National Preventive Mechanism 5.4 Institutions and facilities for persons with disabilities 5.4.1 Introduction In the year under review, the NPM commissions visited 76 institutions and facilities solely dedicated to persons with disabilities. As in the previous years, public and private operators including homes, residential groups, day-care centres, workshops and rehabilitation facilities were monitored in 2016. Broad spectrum The NPM stepped up efforts for increasing involvement of self-advocates in the monitoring process in 2016. Thanks to the training provided by Commission 3 in particular, the NPM can rely on a group of external experts with a wide range of impairments, some of whom are supported themselves by assistants. The necessity to take a broad spectrum of experience and needs into consideration can thus be communicated to the facilities in particular in a close-to-life way. Despite slow progress, Austria is still far from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) goal of enabling persons with disabilities to live a self-determined life in dignity and with full social participation. The draft for a 2nd Adult Protection Law (Erwachsenenschutzgesetz), which has since been presented to the Parliament, is a positive signal. In accordance with Article 12 of the UN CRPD, the draft foresees graded models of supported decision-making to exercise legal capacity as opposed to surrogate heteronomy by legal guardians. The law should become effective in July 2018. The NPM assumes that this amendment will change the admission processes and dealing with persons with disabilities in facilities significantly, because heteronomy will be more difficult from the legal side at least. However, there is still much to be done. On the suggestion of the NPM and supported by the Human Rights Advisory Council, it was also planned in the ministerial draft of the 2nd Adult Protection Law to extend the scope of the Nursing and Residential Homes Residence Act (Heimaufenthaltsgesetz) to child and youth welfare facilities that care for minors with disabilities. Legal protection for minors in connection with measures that restrict freedom should thus be strengthened in these facilities too. However, this is no longer planned in the government bill, despite the fact that all child and youth advocates in Austria, among others, were positive about this in the review procedure of the ministerial draft. The NPM will position itself in the legislation procedure once again and will attempt to persuade the Parliament through argumentation to amend the Residential Homes Residence Act accordingly. As already documented in the reports from the previous years, there are no initiatives and financing basis agreed between the Federal Government, the Laender and the municipalities to implement the measures contained in the 153