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Today, on November 3, 2016, the RA Government approved the Republic of Armenia draft Law on Protection of the Rights and Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities on which only one of the proposals submitted by HCA Vanadzor was accepted.

We welcome that the clause in Article 30(2) of the draft with the contents below: “Certain rights and duties of persons with disabilities may be abolished or modified as and when prescribed by the Constitution and laws if their exercise is impossible due to the restricted life activity of persons with disabilities or threatens the life or health of persons with disabilities” was removed from the draft given that the RA Constitution covers no concepts on abolishing or modifying rights; it only stipulates a concept on restricting rights; besides the RA Constitution provides for no possibility to restrict a person’s rights due to the limited life activity of persons with disabilities.

Nevertheless, we must note that the draft Law mostly focuses on the social model of disability rather than on ensuring and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

A number of our proposals, that may be of essential importance for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, are left out of the draft Law approved by the Government. Such proposals are presented below:

1․ Prescribe in Article 8 of the draft Law the principle of full and effective involvement and inclusion in public life (as a reflection of Article 3 of UN Convention).

2․ Remove from Article 7 prevention of disability set as the main goal of the public policy on protection of the rights and social inclusion of persons with disabilities as well as Article 16 of the draft Law defining the procedure and conditions for prevention of disability (Prevention of disability was not covered as a goal in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities based on the principle that the policy on the persons with disabilities should be based not on healthcare and social principles but rather on ensuring and protecting their rights and freedoms).

3. Prescribe by the daft Law the right of NGOs to apply to court of law for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and particularly add in the draft Law a new article with the contents below:

“1. NGOs engaged in the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and the Human Rights Defender (the definition of this right for HRD is left to HRD’s discretion) shall enjoy the right to judicial protection of the rights of persons and groups of persons with disabilities.

2. The state shall ensure the right to effective legal protection for persons with disabilities through public funds or local government funds.”

The organization will carry on insisting on the unaccepted proposals during the parliamentary hearings on the draft Law.

The full proposal package on the draft Law on Protection of the Rights and Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities is available in Armenian.