CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC PROTECTION FROM VIOLENCE OF PERSONS … The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights provisions, known as general comments, on thematic issues. 42 The Committee normally meets in Geneva and holds two sessions per year. Presently, 106 state have become parties to the Optional protocol. 43 Laing states that “the CRPD Committee has a key role in monitoring implementation of the convention by state parties and can issue general comments to aid interpretation and implementation. It has already published several comments on other articles of the convention and there is undoubtedly a need to clarify some of the ambiguities about the potential reach of Article 16. This would encourage national monitors to develop clear standards and guidelines to help educate practitioners on the identification of, as well as consistent and appropriate responses to abuse, violence and exploitation against persons with mental disabilities.” 44 2.2 EU actions in protecting persons with disability The early legislative efforts in the EU were focused on ensuring protections of human rights, without a special focus and strategy on ensuring protections for disabled people specifically. A significant step towards ensuring adequate protection for the rights of disabled people was the launch of 2001–2006 action programme with the purpose of “to support and complete the action taken by Member States to combat all forms of discrimination.” 45 In this act, discrimination was defined as a situation “where a person or group of persons are treated less favourably on the grounds of the characteristics indicated in the Treaty (race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, etc.) or if the application of an apparently neutral provision is liable to adversely affect this person or group for the same reasons.” 46 While this programme was not designed specifically to address the needs of disabled people, it served as an important contributor towards ensuring equal rights and protections for people with disabilities. A more significant step to protect the rights of people with disabilities was the launch of 2010–2020 European disability strategy, with the main goal to “to empower people with disabilities so that they can enjoy their full rights, and benefit fully from participating in society and in the European economy, notably through the Single market.” 47 The strategy focused on eliminating existing barriers for disabled people in eight key areas: Accessibility, Participation, Equality, Employment, Education and training, Social protection, Health, and External Action. 48 This strategy incorporated principles from EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the UN Convention. 49 In 2019, the EU Commission evaluated the success of the strategy by assessing its “effectiveness, efficiency, 42 ‘Introduction to the Committee. …’ n (40). 43 United Nations Treaty Collection ‘15. a Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disa bilities’ accessed 20 August 2024. 44 LAING, J. ‘Preventing violence, exploitation and abuse of persons with mental disabilities: Exploring the monitoring implications of Article 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ (2017) International Journal of Law and Psychiatry , Vol. 53, pp. 16–17. 45 ‘Action programme to combat discrimination (2001-2006)’ accessed 14 June 2024. 46 Ibid. 47 European Commission, ‘European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe’(Communication) COM(2010) 636 final, p. 4. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid, p. 11.

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