COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (CRPD) September 2013 CONSIDERATION OF COUNTRY REPORTS AZERBAIJAN 10th session (2-13 September 2013) (Initial State Party report (CRPD/C/AZE/1), 16 February 2011) DisabCouncil’s Independent Review Submitted, August 2013 1 Geneva Disability Council International | P.O.Box45 |1239 Collex, Geneva, Switzerland |Tel: +41774032345 |Fax: +41225802781 |Email:[email protected] |Website:www.disabilitycouncilinternational.org CONTENTS A. Basic country information (Azerbaijan) B. Status of Persons with Disabilities in Azerbaijan under the Convention I. Summary review of most critical issues II. General requirements concerning the contents of the reports to the Committee III. Analysis of the report (article by article) 2 AZERBAIJAN Initial State party report (CRPD/C/AZE/1) submitted 16 FEBRUARY 2011 Disability Council International | P.O.Box45 |1239 Collex, Geneva, Switzerland |Tel: +41774032345 |Fax: +41225802781 |Email:[email protected] |Website:www.disabilitycouncilinternational.org 1 BASIC COUNTRY INFORMATION (Azerbaijan) Government type: republic Independence: 30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union) Constitution: adopted 12 November 1995; modified by referendum 24 August 2002 Population: July 2013 est. 9,590,159 Age structure : 2013 estimate: 0-14 years: 22.6% (male 1,164,189/female 1,006,483) 15-24 years: 18.3% (male 905,277/female 849,642) 25-54 years: 44.9% (male 2,092,945/female 2,209,623) 55-64 years: 7.9% (male 350,068/female 410,765) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 229,244/female 371,923) Ethnicities (1999 census): Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% Religion (1995 est.): Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% Executive branch : chief of state: President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006) Cabinet : Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly Parliament : unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) Elections : last held on 7 November 2010 (next to be held in November 2015) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal. GDP (2012 est.): $98.36 billion GDP, annual growth rate (2012 est.): 2.2% GDP per capita (2012 est.): $10,700 Major exporting products: oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs Employment: 6.206 million (2012 est.) : agriculture: 38.3%, industry: 12.1%, services: 49.6% (2008) Unemployment rate (2012 est.): 1% Annual population growth rate (2013 est.): 1.01% Infant mortality rate: 27.69 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth (2013 est.): male: 68.65 years female: 74.97 years Maternal mortality rate (2010): 43 deaths/100,000 live births Literacy rate (2007 estimate): 99.8% A. STATUS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN AZERBAIJAN IN LIGHT OF THE CONVENTION 3 I. Summary Review of most critical issues Article 1 (Definition of persons with disabilities) 1See US Department of State, Human Rights Reports Azerbaijan, 2011; World Fact Book, Azerbaijan, 2013 Update. Disability Council International | P.O.Box45 |1239 Collex, Geneva, Switzerland |Tel: +41774032345 |Fax: +41225802781 |Email:[email protected] |Website:www.disabilitycouncilinternational.org The State party uses a medical model definition of persons with disabilities The State party has a medical model definition of persons with disabilities in its national legislation. This definition was adopted before the entry into force of the Convention and has not yet been changed (para. 3).2 The State is encouraged to amend its legislation and adopt a social and human rights model definition of persons with disabilities. Article 12 (Legal capacity) The State party makes the distinction in its national legislation between capacity for rights and capacity to act. On this basis it restricts the legal capacity of persons with disabilities on a number of ways, including a full guardianship system over the so called persons who “suffer from mental retardation and mental disease”. The State party is encouraged to harmonize its national legislation with the provisions of the Convention. Article 14 (Deinstitutionalization) Prevalence of the practice of institutionalization of persons with disabilities The practice of institutionalization of persons with disabilities because of their disability, in the State party, is widely expanded. The State party is encouraged to adopt a concrete timeframe for the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities. Article 23 (home and family) Persons who are “mentally ill” or lack “mental wisdom” are denied the right to marry Persons with certain mental forms of disability are denied their right to marry and establish a family. The State party is encouraged to revise its national legislation to conform it to articles 12 and 23 of the Convention. Article 29 (Political and Public life) No right to vote for those who are recognized “incapable persons” Persons with certain mental forms of disability are denied their right to vote on equal terms with others. 4 2 Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “on prevention of disabilities and impaired health of children and rehabilitation and social protection of the disabled and children with impareid health” states that the category of persons with disabilities “include people in need of social assistance and protection, because of mental and physical defects…” Disability Council International | P.O.Box45 |1239 Collex, Geneva, Switzerland |Tel: +41774032345 |Fax: +41225802781 |Email:[email protected] |Website:www.disabilitycouncilinternational.org The State party is encouraged to revise its national legislation to conform it to articles 12 and 29 of the Convention, so to ensure that everyone has a right to vote irrespective of any disabilities. II. General issues to consider when preparing reports to the Committee In its Reporting Guidelines, the CRPD Committee requests State parties preparing their reports to meet a number of objectives including: 1. States parties should use the opportunity of the report drafting process to conduct a comprehensive review of the measures undertaken to harmonize national law and policy with the Convention The report enumerates a number of measures that the State party has undertaken (most of which occurred before the adoption of the Convention), but the report fails to provide, in a consistent way, the measures the State party has undertaken to harmonize the existing national law with the Convention. Examples include: article 12 (legal capacity), article 14 (deinstitutionalization) , article 23 (home and family), article 24 (right to education) and article 29 (right to vote). The State party is encouraged to: (1) harmonize its national legislation more fully with the Convention; (2) proceed with efforts to adopt specific plans of action for each Convention right by confronting existing legislation, policies and plans with the requirements of the Convention; and (3) develop a strategy for implementation with clear benchmarks, timelines and appropriate funding. 2. States parties should use the reporting process as an opportunity to monitor progress in achieving the goals of the Convention in the context of the promotion of human rights in general The report contains neither a general evaluation of progress made in promoting the enjoyment of the rights nor an account of what still remains to be done. Rather, it gives an overview of what the State party has done for persons with disabilities since the 90’s without connecting those efforts with the Convention goals. In particular, it provides little comparative statistics (by types of disabilities and gender about trends and needs in achieving the main goals set out in the Convention which is the full enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities on equal footing with others). The State party is encouraged to provide future reports containing detailed disaggregated statistics by types of disabilities and gender with benchmarks and trends in achieving the goals of the Convention. 3. States parties should use the reporting process as an opportunity to identify problems and shortcomings in their approach to the implementation of the Convention Azerbaijan recognizes that the implementation of the Convention will require some work, for this reason the report states that a Working Group on the implementation was set up in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population 5 consisting of representatives of various State agencies and NGOs. Its purpose is to ensure “appropriate reflection and implementation of the provisions on protection of rights” of persons with disabilities according to the Convention, and reflect this in Action plans and strategies for each of the State Agencies (paras. 9, 10). The State party is encouraged to follow up and implement the recommendations of the Committee. Disability Council International | P.O.Box45 |1239 Collex, Geneva, Switzerland |Tel: +41774032345 |Fax: +41225802781 |Email:[email protected] |Website:www.disabilitycouncilinternational.org 4. States parties should encourage and facilitate the involvement of NGOs including Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs) in the preparation of the report and explain the procedure used to consult with civil society organizations and the