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Article 22 - Respect for privacy, the home and the family
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Third Session

Compilation of proposed revisions and amendments made by the members of the Ad Hoc Committee to the draft text presented by the Working Group as a basis for negotiations by Member States and Observers in the Ad Hoc Committee

(updated after the completion of the first reading at the Fourth Session, 26 August 2004)

Article 14
Respect for privacy, the home and the family

(Respect for privacy, marriage and family — China)

(Respect for privacy — South Africa)

1. [[Persons with disabilities, [including those living in institutions — Canada] (should they have decided to do so — Yemen) shall not be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their [privacy — Argentina, EU] (private life — Argentina, EU), and [shall — Costa Rica] have the right to the protection of the law against such interference (in all fields — Costa Rica). — Liechtenstein] States Parties to this Convention shall take effective measures to protect [the privacy — Liechtenstein] (the private and family life — Liechtenstein) [of the home, family, — Costa Rica] (different kinds of communication — Mexico) (communication including — Kenya) [correspondence1 — India] (communication — India) (communications, information and documents — Costa Rica) and medical records of persons with disabilities (equally with other persons — Japan) and their (freedom of — EU) [choice — Liechtenstein] (freedom — Liechtenstein) to take decisions on personal matters. — Qatar]

(No person with disability, including those living in institutions, shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home. Correspondence, medical records or choice to take decisions on personal matters, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation — Qatar)

2. States Parties to this Convention shall take effective and appropriate measures (to encourage the full participation in family life by persons with disabilities and — Qatar) to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to (their private life including — Mexico) marriage and family relations (in all forms — South Africa)2 , and in particular shall [ensure — Argentina] (take appropriate measures aimed at —Argentina):

[(a) [[That persons with disabilities are not denied the equal opportunity to experience their sexuality, (within the framework of legitimate marriage — Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Saudi Arabia) and have (responsible — Philippines) [sexual and other intimate relationships — Libyan Arab Jamahiriya] (including marriage — Costa Rica) and experience parenthood (in accordance to national legislation — Israel) (, taking into account the best interest of the woman and the child — New Zealand — Philippines); — Islamic Republic of Iran] (through legitimate marriage — Syrian Arab Republic) — Qatar] (in accordance with the various religious and social conventions and traditions — Yemen).

(the promotion of measures to change prevailing negative attitudes towards the marriage and sexuality of persons with disabilities, especially girls and women with disabilities, and their founding a family, and the encouragement of the media to play an important role in removing such negative attitudes — Qatar)

(b) The right of [all men and women with disabilities — China] ((all — South Africa) persons with disabilities — China) (to establish and fully develop intimate relations, including marriage — Costa Rica) [who are of marriageable age to marry — Costa Rica] (under appropriate laws — India) [on the basis of free and [full — Canada] (informed — Canada) consent of the intending spouses — China], and to [found a family — India, Qatar] (on an equal basis with other persons — China) (to establish family relations and practice parenthood — Qatar) (bring up a family, and be provided with information and counselling wherever necessary on full dimension and responsibilities of marriage — India); (in accordance with the precepts of religion, convictions and various customs — Yemen) (and experience their sexuality and parenthood — Islamic Republic of Iran)

((b bis) The rights of persons with disabilities to reproduction, prohibiting all practices aimed at involuntary sterilization and/or inhibiting the exercise of the right to reproduction on the basis of prejudices about persons with disabilities — Costa Rica)

(c) The rights of persons with disabilities to (retain their fertility, New Zealand, Thailand) decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children3 [on an equal basis [with other persons4 — Costa Rica] — EU, Mexico] (including protection against non-consensual sterilization — Kenya) (States Parties shall also ensure that persons with disabilities are not subject to forced sterilization — Mexico) and to [have — India] (be provided with — India) access to information (, advice — Morocco), reproductive (, sex — Yemen) and family planning education, and the means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights; — Holy See]

(The right of men and women with disabilities of marriageable age to marry and found a family shall be recognized, and no marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses — Holy See)

[(d) [The rights of — New Zealand] (That — New Zealand) persons with disabilities (have the same rights as other persons — New Zealand) with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and [adoption — Syrian Arab Republic, Qatar, Bahrain] (or guardianship — Yemen) (guardianship — Syrian Arab Republic) (and sponsorship — Yemen) of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation (; in all case the interests of the child shall be paramount — New Zealand) (, subject to the best interests of the child and in accordance with national legislation — Israel). [For the purpose of guaranteeing these rights, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to [disabled parents — EU] (persons with disabilities — EU, Serbia and Montenegro) (with available resources — Qatar) dr 6 in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities;5 — India, Costa Rica]. (These rights may be restricted in exclusive situations specifically stipulated in national legislations — Russian Federation)

(e) 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. [The child shall not however be separated from parents with disabilities on the basis [either directly or indirectly — Japan, EU, Mexico] (all kinds — Japan) (solely — EU, Australia, Norway) of their disability;6 — Argentina, Uganda] (render appropriate assistance to parents of children with disabilities to enable their children to live with them — Uganda) (or the disability of their children. The decision on the separation should be provisional and subject to periodical review — Jordan, Morocco, Thailand, Saudi Arabia)

(f) [The promotion of awareness and the provision of information aimed at changing negative perceptions and social prejudices towards sexuality, [marriage — Costa Rica] (intimate relations including marriage — Costa Rica) and parenthood of persons with disabilities. — EU, Qatar] — China] — EU]

(States Parties to this Convention shall ensure that there is no discrimination against persons with disabilities in regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation. States Parties shall render ppropriate assistance to disabled persons in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.7

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. The child shall not however be separated from parents with disabilities on the basis solely of their disability;8

States Parties shall take appropriate measures to change negative perceptions and social prejudices towards sexuality, marriage and parenthood of persons with disabilities — EU)

(States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to raise public awareness and provide information to change negative perception and social prejudices towards sexuality, marriage and parenthood of persons with disabilities — China)
(NEW PARAGRAPH — Mexico)

Footnotes:

1. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider whether the word “correspondence” should be replaced with the broader term “communications”.

2. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider whether the phrase “marriage and family relations” might be too limiting.

3. Members of the Working Group agreed that a prohibition on the sterilization of persons with disabilities was implicit in the right to decide on the number and spacing of their children, but some members considered that the issue was of such importance that the Ad Hoc Committee should consider making the prohibition explicit.

4. The understanding of the Working Group is that this draft article does not deal with the national policies of States parties on the size of families but simply stipulates that persons with disabilities should not be treated differently from the general population in this respect. The Ad Hoc Committee may therefore wish to consider whether the phrase “on an equal basis with other persons” is necessary in this subparagraph.

5. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider the wording of the second sentence of this subparagraph in the light of concerns expressed by some delegations that States parties might find it difficult to guarantee the resources to “render appropriate assistance”.

6. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider other formulations for the second sentence of this subparagraph, including the deletion of the words “either directly or indirectly” or their replacement by the word “solely”, or the substitution of a positive formulation for the sentence, such as: “States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents with disabilities to enable their children to live with them”.

7. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider the wording of the second sentence of this subparagraph in the light of concerns expressed by some delegations that States Parties might find it difficult to guarantee the resources to “render appropriate assistance”.

8. The Ad Hoc Committee may wish to consider other formulations for the second sentence of this subparagraph, including the deletion of the words “either directly or indirectly” or their replacement by the word “solely”, or the substitution of a positive formulation for the sentence, such as: “States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents with disabilities to enable their children to live with them”.