CRPD/C/GC/6
H.
Article 14 on liberty and security of the person, article 15 on freedom
from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
article 16 on freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse, and article
17 on protecting the integrity of the person
56.
Persons with disabilities can be disproportionately affected by violence, abuse and
other cruel and degrading punishment, which can take the form of restraint or segregation
as well as violent assault. The Committee is particularly concerned about the following acts
committed against persons with disabilities, including children on the grounds of
impairment, which by definition are discriminatory: separation of children with disabilities
from their families and forced placement in institutions; deprivation of liberty; torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; violence; and the forced treatment of
persons with disabilities inside and outside of mental health facilities. States parties must
take all appropriate measures, to provide protection from and prevent all forms of
exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities. Forced corrective
disability treatments should be prohibited.
I.
Article 19 on living independently and being included in the community
57.
Article 19 of the Convention reaffirms non-discrimination and recognition of the
equal right of persons with disabilities to live with full inclusion and participation
independently in the community. In order to realize the right to live independently and be
included in the community, States parties must take effective and appropriate measures to
facilitate the full enjoyment of the right and the full inclusion and participation of persons
with disabilities in the community. This involves implementing deinstitutionalization
strategies and, in accordance with the Committee’s general comment No. 5 (2017) on living
independently and being included in the community, allocating resources for independent
living support services, accessible and affordable housing, support services for family
carers and access to inclusive education.
58.
Article 19 of the Convention recognizes the right not to be obliged to live in a
particular living arrangement on account of one’s disability. Institutionalization is
discriminatory as it demonstrates a failure to create support and services in the community
for persons with disabilities, who are forced to relinquish their participation in community
life to receive treatment. The institutionalization of persons with disabilities as a condition
to receive public sector mental health services constitutes differential treatment on the basis
of disability and, as such, is discriminatory.
59.
Eligibility criteria and procedures for gaining access to support services must be
defined in a non-discriminatory way and must focus on the requirements of the person
rather than the impairment, following a human rights-based approach. The development of
support services should be person-centred, age- and gender-sensitive and culturally
appropriate.
60.
States parties should prohibit and prevent third parties from imposing practical or
procedural barriers to living independently and being included in the community, for
example by ensuring that services are in line with independent and community living and
that persons with disabilities are not denied the possibility to rent or disadvantaged in the
housing market.
J.
Article 23 on respect for home and the family
61.
Persons with disabilities often face discrimination in the exercise of their right to
marry or their parental and family rights owing to discriminatory laws and policies, and
administrative measures. Parents with disabilities are frequently seen as inadequate or
unable to take care of their children. Separation of a child from his or her parents based on
the disability of the child or parents or both is discrimination and in violation of article 23.
14
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