1

BRK-ALLIANZ – German CRPD ALLIANCE (Eds.)

Alliance of German Non-governmental Organisations on the

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Submission by the

German CRPD Alliance (BRK-Allianz)

for the List of Issues on Germany

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

11th session, 31 Mar - 11 Apr 2014

Submitted by:

BRK-ALLIANZ

c/o NETZWERK ARTIKEL 3 e.V. (Secretariat)

Krantorweg 1

D-13503 Berlin

GERMANY

Tel.: +49-30-4364441

Fax: +49-30-4364442

E-mail:

Preliminary Remarks

Germany is a State Party to the UN CRPD and the Optional Protocol[1] since 24 February 2009. A National Action Plan (NAP) to implement the UN CRPD was approved by the Federal Government in June 2011. The first state report[2] was published in August 2011 and referred to the CRPD committee.

The German CRPD ALLIANCE (BRK-Allianz) was founded in January 2012 with the purpose of participating in the review of the state report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in Germany, and of compiling a parallel report. This parallel report was submitted to the CRPD Committee in December 2013.

Altogether, the alliance is comprised of 78 organizations and thus essentially represents a wide range of disability politics associations in Germany. Most of these organizations emerged from the fields of self-representation of persons with disablities, disablity self-help associations and social associations. Other members include welfare organisations, expert associations concerned with supporting persons with disabilities, psychiatric experts as well as professional and expert organisations from the educational field, development work, parents´ associations and trade unions. This consortium is the most comprehensive alliance that has ever dealt with disability issues from a human rights perpective in Germany. A list of these 78 associations is available at in the Annex.

This submission on the list of issues prepared by the German CRPD Alliance provides brief information from the German civil society on the priority issues relating to the situation of CRPD implementation. In particular, it suggests questions for the list of issues to the German government leading up to its initial review by the CRPD Committee. The proposed questions are regrouped at the beginning of this submission and also appear throughout the text under the sections corresponding to the relevant CRPD provisions.

Proposed questions for the List of Issues

Articles 1-4

  • What steps are being taken to immediately establish specific legislative measures for the implementation of the UN CRPD in national legislation (in both Federal legislation and legislation of the Länder), as well as a scheme of sanctions in the case of nonexistent implementation which are operational and effective both at the Federal and Länder levels? What steps are being taken to assess all Federal and Länder laws with regard to their compatibility with the CRPD, and to adjust accordingly?
  • What steps are being taken to render the National Action Plan actionable in practice by identifying specific targets, indicators, benchmarks and an implementation schedule, and by conducting continous monitoring and evaluation of the NAP with the active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations at both the Federal and Länder levels?
  • What steps will be taken to change the official German translation of the CRPD in due consideration of the “shadow translation” and in accordance with the CRPD Committee’s recommendation in the Concluding Observations on Austria (CRPD/C/AUT/CO/1, para 7) and how will the participation of associations of people with disabilities be guaranteed?
  • What steps are being taken by the Federal Government, together with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, to develop binding participation standards and mechanisms for all areas of law, policy and implementation in order to guarantee their comprehensive participation in order for the lived experiences of persons with disabilities as voiced by them to guide all government action related to them?

Article 5

  • What steps are being taken to incorporate the concept of “reasonable accommodation” in the Federation and Länder equal opportunities laws and to provide training to both the public and private sector to ensure its provision? What initiatives are being taken to provide a definition of “reasonable accommodation” in the law including the recognition that the denial of reasonable accommodation constitues disability-based discrimination in the general act on equal treatment [Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz/AGG]?
  • What steps are being taken to consider discrimination against persons with multiple disabilities? Among other things, when will “TBL” [taubblind/deaf blind, or the visually and hearing impaired], be recognised and introduced in the law on “severely disabled persons” [Schwerbehindertenrecht/-gesetz] and the decree on medical care [Versorgungsmedizin-Verordnung]?
  • What steps are being taken that integration programs and services for persons with disabilities with migration backgrounds are culture sensitive, accessible and non- discriminatory?

Article 6

  • What steps are being taken to implement a successful twin tracking approach to the rights of women and girls with disabilities – in order to mainstream into wider women’s rights strategies and campaigns, as well as having specific actions for women and girls with disabilities?
  • What measures are being taken to remove barriers to access to higher education and vocational training for women with disabilities, including women with disabilities with migrant backgrounds? What steps are being taken to address the gender gap and unemployment rates of women with disabilities?
  • What steps are being taken that all federal statistics on disability issues will be based on gender-specific data collection and analysis?
  • What steps are being taken to guarantee a carer of the same gender in the German Long-Term Care Insurance Act?

Article 7

  • When will the “comprehensive early intervention set of measures” be subjected to precise regulations in the Social Code including a review of § 32 SGB IX regarding the authority to issue statutory ordinances [Verordnungsermächtigung] as well as the early intervention measures decree [Frühförderungsverordnung]?
  • What steps are being taken by the Länder governments in compiling precise framework agreements between the responsible Länder ministries, the service agencies and the associations of the service providers?

Article 8

  • What steps are being taken to develop schemes for comprehensive human rights education and training within the administration and the public and private sphere, in cooperation with disabled people’s organisations?

Article 9

  • What steps are being taken to legally oblige private legal entities that provide facilities and services to the public to ensure accessibility in accordance with Article 9 of the CRPD (and to fulfill the accepted recommendation of the Human Rights Council No.124.175 (United States of America) (A/HRC/24/9) 2013)?
  • What plans are envisaged for the BITV 2.0 decree to be introduced beyond the Federal institutions, and to become valid in the Länder and municipalities, by means of the Equal Opportunities act of the Länder (LGGs)?
  • What steps are being taken for the KfW “age-appropriate renovation” incentive scheme to be provided with additional funding to ensure the provision of accessible homes?

Article 12

  • What steps are being taken to repeal German guardianship law and replace it with a law introducing “supported decision-making” in reference to para 28 of CRPD/C/AUT/CO/1 which respects the autonomy, will and preferences of the individual concerned?
  • What steps are being taken to repeal the stipulations regarding contractual incapacity on the basis of Art. 12 UN CRPD?

Article 14

  • What steps have been taken to repeal Länder laws pertaining to institutionalisation on the basis of disability and/or guardianship including legal provisions that link disability to other factors such as a likelihood of harm to the person or others or an ascribed need for care and treatment and to ensure prompt and effective remedies to secure the release of any individual who has been subjected to such detention, in accordance with Art. 14 UN CRPD which stipulates that the existence of an actual or perceived disability cannot justify deprivation of liberty?

Article 16

  • What accessible awareness raising campaigns exist or are being developed in consultation with DPOs, which reach out to children with disabilities to educate them on their right to be protected against violence, abuse and exploitation?
  • What steps are being taken to collect data on the prevalence of persons with disabilities who are victims of abuse, violence and exploitation including forced institutionalization and treatment, disaggregated by age, gender, disability constituency, ethnicity, geographical location, etc. in order to devise effective strategies and laws to better eliminate these practices?
  • What kind of measures will be taken in order to identify cases of violence (e.g. police investigation) or provide help for the victims of violence (e.g. orphanages or social support) that would be made available for the persons with disabilities with the purpose of fighting against violence (e.g. awareness-raising campaigns)?
  • What are steps being taken to ensure accessible complaints mechanisms, hotlines, victim support and -counselling services for children and adults with disabilities who are or were exposed to violence including women’s shelters with the provision of interpretation, for example, into and from German Sign Language [Deutsche Gebärdensprache/DGS]?
  • When will the law on protection against violence be reviewed so that it ensures the protection of women and men with disabilities who were or are exposed to violence, who are in need of care or assistance and/or live in institutions for disabled persons?
  • What steps are being taken to define, implement and effectively -monitor care standards in order to ensure that malpractice in both inpatient and outpatient care will be eliminated and avoided in the future?

Article 17

  • What steps are being taken to repeal all Länder laws regarding persons with psychosocial disabilities, institutionalization and hospitalisation in psychiatric and forensic facilities) which permit and facilitate the forced treatment of persons with disabilities without their own free and informed consent in accordance with the stipulations of the German high courts and the CRPD?

Article 19

  • What steps are being taken to ensure that persons with disabilities are freely able to choose their place of residence and type of housing within the community, including choice of gender of their caregiver, regardless of the issue of cost for their assistance (see para 37, CRPD/C/AUT/CO/1)? What steps are being taken to abolish the provision on additional costs which the agencies apply to restrict a person with disability’s choice in housing and support to institutional facilities? [Mehrkostenvorbehalt] according to SGB XII, § 13, Para. 1(3)?
  • What steps are being taken to enable persons with disabilities to use their Personal Budget and reduce existing implementation problems?

Article 23

  • What steps are being taken to clearly establish the right to parental assistance and supported parenting on the Federal level to ensure that parents with disabilities can retain custody of their children and have their right to family respected and protected?
  • What steps are being taken to repeal § 1905 BGB (sterilisation of persons who are “unable to provide consent”) and to explicitly abolish in the law sterilisation, abortion, contraception and other treatment which is carried out without the free and informed consent of the individual concerned as well as to explicitly prohibit substituted consent provided by third parties?

Article 24

  • What steps are being taken to abolish legal clauses in the education law that restrict the individual right right to inclusive education?
  • What steps are beeing taken to ensure a cooperative, coordinated and committed joint approach to implement inclusive education by the Federal Government and the Länder? How does the federal government react to the legal exceptions contained in the Länder-laws which enable them to refuse realizing inclusion on the basis of lacking personell, organisational or other accommodations/conditions?
  • What steps are being taken by the Federal Government to establish the provision of reasonable accommodations in the Länder-laws to ensure that the proceedings for the application and allocation of services are free of discrimination? And to what extent are students with disabilities and their parents included in the compilation of the individual advancement plans?
  • How will the federal government assure that, in regular schools, reasonable accomodation and compensation for disadvantages (Nachteilsausgleich) will be allowed for, such as the provision of sign language interpreters and school assistance?
  • Please indicate how inclusive education will be included in obligatory training of all teachers (beyond special education teachers) on teaching children with disabilities, and as an integral part of core teacher training curricula in universities to ensure that the values and principles of inclusive education are infused at the outset of teacher training and teaching careers?
  • What steps are being taken by the Federal Government to settle the deficits in statistical data on disabled students at schools and universities and to research the group of young researchers with disabilities and chronic diseases as well as to close the gap of legal regulations in education?
  • What steps are being taken to change the incorrect official German translation of the English term “inclusion” by “integration” in Art. 24 CRPD?

Article 25

  • What steps are being taken to dismantle barriers to access to health care (attitude, knowledge, powers to act, communication skills, on-site and communication barriers, etc.) to ensure the provision of reasonable accommodation, quality and trained care, and respect for the free and informed consent of the individual concerned?
  • What steps are being taken to train all health professionals on the rights of persons with disabilities including the provision of reasonable accommodation, the right to free and informed consent, and communicating with the persons of disabilities?
  • What kind of measures are being taken to ensure access to accessible health services including sexual and reproductive health services, implementation of medical insurance, lack of human resources in the field of rehabilitation and limited number of medical facilities, to ensure access to health services for persons with disabilities across the country, in particular in rural areas?
  • What kinds of measures are planned for the dissemination of information on health services, including sexual and reproductive health, in languages (including sign language) and formats accessible by the persons of disabilities?

Article 26

  • Which steps have been taken by the Federal Government to guarantee that medical, occupational and social rehabilitation are interlinked in a more efficient way, and cross-agency counseling as well as a coordinated provision of services are ensured?

Article 27

  • What steps are being taken to put in place stronger incentives so that companies employ more persons with disabilities, for example, through higher compensation levies?
  • What measures are being taken, in consultation with women with disabilities and their representative organisations, to improve the situation of disabled women with regard to gainful employment, including initiatives to improve and increase access by disabled girls and young women to vocational training?
  • What steps are being taken to increase opportunities and facilitate employment in the open labour market with the necessary support? And to ensure that individuals exercise free choice to work in a WfbM/sheltered workshop?
  • What steps are being taken to implement a binding provision in the workplaces decree [Arbeitsstättenverordnung] requiring workplaces to be accessible (including internet, intranet and IT provisions for persons with sensory impairments) and for the provision of reasonable accommodation, regardless of whether the company is already employing persons with disabilities?
  • What steps are being taken to improve the access to vocational rehabilitation programs and, in order to guarantee the right to rehabilitation, to increase the number of recognized vocational rehabilitants in Germany?

Article 28

  • What steps are being taken to ensure that participation services for disabled persons will be granted by means of a separate social services law [Leistungsgesetz], detached from social welfare, and to ensure that these services are granted independent of income and assets?

Article 29

  • What steps are being taken to repeal the general exclusions of categories of persons with disabilities from exercising electoral rights according to § 13 Para. 2 and 3 of the Federal Electoral Act, the identical regulations in the laws pertaining to Länder and regional elections as well as to European elections?
  • In order to allow for persons with disabilities to exercise their right to political participation as defined in the UN CRPD, what steps are being taken to support the creation and operation of self-representative organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) including providing both financial and institutional support?

Article 31

  • What steps are being taken by the government to establish a unified database and to systematically collect information on all areas which are also disaggregated by gender - including intersex persons -, age, type of disability, ethnicity, urban/rural population etc. (e.g. education, health, access to justice, legal capacity, violence, employment, institutionalisation, housing, political participation, etc.) and to actively involve and closely consult with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations to do so?
  • What steps are being taken to establish a Life Opportunities Survey based on human rights indicators?

Article 32

  • Please specify what measures are being taken to ensure that commitments to inclusive development and humanitarian aid made at policy level are embedded in the inherent processes and practices of the respective ministries and implementing agencies, and what financial resources (including the percentage of the total budget allocated) are provided in order to ensure that development cooperation is inclusive of persons with disabilities?
  • Please elaborate what steps are being taken to measure the degree of mainstreamed action towards persons with disabilities in the general programs and projects as well as the quality and range of programs and projects which specifically target persons with disabilities?

A. Purpose and general obligations (arts. 1-4)