Submission to Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Recommended List of issues with the consideration of the initial report of Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) (CRPD/C/CHN-HKG/1) on the implementation of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
From HKSAR disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs)
and non-government organizations (NGOs)
March 2012
General Provisions (Article 1-4)
1. Please provide information as to whether the HKSAR Government will undertake disability mainstreaming in order to ensure that the persons with disabilities’ (PWDs) needs and perspectives are taken into account in legislation, policies and programmes so that PWDs and the others have equitable access to, and benefit from, society? Please also explain if the disability mainstreaming practice involves developing a checklist to facilitate disability sensitive analysis and to evaluate the possible disability impact of policies and programmes?
2. Please explain if the HKSAR Government will consider introducing domestic legislation of the CRPD? If yes, what is the timetable for introducing domestic legislation? If not, why and how the rights of PWDs can be legally enforceable and their violations given effective remedies?
3. Will the HKSAR Government decide to initiate a comprehensive review in view of the CRPD? If yes, what is the timetable? If not, please explain why.
4. Please provide information on the recent proposal from the Law Reform Commission on Charity Law. Please explain if the proposed legal framework, especially its exclusion of “promoting human rights” from charitable status, would affect the charity status of local disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), especially those engaging in advocacy work.
5. Since different Government departments have adopted different definitions of disability, does the HKSAR Government consider it necessary to come up with a common definition? Will the Government amend the outdated and incomprehensive eligibility standard in the Disability Allowance Scheme?
6. The level of public spending on mental health service in HKSAR is far below that of other countries, and no high-level mechanism is in place to formulate a comprehensive mental health policy or co-ordinate the various programmes and to address social exclusion encountered by mentally ill persons. In view of the violent behaviour cases involving ex-mental patients occurring in recent years, does the HKSAR Government recognize that the current system is not only insufficient but ineffective and the reform of the fragmented policy and services provided by different department is urgently needed? Will the HKSAR Government establish a high-level mechanism and collaborate with DPOs in the mental health field to formulate and implement comprehensive mental health policy in Hong Kong?
7. Please provide information on the portfolio of Labour and Welfare Bureau and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. Implementation of the CRPD in Hong Kong is under the portfolio of Labour and Welfare Bureau, does it represent that HKSAR Government treat the rights of persons with disabilities as welfare rather than human rights?
Equality and non-discrimination (Article 5)
8. Please provide information on whether the HKSAR Government would initiate the amendments on the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, especially according to the proposals of Equal Opportunities Commission in 1999?
Awareness-raising (Article 8)
9. Please explain the HKSAR Government’s measures on community education to promote public awareness on the rights of PWDs, in order to reduce the difficulties and resistance encountered during local consultation, or explain why local consultation is necessary, on the provision of all services for PWDs, especially the residential services and support service centres. Are there any concrete plans for the HKSAR Government to shorten the delay of providing regional services for PWDs to satisfy their needs and protect their rights to timely services?
10. Will the HKSAR Government promote the use of rights-based, neutral and people first terms in relating and describing the PWDs and their affairs in policy papers, in press and to media?
Accessibilities (Article 9)
11. Please explain if the HKSAR Government has any concrete plans to improve PWD’s access to information. For all consultation, legislative and policy information, is there any accessible information for the variety of needs of PWDs, especially for persons with intellectual disabilities, any easy read format , and the use of Braille, audio and sign language are essential for people with hearing or visual impairment. Are there any plans for the HKSAR Government to develop these ways of communication to ensure that information is fully accessible to PWDs?
12. Please explain if the HKSAR Government would require all public transport operators to provide and reserve a specified proportion of area for PWDs to take public transport.
13. Most of the restaurants do not welcome PWDs because wheelchair users are not allowed to move in such a crowded environment. Some restaurants have their seats fixed permanently and this setting fails to cater to the needs of wheelchair users. Please explain if the HKSAR Government would take measures to address this problem.
14. Please explain if there is technology to facilitate persons with hearing impairment in an accessible way in HKSAR. Is there any free service to provide persons with hearing impairment with public information?
15. As structures built before the commencement of Design Manuel 1997 are not legally required to provide barrier-free access and facilities, how will the HKSAR Government deal with the problem of old buildings and public hospitals which fail to meet the barrier-free standards? Also, please explain why the Building Ordinance and its Building (Planning) Regulations as well as Design Manual: Barrier-free Access 1997 and 2008 are not applicable to premises under the management of the HKSAR Government or the Housing Authority. Will the HKSAR Government amend the legislations accordingly?
16. Please provide details of actions which the HKSAR Government has taken to promote the provision of better barrier-free access facilities and fare concessions to persons with disabilities from the public transport.
Right to life (Article 10) and Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (Article 11)
17. Please explain why the new Code of Practice for the Provision of Means of Escape in Case of Fire introduced in 2011, which covers more comprehensively on means of escape, fire resisting construction, means of access for firefighting and rescue and fire safety management, fails to take heed of the needs of PWDs. It did not include the arrangement of fire escape for PWDs. Does the HKSAR Government have any plans to remedy the situation in order to protect the right to life of PWDs? If yes, what is the timetable for the implementation? If no, please explain why.
Liberty and security of the person (Article 14) and Protecting the integrity of the person (Article 17)
18. Please explain, without the requirement for an assessment by experienced psychiatrists and social workers, how could the HKSAR Government ensure that the present legislations of “detention of a patient under observation” and “conditioned discharge of patients with propensity to violence” are enforced in a way offering appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuses against patients’ liberty, security and integrity?
Living Independently and Being Included in the Community (Article 19)
19. Please provide the long term service plan in catering for the needs of persons with intellectual disabilities who prefer to live with their families in the community. Please state how the District Support Centres facilitate persons with intellectual disabilities to live independently in the community.
20. Please explain if the HKSAR Government would take actions to provide adequate support to PWDs who want to live independently in the community. How the rights of PWDs to choose where to live and whom to live with be respected?
21. Please explain how the HKSAR Government ensures the need of persons with hearing impairment for sign language translation is supported, so they are facilitated to live in community and integrated into the community?
22. Please explain if the HKSAR Government will or has taken any measures to provide more basic caring services to those with special needs to facilitate their home living and to reduce the burden on their carers? Will the HKSAR Government provide emergent or over-night residential respite service to the PWDs? If not, please explain why. Please also explain why does the HKSAR Government refuse to provide “Community Care Subsidy” for PWDs to purchase private/self-financed caring and rehabilitation services to enhance the flexibility in service provision and to reduce unnecessary expenditure?
23. The Disability Allowance is a welfare entitlement for persons with disabilities, and the Old Age Allowance is for senior citizens. Please explain why old people with severe disabilities are not eligible to receive both allowances?
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (Article 21)
24. Please explain if the HKSAR Government recognizes and promotes the use of sign language. How the HKSAR Government promotes sign language? Are there any civil servants or officers of public services, especially those who need to serve persons with hearing impairment, are able to directly communicate with persons with hearing impairment by sign language?
25. Please explain if the HKSAR Government has formulated policies on communication in an accessible way to protect the rights of persons with impairment to live in the community, to receive information and to express their opinions.
Education (Article 24)
26. In what ways have the rights of PWDs to education opportunities at different levels and life-long learning been realized?
27. Please provide information on the admission rate of PWDs in tertiary education in Hong Kong in the recent 5 years?
28. How are individuals with disabilities ensured to have reasonable accommodation of their special needs especially in respect of the curricula and facilities for effective learning in an inclusive education system in primary, secondary and tertiary level? Also, please also explain how the HKSAR Government’s target that in 5 years, at least 10% of teachers in each ordinary school will have received special education training.
29. To what extent PWDs are facilitated to full participation in education and in the community and thus develop life and social skills?
30. Please explain if HKSAR students with hearing impairment can choose to learn either by sign language or a bilingual way (sign language and spoken language). Please provide information if the HKSAR Government provide workable hearing aids with good quality to students with hearing impairment at all kindergarten, primary, secondary and tertiary levels? Are these students facilitated with assistance on the spot for them to learn effectively?
31. Please provide information on quantity and quality of the early identification of PWDs. Please provide information on how the HKSAR Government would enhance the early identification services, including the training and provision of medical officers to improve its quality and shorten its waiting time, and the extension of Comprehensive Child Development Service to cover all the 18 districts in HKSAR. Please also explain if the HKSAR Government would combine cases handled by the Education Bureau and Department of Health respectively.
32. Please provide information on how the HKSAR Government protect the rights to have quality, adequate and timely pre-school training and support to the pre-schoolers with disabilities (age 0 – 6) especially for those who are put on waiting-list for appropriate pre-school services.
Health (Article 25)
33. Please provide information on HKSAR Government’s concrete policies to cater to the needs of parents and carers of people with rare diseases. How does the HKSAR Government alleviate the financial burden of people with rare diseases, provided that the self-finance drug formulary scheme does not cover all effective drugs for people with rare diseases? If yes, what is the timetable for the implementation? If no, please explain why.
34. While most patients in public hospitals can enjoy cheap medical items, some expensive medicine and medical devices, such as artificial limbs and equipment for physiotherapy and occupational therapy, are self-purchased by patients and disabled persons. Will the HKSAR Government ensure that patients in public hospitals can enjoy government-subsidized medicine, treatment and equipment whenever their attending physicians considered the medical items essential?
35. Please provide information on the short term and long term plan to deal with the problem of ageing of persons with intellectual disabilities and other PWDs, especially on services including education, training, dental care and physical care. How does the HKSAR Government ensure that various departments and policy bureaux co-operate on this issue? How is the age distribution of persons with intellectual disabilities? How would the HKSAR Government create a caring environment for these citizens that step early into the senior stage?
Work and employment (Article 27)
36. Please explain if the HKSAR Government will consider introducing any positive measures of employment policy to encourage employers to employ PWDs, such as a quota system in Government departments and Government-subsidized public bodies in the first phase and extending the quota system to larger private enterprises later, or tax exemption for companies which employ PWDs? If yes, what is the timetable for the implementation? If no, please explain why.
37. Please explain how the HKSAR Government can justify why the productivity assessment mechanism under the minimum wage legislation is introduced specific to PWDs, and why the employer can be exempted from the prosecution under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance if he/she decides to terminate the employment contract with the PWDs on the basis of the productivity assessment result. Please explain why the PWDs need to have such a mechanism for getting or maintaining a job whereas persons without disability need not?
38. Please explain if the HKSAR Government has concrete policies to ensure that buildings and the facilities inside are accessible to PWDs so they can work inside the buildings.
Adequate standard of living and social protection (Article 28)
39. Please provide information on specific measures to ensure PWDs to have adequate food and level of nutrition to support their living and maintain their productivity, especially for PWDs who have financial pressure or who suffer from the side-effects of the medical treatments they are taking. Also please provide information on how the HKSAR Government ensures adequate daily necessities are provided to PWDs.
40. Please explain if the HKSAR Government will abolish the present family-based assessment mechanism, and replace by individual-based assessment on CSSA application? If yes, what is the timetable? If not, will the HKSAR Government take any measures to provide sufficient financial assistance (enough for daily living and rehabilitation needs) in the long-run, to those families that are not capable of providing more than physical caring support to their disabled member(s), instead of simply providing interim fund to them like Community Care Fund?