A/HRC/43/41/Add.1 disabilities are considered primarily as objects of care instead of rights holders. Accordingly, the definition of “person with disability” in article 1 of the Law focuses on the impairment rather than on the barriers resulting from the person’s interaction with the environment, referring to “all those suffering from permanent total or partial disorders leading to deficiencies”. Furthermore, this definition focuses only on persons with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities, excluding those with developmental disabilities and those with psychosocial disabilities, among others. After the Special Rapporteur’s visit, the Government reported that a new amendment of the Law aimed to bring the definition into line with the Convention. 17. Article 4 of the Convention requires Kuwait to take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the Convention, and to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities. Despite not having access to the full English translation of all relevant legislation, the Special Rapporteur noted that Kuwaiti civil and criminal laws contain provisions that are not in line with article 12 of the Convention, which recognizes the full legal capacity of persons with disabilities. For instance, some provisions of the Civil Code, the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure issued in 1960 are framed under the medical model of disability and establish restrictions to the full enjoyment of legal capacity of persons with disabilities, including those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities. These laws also use pejorative language to refer to persons with disabilities, such as “deaf and dumb”, “mentally retarded”, “insane”, “suffering from disorders” and “demented”. The Special Rapporteur was informed about an outdated mental health law, but could not access the text. The relevant legislative authorities, including the Disabled Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, should undertake a comprehensive review of the entire Kuwaiti normative framework and of Law No. 8/2010 to complete the process of legal harmonization, in accordance with article 4 of the Convention. 18. Notwithstanding the projects for the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the human capital pillar of the Kuwaiti National Development Plan, the Special Rapporteur noted the absence of an overall national strategy for persons with disabilities in Kuwait and that not all public policies, including disability-specific ones, include a human rights-based approach to disability. She encourages the Government to adopt a national strategy on disability, together with a time-bound action plan, to ensure the effective and full participation of the diversity of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. After the visit, the Public Authority for Disabled Affairs informed the Special Rapporteur that it had launched a strategy for persons with disabilities for the period 2020–2025. 19. The Special Rapporteur stressed that more efforts are needed to adequately implement the Convention and national legislation on disability in Kuwait. This is also required by resolution No. 1264 issued by the Legal Committee of the Council of Ministers, which states that all government agencies are mandated to coordinate with the Public Authority for Disabled Affairs to follow up on the implementation of Law No. 8/2010 and all related agreements, and to assign the Authority to submit periodic reports to the Council of Ministers in this regard. While this resolution and the recent reform and strengthening of the Public Authority for Disabled Affairs are welcome developments, the Authority cannot be the main body within the Government tasked to implement Law No. 8/2010 and the Convention. The Special Rapporteur recommends the establishment of a governmental coordination mechanism, under the overall direction of the Authority, with responsibility for ensuring that all line ministries mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in their respective public policies, programmes and initiatives, as required under article 33 (1) of the Convention. For instance, this could be done through the designation of full-time senior disability and accessibility focal points within all line ministries, empowered with a clear mandate and terms of reference, thus contributing to stronger coordination among ministries tasked to mainstream and implement disability provisions within their institutions. 5