Human Rights and Disability A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions
The Committee may then publish a summary of its finding in its annual report to the UN General Assembly.
With the agreement of the State concerned, the Committee may also publish the full report of its inquiry.
Guidance published in 2007 by UN Enable suggests that the chief advantages of the inquiry procedure
are that it:
• Enables the Committee to address systematic and widespread violations of the rights of persons
with disabilities
• Allows the Committee to recommend measures to combat the structural causes of discrimination
against persons with disabilities
• Gives the Committee an opportunity to set out a broad range of recommendations to achieve
greater respect for the rights of persons with disabilities;
• Allows the Committee to work with the State in removing impediments to the full enjoyment of the
rights of persons with disabilities.153
NHRIs have a vital role to play in assisting Committee members in their inquiries, including providing
reliable information and evidence, assisting the Committee with country visits and developing
recommendations, as appropriate. However, the Committee has yet to issue guidance on the precise
role that NHRIs can play during the inquiry process.
The Committee’s Rules of Procedure explain its approach to individual communications and inquiries in
detail. This information is available on the Committee’s webpage, along with a model complaints form.154
There were 18 cases pending in 2016, covering issues such as legal capacity, institutionalisation,
voting rights, hospitalisation and appointment of a guardian without consent, legal aid, housing rights,
deportation, health care and torture.155
70
153
Ibid.
154
CRPD/C/5/3/Rev.1.
155
See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/Tablependingcases.aspx.