A/HRC/13/29 monitoring process, in line with the principle of participation of persons with disabilities that permeates the treaty. IV. National implementation and monitoring of article 33 of the Convention 20. In relation to other human rights treaties, treaty bodies have often addressed issues concerning the implementation and monitoring of the respective conventions at national level in their concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of States parties or in general comments. Recommendations on implementation have often highlighted the need for the establishment or strengthening of effective national machineries and institutions, for coordination within government and between government and civil society, and rigorous monitoring of implementation which “should be built into the process of government at all levels but also [requires] independent monitoring by national human rights institutions, NGOs and others”.11 21. The incorporation of provisions on national implementation and monitoring in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been commended as a measure to consolidate the institutional preconditions necessary to ensure the realization of the Convention at domestic level.12 A. Focal point(s) 22. According to the Convention, the first element of the institutional structure that States parties need to put in place is to designate one or more focal points within government for matters related to the implementation of the Convention. National focal points on disability issues are already in place in most Governments, including as a result of the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.13 As such, implementation of article 33, paragraph 1 might require a reconsideration of existing structures rather than the establishment of new entities. 23. While it is not helpful to attempt to describe detailed national arrangements for very different systems of government, some key general considerations should be taken into account. 24. For the effective implementation of the Convention, it might be advisable to adopt a two-pronged approach and appoint focal points at the level of each or most governmental departments/ministries as well as designate one overall focal point within government responsible for the implementation of the Convention. 25. The designation of disability focal points at the level of government ministries responds to the recognition that the full and effective implementation of the Convention 11 12 13 6 See Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6). See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 6 (1988) on effective national machinery and publicity. See G. Quinn, “Resisting the ‘temptation of elegance’: can the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities socialise States to right behaviour?” in The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: European and Scandinavian Perspectives, O.M. Arnardóttir and G. Quinn, eds. (Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2009). Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (General Assembly resolution 48/96), available at: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r096.htm. GE.09-17748