sou · GXB336 · 2010-01-01 00:00:00 — The Delegation considers that responsibility for information and training concerning national disability policy and its implementation, as today, should rest with Handisam and the Government Offices. The government agencies designated as sectoral agencies for the implementation of disability policy and the supervisory agencies have special responsibility for disseminating information on the parts of the Convention that relate to their particular activities. The remit for the Equality Ombudsman is not intended to replace the responsibility for information, supervision and application of the law held by other public bodies. The new remits of Handisam and the Equality In its report, the Delegation explains why a new government agency should not be established for promotion, protection and monitoring of the Convention. Arguments then follow against any of the other agencies that have been relevant to the discussion or the Government's Delegation on Disability being given the remit of promoting, protecting or monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Finally, the Delegation presents its view of the role of Handisam and reasons why the Equality Ombudsman should be given the remit and how this remit should be formulated. Handisam – corporate support agency for the implementation of disability policy Handisam receives its remit from the Government through the Ordinance (2007:1134) containing the duties of the for Disability Policy Coordination and through government appropriation directions. The remit is dictated by the orientation of disability policy decided upon by the Government and is thus largely dictated by the Government's priorities, and principally agrees with the tasks described in paragraph 1 of Article 33 concerned with the implementation of the Convention. The Delegation therefore considers that, under its remit to be responsible for coordinating the implementation of disability policy, Handisam can very well take responsibility, together with other entities, for the task of promoting implementation of the Convention. The Delegation proposes that this task should be stipulated in the Government's ordinance containing Handisams duties. Why the Equality Ombudsman? The government agency's compliance with the Principles The Delegation notes that the new Equality Ombudsman does not yet fully comply with the requirements that can be derived from the Principles, inasmuch as the agency's remit is limited to matters concerning equal rights and equality of opportunity with reference to certain defined grounds of discrimination, and thus does not cover the protection of human rights in general terms. The remit does not include violations of human rights when the violations do not entail discrimination, for example if society makes inadequate provision for basic health and care for all citizens. In this case the right of everyone to such health and care is violated, but no one is treated less well than anyone else. The Delegation considers that the Equality Ombudsman is nevertheless the government agency which, with least impact on existing activities, can be given the remit of being responsible for promoting, protecting and monitoring implementation of the Convention. The Equality Ombudsman is already the government agency responsible for the promotion, analysis and checking of, and support for, equal treatment under Community directives on equal treatment. The Delegation proposes an addition to the Act (2008:568) concerning the Equality Ombudsman to clarify that the remit to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention will concern all parts of the Convention, and not just cases where rights are violated in the form of discrimination, as for example in the example of health and care above. Such a supplement to the Act also means that it is the Riksdag that decides on any amendments to the remit. The Delegation proposes the following supplement to Section 1: The Equality Ombudsman shall also promote, protect and monitor implementation of the United Nations international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Delegation judges that the Equality Ombudsman to a satisfactory extent has the knowledge of both human rights and disabilities required of the institution which is to be responsible for promoting, protecting and monitoring implementation of the Convention. The Delegation wishes, however, to emphasise the importance of the Ombudsman further strengthening its competence with regard to the human rights perspective, as this differs in part from the established perspective of equal treatment. The Principles emphasise the broad mandate, as well as the institution being able to present opinions and reports in areas it considers needing to be highlighted. According to the principles, this mandate should be set forth in a constitutional or legislative text. The Delegation considers that the independence of the Equality Ombudsman is already evident from the Act concerning the Equality Ombudsman and is further reinforced by the legislative proposal presented in earlier sections. The Delegation considers that both investigations of individual complaints and general investigations represent important elements of the monitoring of implementation of the Convention. In the view of the Delegation it is, however, not necessary in the present situation for the individual complaints to be investigated and dealt with by the same body as is responsible for general monitoring. is this a requirement under the Convention. The question of what the possibility of submitting individual complaints with reference to the rights enshrined in the Convention would mean is also too wide-ranging to be answered in the context of this report. The Delegation proposes that the members of should continue to be appointed by the Ombudsman but wishes to reiterate the importance of there being people who themselves have disabilities on the Council. It is also important that the Ombudsman develops cooperation with the disability movement in other ways. Personnel and financial resources The Delegation considers that the Equality Ombudsman should be provided with funds to fulfil the new remit signified by the promotion, protection and monitoring of implementation of the Convention. There is also a need for a reinforcement of resources with regard to both promotion and monitoring. Promotion and monitoring of implementation of the Convention must not be limited to a perspective of equal treatment and must instead be based on a human rights perspective based on the entire Convention, In the judgement of the Delegation, some professional development will probably be required in the government agency for this purpose, to reinforce the expertise of the Ombudsman concerning human rights. Resources are additionally required, particularly in an initial stage, to develop methods to examine how the Convention is implemented and to develop cooperation in various ways with civil society, and in particular with the disability movement which is to participate in monitoring activity. The Delegation estimates that the Equality Ombudsman will need to be provided with resources equivalent to around three person-years to accomplish its new remit to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention. The cost of these is estimated at around million annually. In addition to this there are costs of information, training and method development, estimated at million annually during the initial stage. The Delegation judges, however, that the costs of method development can be expected to decrease as the agencies find forms of supervision from a rights perspective. The Delegation notes that the requirement to establish a national mechanism to promote, protect and monitor implementation of a convention on human rights has never occurred in any previous convention other than the optional protocol to the Convention against Torture. The Delegation therefore does not see any opportunities to finance the new resources for the Equality Ombudsman through funds from other sources. The Delegation considers that the experience contributed by supervision and review of implementation of the Convention provides a valuable and training initiatives. It is important, however, that a clear distinction is made between reviewing and promoting activities in the organisation. The Delegation notes that the Equality Ombudsman has divided its activities into three sections, where promotion and supervision are separated. Cooperation with/demarcation against other agencies Disability policy – a responsibility for all authorities Central government, the county councils and the municipalities should also endeavour to ensure that the fundamental principles of the Convention pervade their various activities. The Government has to date appointed a total of 14 central agencies, known as sectoral agencies, which have special responsibility for the implementation of disability policy. These are to press for the policy to become reality in their particular areas of society. Handisam has an role as a partner in cooperation and discussion and as a coordinator of the remits of the sectoral agencies, without taking over the responsibilities of any of these agencies. The Delegation similarly wishes to emphasise that the task of the Equality Ombudsman to promote, protect and monitor the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does not in any way diminish the responsibilities of other agencies for the Convention to pervade work in their areas. All government agencies have an important role to play in efforts to implement the Convention in their particular areas of responsibility. The principles underpinning the Convention and the articles which relate in particular to their own activities must provide a clear basis for both information and development efforts and standardisation and supervision. Everyone can contribute to the review A key task in the remit to monitor implementation of the Convention is to and coordinate material from other initiatives and analyse this in relation to human rights. The Delegation considers that any government agency which has a remit to evaluate, follow up and exercise supervision within its sector in a valuable way can contribute to the Equality Ombudsmans review of how the Convention is implemented in . The remit should be apparent from the agencys duties. Specific assignments with requirements to submit progress reports will probably also be required initially in the agencies' appropriation directions. To clarify the responsibilities of the government agencies and the municipalities and county councils to contribute to the review of how the Convention is implemented, the Delegation proposes that a new Section 2 a be added to the Act concerning the Equality Ombudsman: Administrative agencies, municipalities and county councils shall at the request of the Equality Ombudsman supply such information to the Ombudsman as the latter needs to fulfil its remit under the first paragraph of Section 1. Indicators with a rights perspective The Delegation considers it important that the accumulation of knowledge, among other things in the context of supervision, in a dialogue between the government agencies and the Equality Ombudsman, is developed so that it is based to a greater degree than at present on human rights. Participation of the disability movement in monitoring Under paragraph 3 of Article 33 of the Convention, civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, are to be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process. In an agreement between the Government, non-profit organisations in the social area and the Authorities and Regions, it is stated that the relationship between the Government and the non-profit organisations is to be characterised by responsibility and mutuality and be based on the circumstances of both and utilise the perspectives and expertise of both. The agreement contains a good description of the principles which should apply to cooperation between the disability movement and the Equality Ombudsman. The Delegation wishes to reiterate here the importance of persons with disabilities being members of the Equality Ombudsman's Council and of the disability organisations in various ways being involved in monitoring implementation of the Convention. The link to accessibility and measures An investigator in the Government Offices has been tasked with submitting proposals on how failure to take measures against inadequate accessibility could be treated as a form of discrimination. The Delegation notes that there is no direct link between the remit to review how inadequate accessibility could be treated as discrimination and the remit to investigate which public body could be entrusted with the task of promoting, protecting and monitoring implementation of the Convention. An inquiry chair is to study the effects of the provisions on measures contained in the previous laws against discrimination (ToR 2008:130). On this basis, the inquiry chair is to consider, among other things, how requirements for measures can be made clear and distinct and be linked to effective sanctions. The findings are to be reported to the Government by . The Delegation notes that it is difficult in the current situation to see how this might affect the Delegation's proposals. Childrens perspective and gender equality There are several articles in the Convention that highlight the importance of the States Parties taking account of both a childrens and a gender equality perspective in work on the Convention. The Delegation emphasises that the content of these articles must be reflected to the greatest degree in work both to promote and protect and to monitor implementation of the Convention. Promotion, protection and monitoring of all conventions on human rights The task of the Delegation in this report has only related to one of the conventions on human rights. The Delegation is tasked with drawing up proposals in its final report on how continued support for efforts to ensure full respect of human rights in at large could be provided after the Delegation has completed its work (ToR 2006:27). The proposals concerning the latter more overarching issue may therefore have an impact on and alter the tasks for the government agencies discussed in this report. In the 2009 Budget (Govt 2008/09:1), the Delegation was also tasked with examining how the issue of supervision in accordance with the Principles on national institutions with the task of monitoring human rights issues should be resolved. There is also a dilemma in this part of the remit in relation to the proposals presented in this report. The issue of a body for promoting, protecting and monitoring implementation of the Convention in question belongs together with the issue of the of similar national monitoring functions for other UN conventions on human rights. It would be unfortunate for such a body to be established for one of the conventions while there is no body with principal responsibility for the promotion, protection and monitoring of other central conventions. If similar tasks are to be developed for all the human rights conventions, the issue should be taken up again. This may thus have an impact on and alter the conditions for the government agencies discussed here. lag om ändring i lagen (2008:568) om Härigenom föreskrivs i fråga om lagen (2008:568) om dels att 1 § ska ha följande lydelse, dels att det i lagen ska införas en ny 2 a § av följande lydelse. Nuvarande lydelse Föreslagen lydelse 1 § har de uppgifter som framgår av diskrimineringslagen (2008:567). ska också främja, skydda och över– vaka genomförandet av internationella konven– tion om rättigheter för personer med funktionsnedsättning. Ombudsmannen ska därutöver verka för att diskriminering som har samband med kön, könsöverskridande identitet eller uttryck, etnisk tillhörighet, religion eller annan trosuppfattning, funktions– hinder, sexuell läggning eller ålder inte förekommer på några områden av samhällslivet. Ombudsmannen ska också i övrigt verka för lika rättigheter och möjligheter oavsett kön, könsöverskridande identitet eller uttryck, etnisk tillhörighet, religion eller annan trosuppfattning, funktions– hinder, sexuell läggning eller ålder. 2 § ska genom råd och på annat sätt medverka till att den som utsatts för diskriminering kan ta till vara sina rättigheter. 2 a § Förvaltningsmyndigheter, kommuner och landsting ska på begäran lämna sådan information till ombudsmannen som denna behöver för att fullgöra sitt uppdrag enligt 1 § andra stycket. 3 § ska vidare inom sitt verksamhets– –informera, utbilda, överlägga och ha andra kontakter med myndigheter, företag, enskilda och organisationer, –följa den internationella utvecklingen och ha kontakter med internationella organisationer, –följa forsknings- och utvecklingsarbete, –hos regeringen föreslå författningsändringar eller andra åtgärder som kan motverka diskriminering, och –ta initiativ till andra lämpliga åtgärder. Denna lag träder i kraft den () antog en konvention om rättig– heter för personer med funktionsnedsättning. Enligt artikel 33 ska det i varje stat finnas samhällsorgan med uppgift att främja, skydda och övervaka konventionens genomförande. Delegationen för mänskliga rättigheter i fick i uppdrag att utreda om Handisam, eller något annat organ bör anförtros uppgiften1. I uppdraget ingår även att utreda vad kravet i artikel 33, att främja, skydda och övervaka genom– förandet av konventionen, innebär i praktiken. FN:s konvention om rättigheter för personer med funktions– nedsättning2 antogs av och öppnades för undertecknande . Den under– tecknades då av 82 länder, däribland . Fram till och med har konventionen undertecknats av 139 länder och ratificerats av 50. Till konventionen finns också ett fakultativt (frivilligt) proto– koll3 som innebär att den enskilde har möjlighet att klaga till FN:s internationella kommitté för rättigheter för personer med funktions– nedsättning4 om han eller hon anser att hans eller hennes rättigheter är kränkta. undertecknade det fakultativa protokollet 1Tilläggsdirektiv till Delegationen för mänskliga rättigheter i , dir. 2008:92. 2United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 3Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 4The with Disabilities (CRPD). Till och med har 82 länder skrivit under det fakultativa protokollet och 29 ratificerat det. Konventionen och tilläggsprotokollet trädde för del i kraft Den nya konventionen utgör en fortsättning på arbetet inom FN för att få till stånd internationella regler om rätten till delaktighet och jämlikhet för personer med funktionsnedsättning. Detta arbete resulterade 1993 i att antog standardregler om delaktighet och jämlikhet för människor med funktionsnedsättning5. Standardreglerna har haft stor betydelse som vägledande instrument när det gäller handikappolitiken i och ligger bl.a. till grund för den nationella handlingsplanen för handikappolitiken6. Läs mer om standardreglerna i kapitel 2.6.1. Konventionen tillhör de centrala konventionerna om mänskliga rättigheter. Den skapar inte i sig några nya rättigheter. Dess syfte är snarare att undanröja hinder för personer med funktions– nedsättning att åtnjuta sina mänskliga rättigheter. De grund– läggande principerna i konventionen är icke-diskriminering, jämlika möjligheter, självbestämmande samt delaktighet och inkludering. Konventionen består av en inledning och 50 artiklar. Artikel 33, som är aktuell i denna utredning, har rubriken genom– förande och övervakning och behandlar tre frågor: -hur regeringen ska organisera sitt arbete för genomförandet av konventionen, -krav på ett eller flera oberoende organ för att främja, skydda och övervaka genomförandet av konventionen, -handikapprörelsens delaktighet i övervakningen. Konventionstexten i artikel 33 lyder: 1.Konventionsstaterna ska i enlighet med sina förvaltningssystem utse en eller flera kontaktpunkter inom regeringen för frågor som gäller genomförandet av denna konvention och ska på lämpligt sätt överväga att inrätta eller utse en samordnings– mekanism inom regeringen för att underlätta därtill relaterad verksamhet inom olika sektorer och på olika plan. 5Standardregler för att tillförsäkra människor med funktionsnedsättning delaktighet och jämlikhet, General resolution 48/96 (annex) , se 6Från patient till medborgare, regeringens proposition 1999/2000:79. 2.Konventionsstaterna ska i enlighet med sitt rättssystem och sitt förvaltningssystem, bibehålla, förstärka, utse eller inom konven– tionsstaten upprätta en mekanism, inklusive en eller flera oberoende mekanismer enligt vad som befinns ändamålsenligt för att främja, skydda och övervaka genomförandet av denna konvention. Vid utseendet eller upprättandet av mekanismen ska konventions– staterna beakta de principer som hänför sig till statusen och funktionen hos de nationella institutionerna för skydd och främjande av de mänskliga rättigheterna. 3.Det civila samhället, särskilt personer med funktionsnedsättning och de organisationer som representerar dem, ska involveras i och fullt ut medverka i övervakningsförfarandet. När det gäller punkt 1 hänvisar regeringen i propositionen Mänskliga rättigheter för personer med funktionsnedsättning7 till den informella grupp inom tjänster som samordnar handikappolitiken inom samt den interdepartementala arbetsgrupp med företrädare för flera olika departement som beskrivs i kapitel 2.4. Genom dessa finns redan kontaktpunkter inom regeringen som är lämpliga för frågor som gäller genomförandet av konventionen. Regeringen konstaterar sam– tidigt att samordningsfunktionen i bör förtyd– ligas för att på så sätt underlätta verksamheter inom olika sektorer och på olika plan som relaterar till konventionen och dess genom– förande. När det gäller punkt 2 konstaterar regeringen i propositionen att det saknas en sådan institution i som kan sägas motsvara alla krav som ställs i konventionen och som kan svara för att övervaka genomförandet av konventionen. Här åsyftas de så kallade Parisprinciperna som ställer relativt ingående krav på institutionen eller institutionerna i fråga. Enligt artikelns punkt 3 ska det civila samhället, särskilt personer med funktionsnedsättning och de organisationer som representerar dem, involveras i och fullt ut medverka i övervakningsförfarandet. 7 Mänskliga rättigheter för personer med funktionsnedsättning, regeringens proposition 2008/09:28. Regeringen konstaterar i propositionen att det enligt instruktionerna för Handisam och vid myndig– heterna ska finnas ett råd med uppgift att ge generaldirektören respektive ombudsmannen den vägledning som behövs för att verk– samheten ska kunna bedrivas effektivt och i överensstämmelse med syftet för verksamheten. Konventionsstaterna ska alltså enligt artikel 33 punkt 2 behålla, förstärka, utse eller upprätta en mekanism för att främja, skydda och övervaka genomförandet av konventionen. Utgångspunkter i detta arbete är enligt konventionen och utredningsdirektiven: -konventionsstatens eget rättssystem och förvaltningssystem, -de så kallade Parisprinciperna8 om nationella institutioner för mänskliga rättigheter (bl.a. brett mandat som regleras i lag, obero– ende och bred sammansättning, se vidare kapitel 2.2), -övervakningen av konventionens genomförande ska ske inom alla områden i både privat och offentlig verksamhet, inklusive åtgärder som vidtas av regering och riksdag, -handikapprörelsens medverkan. Vid översättningen av konventionen har beaktats de definitioner som hos har beslutat beträffande termerna handikapp, funktionshinder och funktions– nedsättning. När innehållet i nuvarande lagar återges används dock de begrepp som står i respektive lag.