A/HRC/31/30
not be confused with social protection schemes, as they have different bases and purposes.
If reparations apply, they should be considered independently and in addition to social
protection schemes.
13.
Article 32 (1)(a) states that international cooperation, which might be an important
source of resources in emergency situations, 22 should be inclusive of and accessible to
persons with disabilities and be, in all cases, respectful of the standards set out in the
Convention. Among other Convention-based obligations, the implementation of article 32
(1)(a) requires humanitarian actors, when using international cooperation funds, to comply
with accessibility, provide reasonable accommodation and ensure the participation of
persons with disabilities in decision-making, in order to prevent, for example, persons with
disabilities who face inaccessibility from returning to conflict areas owing to a lack of
effective options.
14.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities applies throughout the
continuum of humanitarian emergencies, whether in situations of conflict, foreign
occupation or natural disaster. Exceptionally, article 4 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights allows a State to derogate temporarily from a part of its
obligations under the Covenant during a legally declared state of emergency. 23 This is
possible only in specifically designated circumstances, and under strict substantive and
procedural requirements, always in compliance with the State’s obligations under
international humanitarian and human rights law, without discrimination and only “to the
extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation” Importantly, it also establishes
that, for certain rights, there can be no derogation in any circumstance (see para. 12 above)
with regard to equal recognition before the law.
15.
The Convention applies to all persons with disabilities, regardless of their legal
status or nationality. This approach is consistent with the recommendation of the Maastricht
Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, which clarify the human rights obligations of States beyond their own
borders, especially their obligation to avoid causing harm and to protect human rights
extraterritorially (principles I(4) and II(8) and (13)). Several treaty bodies have endorsed
the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties. The Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women, in its general recommendation No. 30, stated that States
parties are at all times responsible for all their actions affecting the human rights of persons
who are in territories under their effective control. 24 The Human Rights Committee and the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have also endorsed this criterion in
their concluding observations.25 Lastly, the International Court of Justice has supported the
applicability of human rights instruments outside the national territory.26
16.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its general comment No. 9, stated that
States parties must ensure access to adequate health and social services, including
psychosocial recovery and social reintegration, to children with disabilities affected by an
armed conflict.27 It has also recommended that, in a post-conflict context, resources for
education be increased to build and reconstruct adequate school facilities and that inclusive
22
23
24
25
26
27
6
See CRPD/C/COK/CO/1, para. 22,
See CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11.
See also CEDAW/C/ISR/CO/5, paras. 12-13.
See CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3, para. 5; CERD/C/GBR/CO/18-20, para. 12; and CERD/C/ISR/CO/14-16,
paras. 20, 27 and 29.
See advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences of the
Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of 9 July 2004, paras. 106-113.
CRC/C/GC/9, para. 55.
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