A/HRC/19/36 45. In order to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their right to stand for elections, to effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all levels of government, the Convention requires States parties to adopt all appropriate measures, including the use of assistive and new technologies, to guarantee that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others (art. 29 (a) (ii)). 46. This provision clearly recognizes that States parties are required to do much more than merely abstain from taking measures which might have a negative impact on the right of persons with disabilities to stand for elections. The elimination of active discrimination against persons with disabilities in the field of political and public life is not per se sufficient to ensure their equal and effective enjoyment of political rights. In addition to the negative obligation of refraining from discriminatory actions and practices against persons with disabilities, States parties are also required to adopt positive measures, including reasonable accommodation as defined in article 2 of the Convention, to overcome the obstacles that de facto prevent persons with disabilities from exercising their right to be elected on an equal basis with others. 47. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities shed some light on this issue in its concluding observations on the first periodic report of Spain. In order to guarantee the effective enjoyment of the right of persons with disabilities to effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all levels of government, the Committee recommended that all persons with disabilities who are elected to a public position be provided with all required support, including personal assistants (CRPD/C/ESP/CO/1, para. 48). 48. The replies to the questionnaire provide some examples of the measures adopted by the respondent States to implement the right of persons with disabilities to participate as candidates in elections. These measures include the identification and elimination of obstacles to physical accessibility (e.g. architectonic barriers that prevent or limit the access of persons with physical disabilities to public buildings), the development and implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of public buildings, the provision of information in accessible formats (e.g. Braille and in forms that are easy to read and understand) in buildings and other facilities open to the public, and the promotion and use of new technologies, including information and communications technologies, mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, suitable for persons with disabilities. 49. In May 2011, the Government of the United Kingdom organized a consultation on access to elected office for disabled people. The consultation document put forward six concrete proposals for providing additional support for persons with disabilities seeking elected positions as Members of Parliament, councillors or other elected officials, including: developing awareness-raising programmes to encourage the active participation of persons with disabilities in the conduct of public affairs; organizing training and development opportunities to support the involvement of persons with disabilities in political life; and establishing an Access to Elected Office Fund to support disability-related costs.11 50. Article 5, paragraph 4, of the Convention deals with the adoption of affirmative action as a means to eliminate discrimination and achieve equality of opportunities for 11 for a period of six months or more. Although these provisions had never been used, Section 141 was felt to be symptomatic of an outdated attitude towards mental illness which was out of touch with the modern understanding of mental health. See www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/public-political-equality/access-response/. 11