A/HRC/40/32 optimizing outcomes.7 Evidence has also shown that hospitals should include specialized rehabilitation units for persons with complex rehabilitation requirements. 8 The need to provide some rehabilitation in hospitals must not be conflated with the concentration of rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities within institutional settings. The latter practice is incompatible with the Convention because institutionalization, also when based on the need for rehabilitation services, is in contradiction of articles 26 and 19 (A/73/161, para. 58).9 17. According to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, access to essential habilitation and rehabilitation and access to essential assistive devices should be considered as core obligations that are not subject to progressive realization (A/73/161, para. 18). The obligation to ensure access to health-related rehabilitation for persons with disabilities on a non-discriminatory basis is a core obligation of immediate effect. 10 2. Non-health rehabilitation interventions 18. In addition to health, under article 26 access is guaranteed to rehabilitation in areas such as employment, education and social services, which may not be health-related. Some non-health-related interventions can be done in rehabilitation centres, but they can also be provided in other settings. For example, mobility orientation can be provided both in rehabilitation centres and in schools. Rehabilitation in employment can be done in a work training centre or in the context of the job itself. As rehabilitation is a cross-sectoral and environment-dependent process, it should be tailored to the person concerned and kept flexible as to where the best expected outcome could be achieved. 19. Vocational rehabilitation is not defined in the Convention. In the past, vocational rehabilitation was often understood to be a broad set of measures relating to the employment of persons with disabilities. 11 In the Convention, a narrower view is taken of the role and place of vocational rehabilitation in the implementation of the right of persons with disabilities to work, and it is bundled with job retention and return-to-work programmes (art. 27 (1) (k)), to support those who acquire an impairment when already in the labour market for their inclusion on an equal basis with others. Vocational rehabilitation includes techniques such as the provision of advice in support of returning to work, support for self-management of health conditions, adjustments related to the medical and psychological impact of an impairment, psychosocial interventions, functional and work capacity evaluations, and career counselling, job analysis, job development and placement services. 20. It should be recognized that not all the services that persons with disabilities require to have better chances of being included in their communities have to do with rehabilitation. For example, to enter the labour market, they will benefit from inclusive education (including equal access to general tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong training, as per article 24 (5)) and from inclusive vocational guidance and placement programmes, reasonable accommodation and other support envisaged in article 27 (1), which should not be read as rehabilitation services. 21. In the context of education, rehabilitation measures may come under measures that enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community, such as Braille, alternative script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills (art. 24 (3)). In Ireland, for instance, the Department of Education and Skills provides a range of support measures to enable 7 8 9 10 11 6 Ibid, p. 18. Ibid, p. 21. See also Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community, paras. 21 and 30. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14, para. 43 (a). International Labour Organization, Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955 (No. 99); see also Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159).