Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Concluding observations on the initial report of the Czech Republic *

I.Introduction

1.The Committee considered the initial report of the Czech Republic (CRPD/C/CZE/1) at its 180th and 181st meetings (CRPD/C/SR.180 and 181), held on 31 March and 1 April 2015, respectively, and adopted the following concluding observations at its 192nd meeting, held on 10 April 2015.

2.The Committee welcomes the initial report of the Czech Republic, which was prepared in accordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for its written replies (CRPD/C/CZE/Q/1/Add.1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee.

3.The Committee appreciates the fruitful dialogue held with the State party’s delegation during the consideration of the report and commends the State party for the strength of its delegation, which included many representatives of relevant government bodies responsible for the implementation of the Convention.

II.Positive aspects

4.The Committee welcomes the efforts the State party has made to harmonize its legislation with the provisions of the Convention and the policies and measures it has adopted to ensure implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities, as enshrined in the Convention. It takes note of the National Plan for the Creation of Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities for 2010–2014. The Committee welcomes the prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination of persons with disabilities in the Anti-Discrimination Act. The Committee also welcomes the introduction of the provision in the Building Act that the creation of a barrier-free environment is in the public interest. It notes the efforts made to make air and rail transport accessible to persons with disabilities. The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to implement the provision in the new Civil Code for supported decision-making in some situations. It notes with appreciation the provision of assistance in proceedings under the Code of Civil Procedure. It welcomes the independent mandate given to the Ombudsman to carry out systematic preventive visits to places and facilities where persons with restricted liberty are or may be located. The Committee welcomes the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in December 2014 recognizing the right of children with disabilities to live in the community. It welcomes the official recognition of Czech sign language.

III.Principal areas of concern and recommendations

A.General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)

5.The Committee notes that the State party has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

6. The Committee calls upon the State p arty to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention, as it undertook to do at the outcome of the second round of the u niversal p eriodic r eview ( see A/HRC/22/3/Add.1, para. 6) and in line with the new National Plan on Promoting Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 2015 – 2020.

7.The Committee notes that several definitions of disability and persons with disabilities in the State party’s legislation (the Employment Act and the School Act, among others) are based on the medical approach to disability and are not in line with the provisions of the Convention.

8. The Committee calls upon the State party to amend the definitions of disability and persons with disabilities in its legislation and to make explicit reference to the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in th os e definitions, in order to bring them into line with the Convention.

B.Specific rights (arts. 5–30)

Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)

9.The Committee notes with concern that, under the Anti-Discrimination Act