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Back to: Proposed
Modifications by Governments
Eighth Session | Ad Hoc Committee Main
Contribution by Governments
Article 4
To ensure legal protection of the rights of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others and ensure an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating their fundamental rights.
Text to be added as a general obligation in article 4.
Draft Monitoring Text
Submitted by the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations
Article 34 – Establishment of Committee on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
1. For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation of the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter 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 this Convention, of 12 independent experts serving in their personal capacity, of high moral standing and impartiality, holding no position which compromises the independence and impartiality expected of the Committee, and shall have a recognized competence and experience in the field of human rights and disability. Thereafter, for every additional twenty-five ratifications of this Convention, the membership shall increase by 2 members, until the composition of the Committee attains a maximum number of 18 members. In the overall composition of this Committee, consideration shall be given to:
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of candidates possessing the qualifications and meeting the requirements set out in paragraph 2 of this article.
4. Each State Party may nominate one person from among its nationals in consultation with representative organizations of persons with disabilities and other relevant competent national bodies.
5. At least four months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within two months. Such nominations shall be submitted with curriculum vitae of each nominee, in a standard format to be set by the Committee and addressing information pertinent to the criteria set forth in Article 34(2). The Secretary-General shall subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated with their curriculum vitae, indicating States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the State Parties to the present Convention.
6. The elections shall be held at meetings of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General. The initial election to the Committee shall be held no later than six months after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention and thereafter every second year. 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.
7. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. They shall be eligible for re-election once if re-nominated. The term of half 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 members shall be chosen by lot by the Chairperson of the meeting referred to in paragraph 6 of this article.
8. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any other cause she or he can no longer perform the duties of the Committee, the State Party which nominated the member shall appoint another eligible person possessing the qualifications and meeting the requirements set out in paragraph 2 to serve for the remainder of the term, subject to the approval of the Committee.
Article 35 - Administration of the Committee
Article 36 – Cooperation by States Parties with the Committee
Each State Party shall cooperate with the Committee and assist its members in the fulfillment of their mandate.
Article 37 – The Relationship of the Committee to the UN Human Rights System
1. A Conference of States Parties will take place at the earliest four years and the latest six years following the entry into force of this Convention to evaluate the functioning of the Committee and to decide, by a majority of two-thirds of the State Parties present and voting, whether it is appropriate to transfer to another body the monitoring of this Convention.
Article 38 – Review Mechanism
The Committee shall establish a Review Mechanism in order to facilitate the regular monitoring of the measures adopted by States Parties to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Convention and on the progress made in the enjoyment of those rights.
[The Committee shall establish a Review Mechanism in order to facilitate the regular monitoring of the full and effective implementation of this Convention.]
[For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation of the present Convention, the Committee shall establish a Review Mechanism.]
Through the Review Mechanism the Committee shall issue such reports, comments, observations or recommendations as it may deem appropriate to facilitate assessment of State Party compliance and foster the sharing of experiences, reinforcement of successful and good practice, and identification of the need for capacity building and technical assistance in order to promote effective implementation of the present Convention.
4. In order to facilitate the Review Mechanism:
Article 39 – Follow-up
1. Within six months of receiving the findings, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee, the State Party concerned may submit its observations to the Committee.
2. States Parties shall make their reports, other relevant information submitted by the State Party, and the comments, observations and recommendations of the Committee on those reports, widely available to the public in their own countries and shall make every effort to provide such materials in accessible formats.
3. The Committee may request the States Parties to submit information on the measures taken or identified in order to implement the recommendations of the Committee within a specified time period.
Article 40 - Thematic Work by the Committee
1. The Committee may recommend to the General Assembly to request the Secretary-General to undertake on its behalf studies on specific issues relating to the rights of persons with disabilities.
2. The Committee may conduct thematic consultations with States Parties, United Nations bodies and other competent international and national bodies on any matter addressed in this Convention.
3. The Committee may also convene national, sub-regional and regional seminars on any aspect of the Convention.
Article 41 - Co-operation with organizations and bodies
1. In the framework of the competencies granted by the Convention, the Committee shall co-operate with all relevant organs, offices and specialized
agencies and funds of the United Nations, with the treaty bodies instituted by international human rights instruments, with the special procedures of the United Nations, and with competent regional intergovernmental organizations or bodies, as well as with all relevant State Party institutions, agencies or offices and other competent bodies working in the field covered by this Convention.
2. As it discharges its mandate, the Committee shall consult with other treaty monitoring bodies established in the framework of relevant international human rights instruments, with a view to ensuring the consistency of their respective comments, observations and recommendations.
3. In order to foster the effective implementation of the Convention and to encourage international cooperation in the field covered by the Convention, the relevant organs, offices and specialized agencies and funds of the United Nations, in particular the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund, 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 these organs, offices and specialized agencies and funds 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 and may invite them to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities.
4. The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the relevant organs, offices and specialized agencies, and funds of the United Nations and other competent bodies, any reports from States Parties that contain a request, or indicate a need for technical advice or assistance, along with the Committee's observations and suggestions, if any, on these requests or indications. The Committee may recommend that a State Party consider seeking technical advice or assistance from these bodies.
5. The Committee may invite representatives of international and national competent bodies to provide relevant information that would assist the Committee in its regular monitoring of the measures adopted by States Parties to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Convention and on the progress made in the enjoyment of those rights.
[… regular monitoring of the full and effective implementation of this Convention.]
[… consideration of the progress made in the implementation of the present Convention.]
6. The Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on information received pursuant to its work. Such suggestions and general recommendations shall be transmitted to (any) State Parties concerned and reported to the General Assembly, together with comments, if any, from States Parties.
Article 42 – Individual Communications
1. A State Party may, at the time of ratification or at any time afterwards, declare that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups subject to its jurisdiction claiming to be victims of a violation by this State Party of the provisions of this Convention. The Committee shall not receive a communication if it concerns a State Party that has not made such a declaration.
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 this Convention;
(c) is manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated;
(d) the same matter is being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement; or when
(e) all effective available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This rule shall not apply where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged, and/or pursuit of domestic remedies could reasonably be determined to be futile;
(f) the facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior to the entry into force of the Convention or this procedure for the State Party concerned, unless those facts continued after that date.
3. Unless the Committee considers a communication inadmissible without reference to the State Party concerned, the Committee shall bring that communication confidentially to the attention of the State Party concerned. Within six months, the receiving State Party shall submit to the Committee written explanations clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any that may have been provided.
4. 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. Where the Committee exercises its discretion, this does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.
5. The Committee shall consider communications in the light of information made available to it by their authors and by the State Party concerned, provided that this information is transmitted to the State Party concerned.
6. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under the present article. After examining a communication, the Committee shall transmit its views and recommendations, if any, to the State Party concerned.
7. The State Party shall give due consideration to the views of the Committee, together with its recommendations, if any, and shall submit to the Committee, within six months, a written response, including information on any action taken in the light of the views and recommendations of the Committee.
8. The Committee may invite the State Party to submit further information about any measures the State Party has taken in response to its views or recommendations, if any, including as deemed appropriate by the Committee in further information provided under the review mechanism.
Article 43 – Inquiry Procedure
1. If the Committee becomes aware of 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 to 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.
6. The Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in any reports issued under article 38 of this Convention, details of any measures taken in response to an inquiry conducted under this article.
7. The Committee may, if necessary, after the end of the period of six months referred to in paragraph 4 of this article, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures taken in response to such an inquiry.
8. At the time of signature or ratification of the present Convention, or accession thereto, a State Party may declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in this article. Any State Party having made such a declaration may, at any time, withdraw it by notification to the Secretary-General.
Article 44 – Annual report of the Committee
1. The Committee shall report annually to the General Assembly of the United Nations on all its activities.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit the reports of the Committee to the Commission on Social Development, the Commission on Human Rights (Human Rights Council) and the Conference of States Parties for their information.
Article 45 – Conference of States Parties
1. A Conference of the Parties is hereby established. The first session of the Conference shall be convened by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights not later than one year after the entry into force of this Convention. The Conference will determine the venue and timing of subsequent regular sessions at its first session.
2. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under regular review the implementation of the Convention and the functioning of its institutional arrangements and take the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation including:
a) Promoting and facilitating the exchange of information on measures adopted by the State Parties in furtherance of the Convention;
b) Promoting, as appropriate, the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies, plans, and programmes, as well as policies, legislation and other measures undertaken by States Parties in furtherance of the implementation of this Convention;
c) Promoting and facilitating the mobilization of financial resources to advance the expeditious implementation of this Convention;
d) Establishing such subsidiary bodies as are deemed necessary for the implementation of the Convention;
e) Requesting, where appropriate, the services and cooperation of, and information provided by, competent and relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other international and regional intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations and bodies as a means of strengthening the implementation of the Convention; and
f) Considering other action, as appropriate, for the achievement of the objectives of this Convention in the light of experience gained in its implementation.
3. Extraordinary sessions of the Conference of the Parties shall be held at such other times as may be deemed necessary by the Conference, or at the written request of any Party, provided that, within six months of the request being communicated to them by the Secretariat of the Convention, it is supported by at least one-third of the Parties.
4. The Conference of the Parties shall adopt by consensus its Rules of Procedure at its first session.
5. The Conference of the Parties shall by consensus adopt financial rules for itself as well as governing the funding of any subsidiary bodies it may establish as well as financial provisions governing the functioning of the Secretariat. At each ordinary session, it shall adopt a budget for the financial period until the next ordinary session.
6. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under regular review the implementation of the Convention and take the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation and may adopt protocols, annexes and amendments to the Convention, in accordance with [final provisions].
7. The Conference of the Parties may request, where appropriate, the services and cooperation of, and information provided by, competent and relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other international and regional intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations and bodies as a means of strengthening the implementation of the Convention.
Article 46 Protection against Retaliation
A State Party shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that individuals under its jurisdiction are not subjected to ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of communicating with the Committee or accessing any procedure established under this Convention.
Publicity of the Convention [This language to be placed in General Obligations.]
Each State Party undertakes to make widely known and give publicity to the Convention and to facilitate access to information about the work and recommendations of the Committee, in particular on matters involving that State Party. State Parties shall make every effort to disseminate the materials referred to in this provision in accessible formats.