A/HRC/28/37
range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal
assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent
isolation or segregation from the community. Support provided in segregated settings to
continue institutionalization is therefore not compliant with the Convention.
29.
No single option of support fits all contexts. Therefore, article 19 (b) includes a
reference to a range of services that can involve different providers. There are, however,
certain criteria that need to be met based on the principle that support as intended by
article 19 implies a shift from “care” to “rights”. All persons with disabilities should have
equal access to, an equal choice of, and control over support services that respect their
inherent dignity and individual autonomy and aim to achieve effective participation and
inclusion in society. The promotion of participation and self-reliance as a goal of support
should also extend to children with disabilities, whose inclusion in society is at the core of
both article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 7 of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.25
30.
In-home support services include assistance with self-care and housekeeping. In
Cuba, for instance, persons with disabilities living independently can have access to the
State-funded domestic social assistant service, which provides personal and domestic
support. In any case, in-home support must contribute to promoting inclusion and
preventing segregation. It should not prevent a person from leaving the home when he or
she desires and should be complemented, where needed, by other community-based
services.
31.
States have established various forms of residential support and accommodation in
independent living homes. Residential support must respect the choice of the individual to
avoid forms of institutionalization. Day-care centres may also lead to isolation and
stigmatization if they are used to keep persons with disabilities separate from the
community.26
32.
Submissions referred to a wide range of other community support services, often socalled centres for independent living. The support provided in such cases is geared towards
information and advice, self and peer support, protection of rights and interests, shelters,
housing services, training for independent living, supported decision-making and personal
assistance.27 States mentioned transportation and communication support, such as the
provision of a sign language interpreter. Community support in the form of professionalized
assessments of individual needs or family crisis services, such as mediation and support in
cases of violence, has been directed to families. Here, the concept of community should not
be necessarily limited to a geographic and physical location: some persons with autism
have found that support provided online may be more effective, in certain cases, than
support received in person.28
2.
Personal assistance
33.
Personal assistance fosters inclusion by supporting persons with disabilities to
participate fully in community life. Under the Swedish Act concerning Support and Service
for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments, for instance, personal assistance can
25
26
27
28
10
See also Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 9.
Inclusion International, Inclusive Communities = Stronger Communities: Global Report on
Article 19: The Right to Live and Be Included in the Community (2012), p. 78.
See the specific support services for the different constituencies of persons with disabilities
referenced in the contribution by International Disability Alliance.
See the joint contribution by Autistic Minority International, Alliance Autiste (France) and
Enthinderungsselbsthilfe von Autisten für Autisten (und Angehörige) (ESH) (Germany).
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