A/HRC/43/41/Add.1
(f)
Establish a governmental coordination mechanism, under the overall
direction of the Public Authority for Disabled Affairs, with responsibility to ensure
that all line ministries implement the Convention and national legislation on disability,
and mainstream disability within their respective policies and institutions, as required
under article 33 (1) of the Convention. This could be done through the nomination of
full-time disability and accessibility focal points in each ministry;
(g)
Consider designating the National Council for Human Rights as the
independent mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Convention, as
required under article 33 (2).
Data collection
76.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Ensure the collection of sociodemographic data and statistics on persons
with disabilities in Kuwait, disaggregated at a minimum by sex, age and nationality, to
inform public policies and their implementation;
(b)
Include the short set of questions of the Washington Group on Disability
Statistics in the 2020 population census and in household surveys, and the United
Nations Children’s Fund/Washington Group module on child functioning in all other
demographic surveys to collect data on children with disabilities.
Stigma and discrimination
77.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Include a general prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability
in the Constitution and Law No. 8/2010, and specify that the denial of reasonable
accommodation amounts to discrimination;
(b)
Amend the definition of persons with disabilities in Law No. 8/2010 and
language that portrays persons with disabilities as objects of care rather than as rights
holders, and extend the application of the law to all non-Kuwaitis with disabilities,
including stateless Bidoon;
(c)
Eliminate stigma and prejudice against persons with disabilities,
including those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, through: (i) wide-scale
public awareness-raising campaigns in the media portraying a positive image of
persons with disabilities as rights holders; (ii) targeting women and girls with
disabilities in awareness-raising programmes to support their empowerment and
enjoyment of their rights; and (iii) training government officials, civil servants, service
providers and civil society on how to implement the Convention and the rights-based
approach to disability.
Accessibility
78.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Continue the process of transforming the built environment and public
transport, as required by the Kuwaiti Vision 2035 National Development Plan and the
Code on Universal Design, to make them fully accessible for the diversity of persons
with disabilities, including in the poorest neighbourhoods where non-Kuwaitis with
disabilities live;
(b)
Adopt a time-bound plan to achieve the full accessibility of the built
environment as soon as possible and allocate funds for it;
(c)
Recognize Kuwaiti Sign Language as an official language in Kuwait,
facilitate its learning and use in official and other interactions, and promote and
respect the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
(d)
Enhance knowledge about communication methods to enable the
participation of persons with limited communications skills, including those with
cerebral palsy, in society and expand the use of alternative and augmentative
technology for persons with disabilities.
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