperson of the meeting referred to in paragraph 5 of this article.
8. The
election of the six additional members of the Committee shall be held on the
occasion of regular elections, in accordance with the relevant provisions of
this article.
9. If a
member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any other cause
she or he can no longer perform her or his duties, the State Party which
nominated the member shall appoint another expert possessing the qualifications
and meeting the requirements set out in the relevant provisions of this
article, to serve for the remainder of the term.
10. The
Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
11. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and
facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee
under the present Convention, and shall convene its initial meeting.
12. With the
approval of the General Assembly, the members of the Committee established
under the present Convention shall receive emoluments from United Nations
resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide, having
regard to the importance of the Committee’s responsibilities.
13. The
members of the Committee shall be entitled to the facilities, privileges and
immunities of experts on mission for the United Nations as laid
down in the relevant sections of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities
of the United Nations.
Article 35
Reports by States Parties
1. Each
State Party shall submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, a comprehensive report on measures taken to give effect to its
obligations under the present Convention and on the progress made in that
regard, within two years after the entry into force of the present Convention
for the State Party concerned.
2.
Thereafter, States Parties shall submit subsequent reports at least every four
years and further whenever the Committee so requests.
3. The
Committee shall decide any guidelines applicable to the content of the reports.
4. A State
Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial report to the Committee need
not, in its subsequent reports, repeat information previously provided. When
preparing reports to the Committee, States Parties are invited to consider
doing so in an open and transparent process and to give due consideration to
the provision set out in article 4.3 of the present Convention.
5. Reports
may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.
Article 36
Consideration of reports
1. Each
report shall be considered by the Committee, which shall make such suggestions
and general recommendations on the report as it may consider appropriate and
shall forward these to the State Party concerned. The State Party may respond
with any information it chooses to the Committee. The Committee may request
further information from States Parties relevant to the implementation of the
present Convention.
2. If a
State Party is significantly overdue in the submission of a report, the
Committee may notify the State Party concerned of the need to examine the
implementation of the present Convention in that State Party, on the basis of
reliable information available to the Committee, if the relevant report is not
submitted within three months following the notification. The Committee shall
invite the State Party concerned to participate in such examination. Should the
State Party respond by submitting the relevant report, the provisions of
paragraph 1 of this article will apply.
3. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall make available the reports to all
States Parties.
4. States
Parties shall make their reports widely available to the public in their own
countries and facilitate access to the suggestions and general recommendations
relating to these reports.
5. The
Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the specialized
agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations,
and other competent bodies, reports from States Parties in order to address a
request or indication of a need for technical advice or assistance contained
therein, along with the Committee’s observations and recommendations, if any,
on these requests or indications.
Article 37
Cooperation between States Parties and the Committee
1. Each
State Party shall cooperate with the Committee and assist its members in the fulfilment of their mandate.
2. In its
relationship with States Parties, the Committee shall give due consideration to
ways and means of enhancing national capacities for the implementation of the
present Convention, including through international cooperation.
Article 38
Relationship of the Committee with other bodies
In order to
foster the effective implementation of the present Convention and to encourage
international cooperation in the field covered by the present Convention:
(a) The
specialized agencies and other United Nations organs shall be entitled to be
represented at the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of
the present Convention as fall within the scope of their mandate. The Committee
may invite the specialized agencies and other competent bodies as it may
consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the implementation of the
Convention in areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates. The
Committee may invite specialized agencies and other United Nations organs to
submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within
the scope of their activities;
(b) The Committee, as it discharges its mandate, shall consult, as appropriate,
other relevant bodies instituted by international human rights treaties, with a
view to ensuring the consistency of their respective reporting guidelines,
suggestions and general recommendations, and avoiding duplication and overlap
in the performance of their functions.
Article 39
Report of the Committee
The
Committee shall report every two years to the General Assembly and to the
Economic and Social Council on its activities, and may make suggestions and
general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information
received from the States Parties. Such suggestions and general recommendations
shall be included in the report of the Committee together with comments, if
any, from States Parties.
Article 40
Conference of States Parties
1. The
States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order
to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present
Convention.
2. No later
than six months after the entry into force of the present Convention, the
Conference of the States Parties shall be convened by the Secretary-General of
the United Nations. The subsequent meetings shall be convened by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations biennially or upon the decision of the
Conference of States Parties.
Article 41
Depositary
The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of the present
Convention.
Article 42
Signature
The present
Convention shall be open for signature by all States and by regional
integration organizations at United Nations Headquarters in
Article 43
Consent to be bound
The present
Convention shall be subject to ratification by signatory States and to formal
confirmation by signatory regional integration organizations. It shall be open
for accession by any State or regional integration organization which has not
signed the Convention.
Article 44
Regional integration organizations
1. “Regional
integration organization” shall mean an organization constituted by sovereign
States of a given region, to which its member States have transferred
competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention. Such
organizations shall declare, in their instruments of formal confirmation or
accession, the extent of their competence with respect to matters governed by this
Convention. Subsequently, they shall inform the depositary of any substantial
modification in the extent of their competence.
2.
References to “States Parties” in the present Convention shall apply to such
organizations within the limits of their competence.
3. For the
purposes of article 45, paragraph 1, and article 47, paragraphs 2 and 3, any
instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be
counted.
4. Regional
integration organizations, in matters within their competence, may exercise
their right to vote in the Conference of States Parties, with a number of votes
equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to this Convention.
Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member
States exercises its right, and vice versa.
Article 45
Entry into force
1. The
present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the
deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each
State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally confirming or
acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the twentieth such instrument,
the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of
its own such instrument.
Article 46
Reservations
1.
Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Convention
shall not be permitted.
2.
Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
Article 47
Amendments
1. Any State
Party may propose an amendment to the present Convention and submit it to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall
communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a request to be
notified whether they favour a conference of States
Parties for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the
event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least
one third of the States Parties favour such a
conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the
auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of two
thirds of the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by the
Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval and thereafter to all
States Parties for acceptance.
2. An
amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article
shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of
acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the
date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into
force for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the deposit of its own
instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding only on those States
Parties which have accepted it.
3. If so
decided by the Conference of States Parties by consensus, an amendment adopted
and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article which relates
exclusively to articles 34, 38, 39 and 40 shall enter into force for all States
Parties on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance
deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the date of
adoption of the amendment.
Article 48
Denunciation
A State
Party may denounce the present Convention by written notification to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall become
effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General.
Article 49
Accessible format
The text of
the present Convention shall be made available in accessible formats.
Article 50
Authentic texts
The Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the present Convention
shall be equally authentic.
In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized
thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention.
Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The States
Parties to the present Protocol have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. A State
Party to the present Protocol (“State Party”) recognizes the competence of the
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“the Committee”) to
receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups
of individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a
violation by that State Party of the provisions of the Convention.
2. No
communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party
to the Convention that is not a party to the present Protocol.
Article 2
The
Committee shall consider a communication inadmissible when:
(a) The
communication is anonymous;
(b) The
communication constitutes an abuse of the right of submission of such communications
or is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention;
(c) The same
matter has already been examined by the Committee or has been or is being
examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement;
(d) All available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This shall not be
the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged or
unlikely to bring effective relief;
(e) It is manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated; or when
(f) The facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior to the
entry into force of the present Protocol for the State Party concerned unless
those facts continued after that date.
Article 3
Subject to
the provisions of article 2 of the present Protocol, the Committee shall bring
any communications submitted to it confidentially to the attention of the State
Party. Within six months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee
written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if
any, that may have been taken by that State.
Article 4
1. At any
time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the
merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to the State Party
concerned for its urgent consideration a request that the State Party take such
interim measures as may be necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to
the victim or victims of the alleged violation.
2. Where the
Committee exercises its discretion under paragraph 1 of this article, this does
not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the
communication.
Article 5
The
Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under the
present Protocol. After examining a communication, the Committee shall forward
its suggestions and recommendations, if any, to the State Party concerned and
to the petitioner.
Article 6
1. If the
Committee receives reliable information indicating grave or systematic
violations by a State Party of rights set forth in the Convention, the
Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the
information and to this end submit observations with regard to the information
concerned.
2. Taking
into account any observations that may have been submitted by the State Party
concerned as well as any other reliable information available to it, the
Committee may designate one or more of its members to conduct an inquiry and to
report urgently to the Committee. Where warranted and with the consent of the
State Party, the inquiry may include a visit to its territory.
3. After
examining the findings of such an inquiry, the Committee shall transmit these
findings to the State Party concerned together with any comments and
recommendations.
4. The State
Party concerned shall, within six months of receiving the findings, comments
and recommendations transmitted by the Committee, submit its observations to
the Committee.
5. Such an
inquiry shall be conducted confidentially and the cooperation of the State
Party shall be sought at all stages of the proceedings.
Article 7
1. The
Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in its report under
article 35 of the Convention details of any measures taken in response to an
inquiry conducted under article 6 of the present Protocol.
2. The
Committee may, if necessary, after the end of the period of six months referred
to in article 6.4, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures
taken in response to such an inquiry.
Article 8
Each State
Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of the present Protocol or
accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the
Committee provided for in articles 6 and 7.
Article 9
The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of the present
Protocol.
Article 10
The present
Protocol shall be open for signature by signatory States and regional
integration organizations of the Convention at United Nations Headquarters in
Article 11
The present
Protocol shall be subject to ratification by signatory States of this Protocol
which have ratified or acceded to the Convention. It shall be subject to formal
confirmation by signatory regional integration organizations of this Protocol
which have formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention. It shall be open
for accession by any State or regional integration organization which has
ratified, formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention and which has not
signed the Protocol.
Article 12
1. “Regional
integration organization” shall mean an organization constituted by sovereign
States of a given region, to which its member States have transferred
competence in respect of matters governed by the Convention and this Protocol.
Such organizations shall declare, in their instruments of formal confirmation
or accession, the extent of their competence with respect to matters governed
by the Convention and this Protocol. Subsequently, they shall inform the
depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
2.
References to “States Parties” in the present Protocol shall apply to such
organizations within the limits of their competence.
3. For the
purposes of article 13, paragraph 1, and article 15, paragraph 2, any
instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be
counted.
4. Regional
integration organizations, in matters within their competence, may exercise
their right to vote in the meeting of States Parties, with a number of votes
equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to this Protocol.
Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member
States exercises its right, and vice versa.
Article 13
1. Subject
to the entry into force of the Convention, the present Protocol shall enter
into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of the tenth instrument of
ratification or accession.
2. For each
State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally confirming or
acceding to the Protocol after the deposit of the tenth such instrument, the
Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of its
own such instrument.
Article 14
1.
Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Protocol
shall not be permitted.
2.
Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
Article 15
1. Any State
Party may propose an amendment to the present Protocol and submit it to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall
communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a request to be
notified whether they favour a meeting of States
Parties for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the
event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least
one third of the States Parties favour such a
meeting, the Secretary-General shall convene the meeting under the auspices of
the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of two thirds of the
States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by the Secretary-General
to the General Assembly for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for
acceptance.
2. An
amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article
shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of
acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the
date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force
for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the deposit of its own
instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding only on those States
Parties which have accepted it.
Article 16
A State
Party may denounce the present Protocol by written notification to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall become
effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General.
Article 17
The text of
the present Protocol shall be made available in accessible formats.
Article 18
The Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the present Protocol
shall be equally authentic.
In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized
thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Protocol.