Table 2 Summary of Commentaries by the CRPD Committee on Implementation in 19 Countries

Argentina

41.45 M

$14,715

• Lack of available resources and services for persons with disabilities

• Legislation on substitute decision-making should be replaced with supported decision-making

• Disparities in implementation at the local level

Australia

23.13 M

$67,458

• Concerned with state’s interpretative declarations to CRPD articles 12, 17 and 18

• No plan to remove substitute decision-making

• Unwarranted use of prison management for non-convicted persons with disabilities

Austria

8.47 M

$50,547

• Different concepts of disability used across laws and policies; some based on the medical model

• Law allows individuals to be confined against their will in psychiatric institutions

• Mental health services should be given with free and informed consent

• Some programs do not cover all disabilities, such as psychosocial disabilities

Azerbaijan

9.42 M

$7,812

• Legislation and policies follow the medical model of disability

• Civil code advances the substitute decision-making process rather than replaces it

• Need better living conditions and end to negative stereotypes for persons with disabilities

Belgium

11.20 M

$46,878

• New law continues to use substitute decision-making

• Laws that contradict the Convention should be repealed

• Mental Health Act enacted in 1990 allows involuntary hospitalization of persons with disabilities

China

1,357 M

$6,807

• Medical model of disability in definition and discourse on the status of persons with disabilities

• System to establish legal guardianship is not compliant with article 12 of the Convention

• Involuntary civil commitment based on actual or perceived impairment should be abolished

Costa Rica

4.87 M

$10,185

• Concerned with descriptions of persons with disabilities and use of the medical model of disability

• Current law does not include the general obligations of the Convention

• Lack of programming and services for persons with disabilities to access loans and court system

Denmark

5.61 M

$59,832

• Lack of disaggregated data and reports of prevailing prejudice

• Current law allows for substitute decision-making

• Reports of coercive treatment of persons admitted to psychiatric institutions

• Absence of disability policy action plans for Faroe Islands and Greenland, both Danish territories

Ecuador

15.74 M

$6,003

• Medical model of disability used and current legislation allows for substitute decision-making

• Data-collection system is not unified, making it difficult to assess disability rights

El Salvador

6.34 M

$3,826

• Current national strategy and framework is not in line with the Convention

• Certain persons with disabilities remain institutionalized

• Lack of information on guardianship and protection of persons with disabilities

Hungary

9.90 M

$13,481

• Insufficient participation of persons with disabilities in the design of relevant legislation

• Decision for institutional care is made by the guardian rather than the person with disabilities

• Law permits a judge to remove the right to vote for those with “limited mental ability”

Mexico

122.3 M

$10,307

• Lack of measures to repeal declarations of legal incompetence

• State legislation authorizes deprivation of liberty of persons with psychosocial disabilities

• Insufficient community mental health services

New Zealand

4.47 M

$41,556

• The Mental Health Act of 1992 is criticized for its lack of human rights principles

• Concerned with state’s lack of specific training for judges regarding the Convention

• Barriers still exist which prevent persons with disabilities from accessing full health services

Paraguay

6.80 M

$4,265

• No mechanisms for consultation with disabled persons’ organizations

• Concerned with the state’s apparent lack of understanding of Article 12 of the Convention

• Lack of information on persons with disabilities who have been institutionalized against their will

Peru

30.38 M

$6,662

• Absence of a coherent and comprehensive strategy that implements the social model of disability

• Substitute decision-making is favoured over supported decision-making

• Deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability including psychosocial disability

South Korea

50.22 M

$25,977

• Welfare of Disabled Persons Act refers to the medical model of disability

• Current system promotes substitute decision-making instead of supported decision-making

• High rates of institutionalization and in some cases without person’s consent

Spain

47.13 M

$29,863

• Current law fails to cover all persons with disabilities

• No measures have been taken to replace substitute decision-making with supported decision-making

• Concerned with the reported abuse of persons with disabilities who are institutionalized

Sweden

9.59 M

$60,430

• The Convention has not been integrated into Swedish law.

• State appointment of administrators is a form of substituted decision-making

• Swedish law allows for a person to be confined against their will in a medical facility

Tunisia

10.89 M

$4,317

• No measures have been taken to replace substitute decision-making with supported decision-making

• Under the current legislation, a disability can constitute a basis for the deprivation of liberty

• Concerned with the state’s lack of clarity on legislation to protect persons with disabilities