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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 31 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women with disabilities also have the right to protection and support in relation to motherhood and pregnancy. As the Standard Rules state, "persons with disabilities must not be denied the opportunity to experience their sexuality, have sexual relationships and experience parenthood". The needs and desires in question should be recognized and addressed in both the recreational and the procreational contexts. These rights are commonly denied to both men and women with disabilities worldwide. Both the sterilization of, and the performance of an abortion on, a woman with disabilities without her prior informed consent are serious violations of article 10 (2). | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 35 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | School programmes in many countries today recognize that persons with disabilities can best be educated within the general education system. Thus the Standard Rules provide that "States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings". In order to implement such an approach, States should ensure that teachers are trained to educate children with disabilities within regular schools and that the necessary equipment and support are available to bring persons with disabilities up to the same level of education as their non disabled peers. In the case of deaf children, for example, sign language should be recognized as a separate language to which the children should have access and whose importance should be acknowledged in their overall social environment. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Covenant does not refer explicitly to persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, since the Covenant's provisions apply fully to all members of society, persons with disabilities are clearly entitled to the full range of rights recognized in the Covenant. In addition, insofar as special treatment is necessary, States parties are required to take appropriate measures, to the maximum extent of their available resources, to enable such persons to seek to overcome any disadvantages, in terms of the enjoyment of the rights specified in the Covenant, flowing from their disability. Moreover, the requirement contained in article 2 (2) of the Covenant that the rights "enunciated ... will be exercised without discrimination of any kind" based on certain specified grounds "or other status" clearly applies to discrimination on the grounds of disability. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 18 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Because appropriate measures need to be taken to undo existing discrimination and to establish equitable opportunities for persons with disabilities, such actions should not be considered discriminatory in the sense of article 2 (2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as long as they are based on the principle of equality and are employed only to the extent necessary to achieve that objective. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 24 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The "technical and vocational guidance and training programmes" required under article 6 (2) of the Covenant should reflect the needs of all persons with disabilities, take place in integrated settings, and be planned and implemented with the full involvement of representatives of persons with disabilities. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The International Labour Organization has developed valuable and comprehensive instruments with respect to the work related rights of persons with disabilities, including in particular Convention No. 159 (1983) concerning vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee encourages States parties to the Covenant to consider ratifying that Convention. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 32 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and neglect and are, in accordance with article 10 (3) of the Covenant (reinforced by the corresponding provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), entitled to special protection. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 38 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In order to facilitate the equal participation in cultural life of persons with disabilities, Governments should inform and educate the general public about disability. In particular, measures must be taken to dispel prejudices or superstitious beliefs against persons with disabilities, for example those that view epilepsy as a form of spirit possession or a child with disabilities as a form of punishment visited upon the family. Similarly, the general public should be educated to accept that persons with disabilities have as much right as any other person to make use of restaurants, hotels, recreation centres and cultural venues. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | According to the Standard Rules, persons with disabilities, whether in rural or urban areas, must have equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment in the labour market. For this to happen it is particularly important that artificial barriers to integration in general, and to employment in particular, be removed. As the International Labour Organization has noted, it is very often the physical barriers that society has erected in areas such as transport, housing and the workplace which are then cited as the reason why persons with disabilities cannot be employed. For example, as long as workplaces are designed and built in ways that make them inaccessible to wheelchairs, employers will be able to "justify" their failure to employ wheelchair users. Governments should also develop policies which promote and regulate flexible and alternative work arrangements that reasonably accommodate the needs of disabled workers. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Trade union related rights (art. 8) apply equally to workers with disabilities and regardless of whether they work in special work facilities or in the open labour market. In addition, article 8, read in conjunction with other rights such as the right to freedom of association, serves to emphasize the importance of the right of persons with disabilities to form their own organizations. If these organizations are to be effective in "the promotion and protection of [the] economic and social interests" (art. 8 (1) (a)) of such persons, they should be consulted regularly by government bodies and others in relation to all matters affecting them; it may also be necessary that they be supported financially and otherwise so as to ensure their viability. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Social security and income maintenance schemes are of particular importance for persons with disabilities. As stated in the Standard Rules, "States should ensure the provision of adequate income support to persons with disabilities who, owing to disability or disability related factors, have temporarily lost or received a reduction in their income or have been denied employment opportunities". Such support should reflect the special needs for assistance and other expenses often associated with disability. In addition, as far as possible, the support provided should also cover individuals (who are overwhelmingly female) who undertake the care of a person with disabilities. Such persons, including members of the families of persons with disabilities, are often in urgent need of financial support because of their assistance role. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In the case of persons with disabilities, the Covenant's requirement that "protection and assistance" be rendered to the family means that everything possible should be done to enable such persons, when they so wish, to live with their families. Article 10 also implies, subject to the general principles of international human rights law, the right of persons with disabilities to marry and have their own family. These rights are frequently ignored or denied, especially in the case of persons with mental disabilities. In this and other contexts, the term "family" should be interpreted broadly and in accordance with appropriate local usage. States parties should ensure that laws and social policies and practices do not impede the realization of these rights. Persons with disabilities should have access to necessary counselling services in order to fulfil their rights and duties within the family. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
The right to adequate housing 1991, para. 8e | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Thus the concept of adequacy is particularly significant in relation to the right to housing since it serves to underline a number of factors which must be taken into account in determining whether particular forms of shelter can be considered to constitute "adequate housing" for the purposes of the Covenant. While adequacy is determined in part by social, economic, cultural, climatic, ecological and other factors, the Committee believes that it is nevertheless possible to identify certain aspects of the right that must be taken into account for this purpose in any particular context. They include the following:] Accessibility. Adequate housing must be accessible to those entitled to it. Disadvantaged groups must be accorded full and sustainable access to adequate housing resources. Thus, such disadvantaged groups as the elderly, children, the physically disabled, the terminally ill, HIV positive individuals, persons with persistent medical problems, the mentally ill, victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster prone areas and other groups should be ensured some degree of priority consideration in the housing sphere. Both housing law and policy should take fully into account the special housing needs of these groups. Within many States parties increasing access to land by landless or impoverished segments of the society should constitute a central policy goal. Discernible governmental obligations need to be developed aiming to substantiate the right of all to a secure place to live in peace and dignity, including access to land as an entitlement; | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1991 | ||
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 17 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness (art. 12.2 (d)), both physical and mental, includes the provision of equal and timely access to basic preventive, curative, rehabilitative health services and health education; regular screening programmes; appropriate treatment of prevalent diseases, illnesses, injuries and disabilities, preferably at community level; the provision of essential drugs; and appropriate mental health treatment and care. A further important aspect is the improvement and furtherance of participation of the population in the provision of preventive and curative health services, such as the organization of the health sector, the insurance system and, in particular, participation in political decisions relating to the right to health taken at both the community and national levels. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2000 | ||
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 31 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Whereas everyone has the right to social security, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who traditionally face difficulties in exercising this right, in particular women, the unemployed, workers inadequately protected by social security, persons working in the informal economy, sick or injured workers, people with disabilities, older persons, children and adult dependents, domestic workers, homeworkers, minority groups, refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, non-nationals, prisoners and detainees. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2007 | ||
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In its general comment No. 5, the Committee defined discrimination against persons with disabilities as "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference, or denial of reasonable accommodation based on disability which has the effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of economic, social or cultural rights". The denial of reasonable accommodation should be included in national legislation as a prohibited form of discrimination on the basis of disability. States parties should address discrimination, such as prohibitions on the right to education, and denial of reasonable accommodation in public places such as public health facilities and the workplace, as well as in private places, e.g. as long as spaces are designed and built in ways that make them inaccessible to wheelchairs, such users will be effectively denied their right to work. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The right to just and favourable conditions of work is a right of everyone, without distinction of any kind. The reference to "everyone" highlights the fact that the right applies to all workers in all settings, regardless of gender, as well as young and older workers, workers with disabilities, workers in the informal sector, migrant workers, workers from ethnic and other minorities, domestic workers, self-employed workers, agricultural workers, refugee workers and unpaid workers. The reference to "everyone" reinforces the general prohibition on discrimination in article 2 (2) and the equality provision in article 3 of the Covenant, and is supplemented by the various references to equality and freedom from distinctions of any kind in sub-articles 7 (a) (i) and (c). | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 56 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee underlines the importance of consultation in formulating, implementing, reviewing and monitoring laws and policies related to the right to just and favourable conditions of work, not only with traditional social partners such as workers and employers and their representative organizations, but also with other relevant organizations, such as those representing persons with disabilities, younger and older persons, women, workers in the informal economy, migrants and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, as well as representatives of ethnic groups and indigenous communities. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The national policy should cover all branches of economic activity, including the formal and informal sectors, and all categories of workers, including non-standard workers, apprentices and interns. It should take into account specific risks to the safety and health of female workers in the event of pregnancy, as well as of workers with disabilities, without any form of discrimination against these workers. Workers should be able to monitor working conditions without fear of reprisal. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The "right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts" (art. 6 (1)) is not realized where the only real opportunity open to disabled workers is to work in so called "sheltered" facilities under sub standard conditions. Arrangements whereby persons with a certain category of disability are effectively confined to certain occupations or to the production of certain goods may violate this right. Similarly, in the light of principle 13 (3) of the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care, "therapeutical treatment" in institutions which amounts to forced labour is also incompatible with the Covenant. In this regard, the prohibition on forced labour contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is also of potential relevance. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 13 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The methods to be used by States parties in seeking to implement their obligations under the Covenant towards persons with disabilities are essentially the same as those available in relation to other obligations (see general comment No. 1 (Third session, 1989)). They include the need to ascertain, through regular monitoring, the nature and scope of the problems existing within the State; the need to adopt appropriately tailored policies and programmes to respond to the requirements thus identified; the need to legislate where necessary and to eliminate any existing discriminatory legislation; and the need to make appropriate budgetary provisions or, where necessary, seek international cooperation and assistance. In the latter respect, international cooperation in accordance with articles 22 and 23 of the Covenant is likely to be a particularly important element in enabling some developing countries to fulfil their obligations under the Covenant. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 17 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Anti discrimination measures should be based on the principle of equal rights for persons with disabilities and the non disabled, which, in the words of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, "implies that the needs of each and every individual are of equal importance, that these needs must be made the basis for the planning of societies, and that all resources must be employed in such a way as to ensure, for every individual, equal opportunity for participation. Disability policies should ensure the access of [persons with disabilities] to all community services". | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 1 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The central importance of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in relation to the human rights of persons with disabilities has frequently been underlined by the international community. Thus a 1992 review by the Secretary General of the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons concluded that "disability is closely linked to economic and social factors" and that "conditions of living in large parts of the world are so desperate that the provision of basic needs for all food, water, shelter, health protection and education must form the cornerstone of national programmes". Even in countries which have a relatively high standard of living, persons with disabilities are very often denied the opportunity to enjoy the full range of economic, social and cultural rights recognized in the Covenant. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 12b (ii) | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The right to health in all its forms and at all levels contains the following interrelated and essential elements, the precise application of which will depend on the conditions prevailing in a particular State party:] Accessibility. Health facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: Physical accessibility: health facilities, goods and services must be within safe physical reach for all sections of the population, especially vulnerable or marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, women, children, adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS. Accessibility also implies that medical services and underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable water and adequate sanitation facilities, are within safe physical reach, including in rural areas. Accessibility further includes adequate access to buildings for persons with disabilities. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2000 | ||
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 6 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In previous general comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the application of the principle of non-discrimination to specific Covenant rights relating to housing, food, education, health, water, authors' rights, work and social security. Moreover, general comment No. 16 focuses on State parties' obligations under article 3 of the Covenant to ensure equal rights of men and women to the enjoyment of all Covenant rights, while general comments Nos. 5 and 6 respectively concern the rights of persons with disabilities and older persons. The present general comment aims to clarify the Committee's understanding of the provisions of article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, including the scope of State obligations (Part II), the prohibited grounds of discrimination (Part III), and national implementation (Part IV). | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Individuals belonging to particular groups may be disproportionately affected by intersectional discrimination in the context of sexual and reproductive health. As identified by the Committee, groups such as, but not limited to, poor women, persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous or other ethnic minorities, adolescents, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and people living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to experience multiple discrimination. Trafficked and sexually exploited women, girls and boys are subject to violence, coercion and discrimination in their everyday lives, with their sexual and reproductive health at great risk. Also, women and girls living in conflict situations are disproportionately exposed to a high risk of violation of their rights, including through systematic rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and forced sterilization. Measures to guarantee non-discrimination and substantive equality should be cognizant of and seek to overcome the often exacerbated impact that intersectional discrimination has on the realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 24 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The failure of employers to respect the minimum wage should be subject to penal or other sanctions. Appropriate measures, including effective labour inspections, are necessary to ensure the application of minimum wage provisions in practice. States parties should provide adequate information on minimum wages in relevant languages and dialects, as well as in accessible formats for workers with disabilities and illiterate workers. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Benefits should be provided in a timely manner and beneficiaries should have physical access to the social security services in order to access benefits and information, and make contributions where relevant. Particular attention should be paid in this regard to persons with disabilities, migrants, and persons living in remote or disaster-prone areas, as well as areas experiencing armed conflict, so that they, too, can have access to these services. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2007 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 20 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The field of employment is one in which disability based discrimination has been prominent and persistent. In most countries the unemployment rate among persons with disabilities is two to three times higher than the unemployment rate for persons without disabilities. Where persons with disabilities are employed, they are mostly engaged in low paid jobs with little social and legal security and are often segregated from the mainstream of the labour market. The integration of persons with disabilities into the regular labour market should be actively supported by States. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 14 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In addition, it has been consistently acknowledged by the international community that policy making and programme implementation in this area should be undertaken on the basis of close consultation with, and involvement of, representative groups of the persons concerned. For this reason, the Standard Rules recommend that everything possible be done to facilitate the establishment of national coordinating committees, or similar bodies, to serve as a national focal point on disability matters. In doing so, Governments should take account of the 1990 Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of National Coordinating Committees on Disability or Similar Bodies. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 |