Joint DPO and CSO submission
to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
for consideration when compiling
the List of Issues Prior to Reporting
for the Second Periodic Report of HUNGARY
Seventeenth session (20 March - 12 April 2017)
Submitted by
Hand in Hand Foundation
Hungarian Autistic Society
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted
Mental Disability Advocacy Centre
Mental Health Interest Forum
National Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
National Council of Disabled Persons’ Organisations
National Federation of Disabled Persons’ Associations
Contact:
Erzsébet Földesi, FESZT
Orsolya Mikola dr. jur., FESZT
e-mail:
22 February 2017
I.
Introduction of the Submitting Organisations
This submission has been written jointly by the following DPOs and CSOs:
The Hand in Hand Foundation (Kézenfogva Alapítvány) is one of the leading Hungarian organizations for mentally handicapped people in the field of welfare policy, education of backward, general education, employment policy, legal protection and exchange of information. The Foundation is the organizational centre of the Eastern European region of the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), an active member of the international network and participates in several European researches and programmes. For more information, please visit www.kezenfogva.hu.
Autism Advocacy Association was founded in 1988, which is now known as Hungarian Autistic Society (“AOSZ”). It has played a major role in the interest advocacy of people living with autism spectrum disorder and their families for 29 years. This national umbrella organisation, which is strategically very important, includes more than 90 member organizations. In Hungary it represents the interests of nearly 100 000 families with autistic member in supporting persons with autism and their families, advocacy issues, awareness raising, networking and international relations with stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.aosz.hu.
For over two decades, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (“HCLU”) has been active in protecting the rights of citizens against undue interference by those in position of public power. The HCLU monitors legislation, pursues strategic litigation, conducts public education and launches awareness raising media campaigns. It stands by citizens unable to defend themselves, assisting them in protecting their basic rights. Our lawyers provide free legal aid service in about 2000 cases per year and this number is increasing. The HCLU, with headquarters in Budapest, litigates across the country and all the way to the Hungarian Supreme Court. The HCLU’s activities cover two major areas: the protection of civil liberties and the safeguarding equality for the most disadvantaged groups including persons with disabilities. For more information, please visit www.tasz.hu.
Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (”MVGYOSZ”) is an umbrella organisation of 22 member unions, carrying out advocacy at national and international levels, as well through its member unions at local levels all over the country. Main fields: assistive tools supply, guide dog training, running a Braille and an Audiobook Library, contributions to policies affecting blind and partially sighted people at governmental and at international levels. For more information, please visit www.mvgyosz.hu.
The Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (“MDAC”) is an international human rights organisation which uses the law to secure equality, inclusion and justice for people with mental disabilities worldwide. MDAC’s vision is a world of equality where emotional, mental and learning differences are valued equally; where the inherent autonomy and dignity of each person is fully respected; and where human rights are realised for all persons without discrimination of any form. MDAC has participatory status at the Council of Europe, and observer status at ECOSOC. For more information, please visit www.mdac.org.
Mental Health Interest Forum (“PÉF”), a non-profit federation was founded in 1999. The membership consists of professionals in the fields of advocacy, rehabilitation, reform psychiatry as well as of users. In the field of mental health the main targets of the Federation are issues concerning equal access, advocacy and the enforcement of human rights. The activities of PÉF are not limited to Hungary. This is why a special attention is paid by our Federation to international disability and anti-torture agreements (e.g. CRPD, OPCAT). Our main activities: management of complaints, monitoring, assessment of legal measures, decrees, laws, participation in national and international conferences, workshops, participation in government initiated activities (codification), boards (e.g. National Disability Forum, etc.), committees, legal counselling (e.g. litigation), representations in law-cases (precedental or test cases) assessment and expertise. We are also the National Focal point of Mental Health Europe in Hungary. For more information, please visit www.pef.hu.
The National Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (“SINOSZ”) was established in Hungary in 1907, to secure social acceptance of people who are deaf or hard of hearing and to advocate for the establishment of education, employment and transportation conditions that promote independent living. SINOSZ has served both communities direct assistance programs and advocacy. The work of SINOSZ is driven by our commitment to equal opportunity. Our vision is a world where the sign language of the deaf community is part of the national culture and where the deaf and hard of hearing persons are helped on the road to active social participation in national life. For more information, please visit www.sinosz.hu.
The National Council of Disabled Persons’ Organisations (“FESZT”) is a cross-disability umbrella NGO and its members are the different national/regional organizations of persons with disabilities, namely the following: Central Hungarian Regional Association of Blind and Partially Sighted Persons (VGYKE), Down Association, Hungarian Autistic Society (AOSZ), Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (MVGYOSZ), Hungarian Transplant Federation (MSzSz), Hungarian Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SINOSZ), Hungarian Deafblind Association (SVOE), National Federation of Disabled Persons’s Associations (MEOSZ), National Federation of Civil Associations and Foundations for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ÉTA). FESZT coordinates the advocacy activities of its member organisations, organizes common actions, programs and events for the improvement of the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. It also represents its members in European and international organisations of persons with disabilities. FESZT is full member of the European Disability Forum, please visit www.feszt.eu.
The National Federation of Disabled Persons’ Associations (“MEOSZ”), established by persons with physical disabilities in 1981, is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental umbrella organisation. MEOSZ represents 110 member associations made up of 850 local groups, and 160.000 individual members from all over Hungary. The overall goal of MEOSZ is to achieve equal opportunities and full participation in the society for all persons with physical disabilities living in Hungary by representing, protecting and promoting their interests and advocating for their rights. For more information, please visit www.meosz.hu
The submitting organisations want to thank to Gábor Gombos and Péter László Horváth for their contributions to this submission.
II.
Executive summary
Hungary has been the second country that ratified CRPD. It is also a State party to the treaty’s Optional Protocol, under which the Committee pronounced its views on two individual communications. The initial review of the State party took place in 2012, based on the Government report, an alternative report from the Civil Caucus, answers to the List of Issues by both the Government and civil society.
A coalition of DPOs and their allies is now submitting its background information to contribute to the Committee’s work on the adoption a List of Issues for the forthcoming periodic review under the CRPD.
General observations
One of the core issues of concern identified by DPOs is related to the participation of persons with disabilities in policy making (under article 4(3)) as well as in the national monitoring of the implementation of the treaty (under article 33(2)). Unreasonably short deadlines often make consultations tokenistic. Regarding national monitoring, despite of the adoption of a new Government Decree regulating the composition of the National Disability Committee, as the independent mechanism under 33(2), the mechanism still fails to comply with the Paris principles.
The human rights model of disability has not yet been introduced as the conceptual basis for disability in domestic laws, policies and programmes. The medical approach prevails and, especially in the case of psychosocial disability, there has been no universal definition accepted. Eligibility criteria to access to services and benefits (especially under article 28) arbitrarily operate on ’residual health’ thresholds, disabling persons with lower support needs to access support.
Matters of urgency identified by the Committee in previous follow up measures
The Committee requested that the Government provides follow up on the immediate steps to implement recommendations regarding articles 12 and 29. The individual communication under the OP, Bujdosó v Hungary also addressed these articles, where, in the Committee’s views, Hungary violated the complainants’ rights to political participation and legal capacity. No measures have been undertaken to bring domestic laws and practices to comply with the Concluding Observations recommendations, also in the light of General Comment No. 1 and the views of the Committee on the Bujdosó communication.
Accessibility, universal design
Especially in the field of accessible transportation there are disparate inequalities between urban and rural areas. It is unclear how the government wants to promote universal design (which is a non-existent concept in domestic law) as a national policy to advance accessibility.
Equality and Non-discrimination
The Hungarian legal and policy framework does not recognise denial of reasonable accommodation as discrimination on the ground of disability. This seriously restricts access by persons with disabilities to legal remedy in discrimination cases under the general anti-discrimination provisions.
Women with disabilities are largely invisible in society and effective measures are missing to combat multiple discrimination experienced by them.
The halted paradigm shift: legal capacity
The civil and political aspects of the treaty are of immediate realisation. The right to universal legal capacity with the state’s duty to provide access to support to exercise that capacity is a fundamental civil-political right as pronounced by the Committee in its General Comment No. 1. In spite of the recommendations in the Concluding Observations, in the follow up measures thereof and in the Committee’s views on the Bujdosó communication, the government has failed to undertake measures to derogate guardianship in order to replace substitute decision making regimes with supported decision making. Although a non CRPD compliant ’supported decision making’ has been introduced, guardianship, including guardianship that fully restricts legal capacity has been kept intact. Data demonstrate that in such a legal and policy environment only very few people can enjoy ’supported decision making’.
Breaches to other core civil political rights
Both civil and criminal psychiatric treatments of persons with psychosocial disabilities are based on the medical model and, in contradiction to article 14, constitute disability based deprivation of liberty. Under domestic law the free and informed consent can be replaced in the case of persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities. Such situations may lead to breaches of article 15.
Prison facilities lack accessibility and reasonable accommodation. As a consequence, ill treatment may accompany the deprivation of liberty.
Community living
Still significant resources are spent to renew institutions up to 50 beds. Deinstitutionalisation commitment does not apply to residential rehabilitation facilities. The right to choose residence is not guaranteed on an equal basis with others.
Similar concerns can be expressed in the case of children with disabilities as well. They are over represented in child care homes, which can be as large as 48 beds. Furthermore, complexes of such institutions may constitute mega-institutions.
Budget allocation to support services, including personal assistants, has been stagnating.
Social-economic rights
Insufficient data make it difficult to assess the government’s performance regarding the implementation of the social-economic-cultural rights enshrined in the treaty. A recent ECtHR case demonstrates that the standard of living of persons with disabilities has degraded in the past 5-7 years. Benefits are insufficient to compensate for impairment related expenses.
About 3500 children and young adults with high support needs or multiple disabilities are legally deprived of their right to education. Quality inclusive education, bilingual education for deaf and hard of hearing students are not available, the teaching staff is not properly trained.
Regarding all social-economic rights more information is necessary on the measured outputs, policy efforts, allocated and utilised resources to assess the progressive realisation of the state obligations.
III.
Abbreviations
ETA – Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equal Opportunities
RPDA – Act XXVI of 1998 on the Rights and Equal opportunities of Persons with Disabilities
CPA – Act XXXI of 1997 on the Protection of Children and the Administration of Guardianship
SAA – Act III of 1993 on Social Administration and Social Benefits
PLFA – Act LXXIX of 1992 on Protection of Fetal Life
Criminal Proceedings Act – Act XIX of 1998 on Criminal Proceedings
Healthcare Act - Act CLIV of 1997 on Healthcare
Sign Language Act - Act CXXV of 2009 on Hungarian Sign Language and the Use of Hungarian Sign Language
EPA - Act XXXVI of 2013 on Electoral Procedure
MSW Decree – Decree 15/1998. (IV.30.) of the Minister of Social Welfare on professional Tasks and Operational Requirements of Child Welfare and Child Protection Institutions and Persons Providing Personal Care
Media Act – Act CLXXXV of 2010 on Media Services and Mass Media
HRDOP – Human Resource Development Operational Programme
CCHOP – Competitive Central Hungary Operative Programme
NDC – National Disability Council
IV.
Addressed articles in the Submission
Article 1: Purpose 9
Article 2: Definitions 9
Article 4: General obligations 9
Article 5: Equality and non-discrimination 9
Article 6: Women with disabilities 10
Article 7: Children with disabilities 10
Article 8: Awareness-raising 10
Article 9: Accessibility 11
Article 10: Right to life 11
Article 11: Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies 11
Article 12: Equal recognition before the law 12
Article 13: Access to justice 12
Article 14: Liberty and security of the person 13
Article 15: Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 13
Article 16: Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse 14
Article 17: Protecting the integrity of the person 14
Article 18: Liberty of movement and nationality 14
Article 19: Living independently and inclusion in the community 14
Article 20: Personal mobility 15
Article 21: Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information 16
Article 23: Respect for home and the family 16
Article 24: Education 17