A/HRC/40/32 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 37/22, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare its next annual thematic study on the rights of persons with disabilities on article 26 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to be submitted prior to its fortieth session. 2. Article 26 of the Convention provides that States parties must take habilitation and rehabilitation measures to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. States parties have an obligation to organize, strengthen and extend comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes, particularly in the areas of health, employment, education and social services (art. 26 (1)). States parties are further obliged to promote the availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies (hereafter “assistive products”) as they relate to habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26 (3)). 3. In this report, habilitation and rehabilitation are approached from the perspective of the human rights of persons with disabilities, including with respect to the removal of attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (Convention, preamble, para. (e)). To understand the appropriate scope and role of habilitation and rehabilitation vis-à-vis other enabling measures, they are viewed in the context of a broad array of strategies adopted in the Convention to ensure and promote the full autonomy, independence and inclusion of persons with disabilities, including accessibility and reasonable accommodation, awareness-raising, inclusive education, access to justice, supported decision-making, and in-home, residential and other community support services. The report also covers the need to distinguish between action related to rehabilitation and wider community development strategies for the inclusion of persons with disabilities. 4. For the purposes of this report, habilitation and rehabilitation are understood to be a set of interventions designed to optimize the functioning of individuals with impairments in interaction with their environment. The aim of habilitation is to assist individuals who acquire impairments congenitally or in early childhood to learn how to better function with them. The aim of rehabilitation, in the strict sense, is to assist those who experience a loss in function as a result of acquiring an impairment to relearn how to perform daily activities to regain maximal function. By providing or restoring functions, or compensating for the loss or absence of a function or a functional limitation, habilitation and rehabilitation ultimately equip persons with disabilities to achieve a higher level of independence. While rehabilitation is of particular relevance to persons with disabilities, not all persons with disabilities need habilitation and rehabilitation. In this report, the term “rehabilitation” is used to designate both habilitation and rehabilitation, unless the discussion is specific to habilitation. 5. For the preparation of the present report, a note verbale requesting input was sent to all Member States, and written contributions were received from 17 States. Submissions were also received from civil society organizations. In addition, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights held an in-person consultation on 5 and 6 November 2018 in Geneva to discuss substantive aspects of the report. The contributions received and a summary of the meeting will be made available on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.1 1 www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/Pages/StudiesReportsPapers.aspx. 3