UN building in Geneva The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities assessed the implementation of the relevant Convention by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Human Rights
On Wednesday, the UN Committee published its findings on the situation with the rights of people with disabilities in a number of countries, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, as members of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities noted with concern, the provisions of the country’s Constitution deprive people of the opportunity to exercise their rights due to their disabilities and relieved of duties.
In addition, the Committee expressed concern that laws and policies continue to use derogatory concepts and terminology, especially in relation to people with disabilities. The Committee recommended that Azerbaijan integrate human rights-based models into its legislative framework and policies. The Committee also called on Azerbaijan to complete the process of repealing all sections of legislation, policies and regulations that use derogatory terminology.
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The Committee noted that people with disabilities in Azerbaijan do not actively participate in the development of legislation and policies, as well as in monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. UN experts recommended the establishment of formal mechanisms to ensure the active participation of people with disabilities through their representative organizations in decision-making processes at the national, district and municipal levels.
Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, as the Committee members noted, children and adults with disabilities are placed in boarding and semi-institutional institutions, and they do not have the opportunity to interact with the local population, including their own relatives. Committee members recommended that Kazakhstan end all forms of institutionalization and ensure that people with disabilities, including intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, have the right to decide for themselves where and with whom to live, and receive support to live in the community.
The Committee expressed concern that the Marriage and Family Code provides for restrictions on marriage for persons with mental or psychosocial disabilities and some restrictions regarding the number and spacing of children. Members of the Committee asked Kazakhstan to repeal the provisions of the Code on Marriage and Family that restrict the right of persons with disabilities to marry, and also to provide this category of the population with access to information on family planning.
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Committee is composed of 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by States Parties.
All states that are parties to the Convention are required to submit reports to the Committee on a regular basis on the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention. States must submit an initial report within two years of ratifying the Convention, and every four years thereafter (Article 35 of the Convention).
The Committee reviews each report and makes recommendations on the implementation of the Convention in this country. It makes recommendations in the form of “concluding observations” to the State concerned.
The Committee also has the power to receive and consider individual complaints and to conduct investigations in the event of credible evidence of gross and systematic violations of the Convention.
The Committee usually meets in Geneva and holds two sessions per year.