A/HRC/43/41 50. Article 15 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against persons with disabilities. Following the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a broad range of actions committed against persons with disabilities may constitute torture or other forms of illtreatment: inter alia, forced sterilization, contraception and abortion; forced medical procedures or interventions aimed at correcting or alleviating a disability, including invasive and irreversible surgeries, electroconvulsive therapy and the administration of psychotropic medication; the use of chemical, physical or mechanical restraints; and isolation or seclusion. 45 Article 15 (1) further clarifies the proposition that medical or scientific experimentation without free consent may amount to torture or other forms of illtreatment. 51. Article 17 complements the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment by recognizing the right to the physical and mental integrity of persons with disabilities. It complements article 14 on the right to liberty and security of the person, which protects individuals against the intentional infliction of injury to the body or the mind, regardless of whether the victim is detained or not, and imposes a heightened duty of care to protect the integrity of individuals deprived of their liberty.46 That is the first time such a right has been enunciated in a universal convention. Article 17 was intended to address coercive interventions “aimed at correcting, improving or alleviating any actual or perceived impairment”.47 52. In article 22, personal and family privacy and the reputation of persons with disabilities are protected. That protection applies regardless of place of residence or living arrangements (i.e. institutions). Article 22 (2) further references the privacy of the personal, health and rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities, reflecting concerns about health-related information and the potential that its disclosure may lead to discrimination, including in the context of medical research. 53. Article 23 prohibits discrimination in all matters related to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships. Accordingly, persons with disabilities have the right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to age-appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education are recognized and they are to be provided with the means necessary to enable them to exercise those rights. Persons with disabilities, including children, have a right to retain their fertility on an equal basis with others. 54. Article 25 reaffirms the right of all persons with disabilities to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination. Among other obligations, article 25 (d) requires States to provide quality health care to persons with disabilities on the basis of free and informed consent, which precludes all forms of substitute decisionmaking.48 Article 25 (d) further stresses the importance of raising awareness of the human rights, dignity, autonomy and needs of persons with disabilities through training and the promulgation of ethical standards for public and private health care. In addition, article 25 (f) requires States to prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health services or food and fluids on the basis of disability. The reference to food and fluids refers directly to the medical practice of withdrawal of basic life-sustaining care to persons with severe impairments. 55. Article 26 provides for the obligation to guarantee access to habilitation and rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities. While traditionally habilitation and rehabilitation have focused on “fixing” a person’s impairment, these measures are reconceptualized in the Convention as enablers for attaining and maintaining maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and 45 46 47 48 See Tina Minkowitz, “A response to the report by Juan E. Méndez, Special Rapporteur on Torture, dealing with torture in the context of health care, as it pertains to nonconsensual psychiatric interventions” in Torture in Healthcare Settings: Reflections on the Special Rapporteur on Torture’s 2013 Thematic Report (Washington, D.C., Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, 2014). Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, para. 9. See daily summary of discussions at the fifth session of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, 28 January 2005. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 1, para. 41. 13