Women Enabled International Comments on the CRPD Committee’s Draft General Comment No. 6 on Equality and Non-Discrimination

November 30 2017

Authored By: Women Enabled International
Endorsed by: Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (Nigeria), Legal Defence and Assistance Project (Nigeria), This Ability Consulting (Kenya), and Women with Disabilities India Network

Women Enabled International (WEI) and the above-listed endorsing organizations listed above appreciate the opportunity to submit these written comments to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) regarding its Draft General Comment No. 6 on Equality and NonDiscrimination (Draft General Comment). WEI works at the intersection of women’s rights and disability rights to advance the rights of women and girls with disabilities around the world. Through advocacy and education, WEI increases international attention to—and strengthens international human rights standards on—issues such as violence against women, sexual and reproductive health and rights, access to justice, education, legal capacity, and humanitarian emergencies. Working in collaboration with women with disabilities rights organizations and women’s rights organizations worldwide, WEI fosters cooperation across movements to improve understanding and develop cross-cutting advocacy strategies to realize the rights of all women and girls.

Persons with disabilities, including women and girls with disabilities, experience unique violations of their rights as a result of discrimination based on disability and other statuses. Some of these violations— including disability-based violence and violations in the context of sexual and reproductive rights—not only result from disability-based discrimination but are also distinct forms of discrimination. To provide the best possible guidance to States parties about ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities to equality and non-discrimination, the CRPD Committee’s Draft General Comment should more thoroughly explore some of these issues, particularly concerning how discrimination interacts with rights enshrined in Articles 15-17 and Article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Additionally, recommendations to promote the right of persons with disabilities to equality and non-discrimination should not in turn compromise other fundamental rights, including those of women and girls with disabilities.

Through this submission, WEI provides background information on how violence and sexual and reproductive rights issues impact persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls, as well as context from other treaties and treaty monitoring bodies about how these rights violations constitute discrimination. As part of this discussion, WEI explores how the Draft General Comment’s current recommendation concerning prenatal genetic testing would violate the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, including women and girls with disabilities. WEI then provides some guidance on how to strengthen the discussion of discrimination against and equality of women and girls with disabilities in the Draft General Comment, including specific recommendations for revising the Draft General Comment.