COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES EXAMINES THE SITUATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN BULGARIA

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today concluded the review of the initial report of Bulgaria on its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Mincho Koralski, Executive Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities of Bulgaria, introducing the report, said that the efforts to harmonize the legislation with the Convention in Bulgaria continued with the drafting of the Second Action Plan which was focused, inter alia, on improving the quality of life and social inclusion of persons with disabilities. The National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities 2016-2020 was in place while the draft Persons with Disabilities Act would enable the application of an individual approach to persons with disabilities and assessing their needs. All specialized institutions for children with disabilities aged four to seven had been closed, and the priority was now given to further developing the network of supportive social and integrated services for early intervention and support, as well as prevention of the need for residential care. The Action Plan for the implementation of the national long-term care strategy adopted in January 2018 marked the start of the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities and the elderly, which would be completed by 2034.

Maya Manolova, Ombudsperson of Bulgaria, noted the problems in the implementation of laws and the hurdles that persons with disabilities continued to experience in their lives, particularly for women with disabilities and children with severe disabilities, who remained socially isolated. The reforms were urgent and pressing, she said, expressing hope that the dialogue would serve as a catalyst for change.

Committee Experts, in the ensuing dialogue, commended the adoption of the national action plan for the implementation of the Convention, the explicit prohibition of disability-based discrimination, and the adoption of inclusive education as a legal norm. But there was room for improvement, they said, noting that the medical model of disability continued to prevail as did the substitute decision-making system in the form of guardianship. Despite the important progress made in the deinstitutionalization process, there were still persons with disabilities in institutions, including children, and, more disturbingly, there were reports of violence against them. In this context, Experts raised concern about the cases of death of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities due to refusal of or lack of access to health care, and asked whether any criminal proceedings been initiated in relation to the 238 unexplained deaths of persons with disabilities in institutions, who had probably died because of neglect. A significant portion of funding from the European Union seemed to be allocated to new family-type placement centres for children with disabilities, Experts remarked and asked how Bulgaria ensured that it did not repeat the mistakes of others who had gone through the deinstitutionalization process, and that the new centres conformed to the requirements of the Convention and did not present a new form of institutionalization.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Koralski said that Bulgaria would carefully examine the Committee’s remarks and recommendations and reiterated Bulgaria’s full commitment to continuing inter-institutional coordination.

Damjan Tatić, Committee Rapporteur for Bulgaria, urged the country to use the guidance contained in the Committee’s general comment N°5 on the deinstitutionalization process, and to continue to invest even more into inclusive education.

In her concluding observation, Ms. Manolova stressed that Bulgarian society was ready for reform and it was now the time for institutions to bring that reform to completion and become positive examples of implementing the Convention.

Theresia Degener, Committee Chairperson, recalled that Bulgaria was a friend of the Convention and hoped that it would become a model country in Europe.

The delegation of Bulgaria was composed of the representatives of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Justice, Social Assistance Agency, State Agency for Child Protection, and the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings will be available via the following link: http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/.


The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon, to consider the initial report of Poland (CRPD/C/POL/1).


Report

The Committee has before it the initial report of Bulgaria (CRPD/C/BGR/1).

Presentation of the Report

MINCHO KORALSKI, Executive Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities of Bulgaria, introducing the report, said that the State policy for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Bulgaria and their integration was an essential part of the overall policy for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In Bulgaria, persons with disabilities enjoyed the special care of the State and society, he continued, stressing the important role of the national human rights institutions: the Commission for the Protection against Discrimination and the Ombudsman. Significant developments in recent years included the development of the national legal framework, the deinstitutionalization of children and adults with disabilities, and international activities for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. Bulgaria continued to adapt its legislation to the requirements of the Convention, the Director said, noting the ongoing drafting of the Second Action Plan and its six priorities aimed at improving the quality of life and social inclusion of persons with disabilities, as well as the adoption of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities 2016-2020. The draft Persons with Disabilities Act would establish a new comprehensive legal framework to regulate public relations related to the promotion, protection and safeguarding of the rights of persons with disabilities, and it required that a social inclusion policy for this population group be developed. This would enable the application of an individual approach to persons with disabilities and assessing their needs, in line with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Another priority, continued the Director, was the reform of the social services system, and Bulgaria had already adopted a concept of a new Social Services Act which would introduce new standards for the quality and efficiency of social services, including monitoring and control of the system.

Referring to the national strategy “Vision for deinstitutionalization of the children in the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Koralski emphasized the total closing of all specialized institutions for children with disabilities and for children aged four to seven. Care in the family environment prevailed over residential care and the number of children in specialized institutions had been reduced by nearly 90 per cent. Bulgaria was now focused on further developing the network of supportive social and integrated services for early intervention and support, and for the prevention of the need for residential care. Furthermore, the national long-term care strategy, targeting persons with disabilities and the increasingly ageing population, provided for the creation of conditions for an independent and dignified life, including through the development of services in the home environment and the support for families. With the adoption in January 2018 of the Action Plan for the implementation of the long-term care strategy, the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities and the elderly had started and would be completed by 2034.

Turning to international activities aimed at strengthening the rights of persons with disabilities, Mr. Koralski reminded that Bulgaria had been the President of the Conference of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during the 2017-18 period, while during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018, the topic of “Equal rights of persons with disabilities” had been a top priority in the social dimension. As a result, a proposal for the so-called European Accessibility Act had been adopted. Mr. Koralski concluded by recognizing the challenges that lay ahead, noting that the implementation of the Convention, which was one of the most progressive United Nations instruments, involved the transformation towards a human rights-based model of disability, and this was a lengthy process, to which Bulgaria remained committed.

Questions from the Committee Rapporteur

DAMJAN TATIĆ, Committee Rapporteur for Bulgaria, at the outset, commended Bulgaria for the achievements that not many other countries had made, in particular the adoption of the national action plan for the implementation of the Convention and the explicit prohibition of disability-based discrimination. Also very welcome was the setting of inclusive education as a norm in the legislation. But there was room for improvement.

The existing law on the integration of persons with disabilities still reflected the medical model of disability, thus the Committee welcomed the adoption of the new law on the rights of persons with disabilities and the transformation towards a human rights-based model, as well as the adoption of the new law on social support for persons with disabilities. Noting a need to amend the Family Law, the Rapporteur hoped that the draft law on supported decision-making would soon be adopted. Recognizing the important progress made in the deinstitutionalization process, the Rapporteur said there were still persons with disabilities in institutions, including children, raising concern about the disturbing reports of violence that they were exposed to.

Statement by the Ombudsperson of Bulgaria

MAYA MANOLOVA, Ombudsperson of Bulgaria, remarked that legislation was not yet fully in line with the Convention and that there were problems in the implementation of those laws. Persons with disabilities continued to experience administrative hurdles in their lives: the individual approach was enshrined in law but not yet implemented, the environment remained inaccessible, and there were issues in access to justice. Particularly disadvantaged were women with disabilities and children with severe disabilities, who remained socially isolated. The Ombudsperson welcomed the legislative activity of Parliament and stressed the need to operationalise and implement in practice an individual approach to each person with disabilities. The reforms in Bulgaria were urgent and pressing, in view of the double vulnerability of persons with disabilities who were among the poorest in the country, she said and hoped that this dialogue would serve as a catalyst for the reform that the society and authorities were ready for.

Questions from the Experts

Committee Experts remarked that the story of Bulgaria was a story of hope and asked about the involvement of representative organizations of persons with disabilities in the development and implementation of the national action plan for the implementation of the Convention.

Welcoming the adoption of the mechanism prohibiting disability-based discrimination, the Experts asked the delegation to provide more information on that mechanism and how it operated in practice, to explain how the denial of reasonable accommodation as a ground for discrimination was being addressed by the courts and the Committee for the Protection against Discrimination, and how the complaint mechanism for discrimination operated. What were Bulgaria’s intentions concerning the adoption of a new definition of discrimination, which would include intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination?

The delegation was asked to inform on the criteria used to recognize an organization as a representative organization of persons with disabilities and how Bulgaria was implementing its obligations under the Convention to support, to the maximum possibility, representative organizations of persons with disabilities?

Noting that Bulgaria had set up 2034 as the deadline for the deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities, an Expert asked for additional data on persons with disabilities still in institutions and concrete steps taken to deinstitutionalize them, with particular focus on children with disabilities.

Was it true that recently, 15 children with disabilities held in institutions had died because of the lack of food? A significant portion of funding from the European Union seemed to be allocated to a new type of family placement centres for children with disabilities – what measures were there to ensure that those new centres were in line with the provisions of the Convention and that they did not simply present a new form of institutionalization. What support was available to ensure that children with disabilities lived in a family setting?

THERESIA DEGENER, Committee Chairperson, was very worried about the protection of the right to life for persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities, because of the lack of healthcare – either availability or access to - that often resulted in death. Noting the reported refusals to provide access to hospitalization, the Chair noted the case of Mr. Stanev, a person with intellectual disabilities who had spent his whole life in an institution and who died in March 2018, still fighting the guardianship system. Had any criminal proceedings been initiated against anyone in relation to the 238 unexplained deaths of persons with disabilities in institutions, who had probably died because of neglect?

DAMJAN TATIĆ, Committee Rapporteur for Bulgaria, asked about the consultation with persons with disabilities in the planned reform of the disability certification system, the reduced capacity to work, and the right to benefit. How accessible were the support services offered to victims of violence against women? What recent steps had national and local authorities taken to comply with accessibility standards?
Responses by the Delegation

Responding, the delegation explained that the current legislation on the integration of persons with disabilities had been in effect since 2005 and although it had been amended several times, Bulgaria recognized that a new piece of legislation more in line with the Convention was needed. The draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities would achieve that and would identify all forms of support based on the individual assessment of needs. All support and protection measures would be delivered by only one authority, which would ease coordination and alleviate the regulatory burden for persons with disabilities. The implementation of the provisions of the Convention would be guaranteed by a Committee, which would include representatives of the central Government and other stakeholders.

As per the draft law, the disability certification process would be modified and there would be a new approach to social inclusion based on the individual assessment of needs, functional difficulties and barriers to daily functions. Financial support would be provided on a monthly basis and would be indexed annually. The draft law further introduced the right to inclusive education, and for the first time, employment quotas for persons with disabilities and the setting up of a fund for the employment of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the draft legislation would improve consultations with persons with disabilities and it envisaged the setting up of a council of persons with disabilities.

Bulgaria was in the process of a fundamental reform of the guardianship system, the delegation continued, explaining that the draft law, submitted to Parliament for adoption, would revoke the guardianship and replace it by measures to support people who had difficulties to exercise their rights independently. One of the envisaged measures was joint decision-making. The support measures would be determined for concrete actions in which persons had difficulties in performing. The law would contain safeguards to protect the right of persons with disabilities to exercise their will, for example in the right to vote, the right to marry, and others. In its judgement N°12 of 2014, the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria had found that guardianship was very restraining and that it should not be advocated for a long period of time.

Responding to questions raised about the death of 15 children with disabilities in a residence home, the so-called Nencheva vs. Bulgaria case, the delegation said that the court had found that the staff of the home had not taken adequate measures to prevent the death of the children which had occurred in 1996 and 1997, but because of the statute of limitation criminal proceedings had not been initiated. Bulgaria had, however, taken steps to improve the living conditions of children with disabilities, had closed institutions and had introduced the new type of family homes.

The process of the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities was closely connected with the development of community-based support services, which was often done in close collaboration with non-governmental organizations. During the 2007-2013 period and with the support of the European Structural Funds, multidisciplinary child protection teams had undertaken the restructuring of the philosophy of the childcare system in Bulgaria. The reform had seen the setting up of community-based social services, including residence homes which accommodated up to 15 children, with the aim of having an individual approach to children and ensuring a family-like environment. This approach was applied only when all other protection measures, first and foremost raising the child in their biological family, were exhausted. Parallel to the community-based services which were principally for children with disabilities without any other option, there were day care centres for children with disabilities. Currently there were 118 resident centres for children with disabilities with 1,586 residents, many of whom needed permanent and specialized medical care. All the centres for children with disabilities were funded from the State budget.

The right to inclusive education of preschool and school aged children with disabilities had been enshrined in the new law on education, the delegation said, explaining that specialized schools had been transformed into centres for specialized support. The children’s needs were assessed individually, and there was therapeutic integration work going on with children with disabilities. The 43 such centres catered to 2,821 children with disabilities. More than 22,000 children with disabilities were integrated in mainstream schools, and over 7,000 were children with special education needs who received the necessary support. According to the law on inclusive education, early assessment took place through a screening test for children up to three years of age; it was administered by paediatricians while over 1,500 kindergarten teachers had been trained in early assessment as well.

Sign language had a great potential in ensuring accessible information and encouraging personal potential of persons with hearing impairments. A study in Bulgarian sign language had been undertaken with the support of the European Union and as a result, in 2017, a dictionary and a grammar of Bulgarian sign language had been produced, while work was ongoing on drafting a law which would recognize sign language as an independent language. A coordination unit of representative organizations of persons with hearing difficulties had been set up to support the study and use of sign language.

The conditions for an accessible environment were set out by the ordinance on an accessible urban environment and were also regulated by urban development plans, legal ordinance on design processes, approval of construction investment projects, and approval of completed buildings. The building owners did not have an obligation to make the buildings accessible, thus the accessibility must be mainstreamed in building concepts and plans. The draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities introduced new accessibility requirements which would be applied in construction plans, as well as the accessibility requirements for the existing buildings.

With regard to the plans for the complete deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities by 2034, a delegate stressed that it was a key part of the national strategy for long-term care for persons with disabilities and the elderly. The first action plan for the implementation of this national strategy, adopted in January 2018, envisaged the completion of four groups of measures, including those to support living at home, for example by using personal assistants and providing social or health care at home. The closing down of institutions would first be done for the resident homes where the conditions were the worst. The needs of each resident would be individually assessed and the Government counted on the support of non-governmental organizations in promoting the social inclusion of former residents. It was expected that 750 persons with intellectual disabilities would be deinstitutionalized and that support at home services would be provided for 17,000 individuals. All the activities were funded from the national budget and coordinated by an inter-institutional group.

In line with the obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Bulgaria had set up the Council of Children in 2003, composed only of children, one from each of the 28 administrative regions and with five seats for children from vulnerable groups. Children applied for a seat and served for a period of two years. In order to promote the participation of children, the statute had been amended in 2016 to decentralize the application process and involve municipal mayors, schools and non-governmental organizations working with children. The nominations were presented to the Chair of the State Agency for Child Protection for final selection.

The Ministry for Labour and Social Policy had a department dealing with policies for persons with disabilities, and there was the National Council of Persons with Disabilities. A delegate confirmed that representative organizations of persons with disabilities as well as interested non-governmental organizations were always involved in the drafting of laws and policies. The draft law on persons with disabilities would introduce new criteria for the recognition of an organization as a representative organization of persons with disabilities.

The complaints for discrimination could be filed to a court but also to the Ombudsperson and the Commission for the Protection against Discrimination, which, inter alia, monitored the implementation of the anti-discrimination law, investigated complaints, issued penalties, and offered recommendations. The legislation prohibited all forms of discrimination as well as indirect and multiple discrimination.
The delegation said that the law on protection from domestic violence had been adopted in 2005 and contained the definition of domestic violence and determined the range of punishments for perpetrators. Any person who was a victim of violence was entitled to protection from violence irrespective of disability. The Ministry of Justice allocated funding for non-governmental organizations on an annual basis, while training for magistrates on the subject had been organized in 2014, and enhancing of skills of social workers had been undertaken in 2015.

With regard to access to justice for persons with disabilities, the delegate said that according to the Penal Code, any person who could not defend himself or herself was entitled to a defence. The justice sector professionals working with persons with intellectual disabilities must be qualified.

The law on child protection aimed at preventing violence and ensuring coordination between institutions, and it guaranteed the right of children to be protected from any activities that were against their development. The law also defined measures to support child victims of violence, which were coordinated by local cooperation mechanisms, composed of the child protection department, mayor’s office, inspectors and police officers. In 2014, there had been 3,055 reports of violence against children, while 1,182 cases had been recorded in 2017. The national programme on the prevention of violence and child abuse 2017-2020 emphasized the prevention of domestic and sexual violence against children, and the national hotline for children had received over 85,000 calls in 2016; most frequent questions were about interpersonal relationships, family, healthcare and social issues. The first three crisis centres for children had been set up in 2006 and today there were 23 centres in 14 regions of the country.

Responding to questions raised on the topic of independent living, a delegate said that there were residential homes which provided accommodation for persons with disabilities in an environment that was close to a family environment. Persons with disabilities lived in small groups, from eight to 15 depending on the type of the residential facility: family-type centres, protected homes, supervised homes, and transition centres. A project was in place to provide specialized training to social services staff, including on individual assessment and the preparation of an individual support plan for persons with disabilities and the elderly who were to be deinstitutionalized, according to the national plan for long-term care. This plan also contained programmes for support and social inclusion of persons with psycho-social problems and intellectual difficulties.

The Social Assistance Act had been amended in 2016 to strengthen safeguarding of the rights of users and introduce personal assessment of needs. Community-based social services were provided according to the wish and preferences of a person with disabilities and/or his or her guardian, with preference given to the wishes of the person. As for adults under full guardianship, their placement in specialized institutions was decided by a court which gave preference to the wishes of the person, and decided on the placement in an institution as a last resort.

Social services were provided according to the preference and choice of the users, reiterated another delegate, and were based on the social work provided in communities or in specialized institutions. The 2016 amendments to the Social Assistance Act had introduced a differentiated approach to adults and children, and to different types of disabilities, with the main objective of meeting the needs of persons with disabilities.

There were specialized institutions for children with disabilities, homes for children without parents, and institutions for the elderly and for persons with disabilities, depending on the type of disability. There was a steady trend towards deinstitutionalization, with the number of institutions and residents constantly decreasing. In 2018, there were 406 institutions and over 7,000 adult users, while community-based services were being provided to 23,000 users with disabilities, children and adults alike. Since 2017, Bulgaria had been aiming towards the sustainability of social services. Each Municipality implemented the independent life project, under which 13,500 users had used the home environment services and over 7,000 used the services of personal assistants.

Questions from the Experts

In the final series of questions, Committee Experts asked what was being done to prevent the separation of children with disabilities from their families, and to set up and ensure access to support services for children with disabilities and their families, particularly in remote and rural areas. What were the intentions concerning the amendments of the Family Code and the reform of the guardianship system and how was awareness being raised on a human rights-based model of disability?

The delegation was asked to explain how Bulgaria was implementing the 2030 Agenda and if persons with disabilities were involved in that process, and how persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were supported to engage in international cooperation.

Experts commended Bulgaria for the adoption of the new education law which promoted inclusive education and wondered how it took into account the most vulnerable among children with disabilities, and how mainstream schools were supported in the provision of inclusive education. Of particular concern in this context was access to inclusive education for children with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities, as well as their preparation for work. Experts stressed the importance of ensuring that inclusive education plans were accompanied with accessibility plans.

THERESIA DEGENER, Committee Chairperson, asked about the specific measures taken to decrease involuntary treatment and how persons with disabilities, including those under guardianship, could realize their right to vote in practice.

DAMJAN TATIĆ, Committee Rapporteur for Bulgaria, commended the determination to provide inclusive education and asked about the budget allocated to providing reasonable accommodation and individualized support to enable learners with disabilities to join mainstream schools. Inclusive education incurred costs, but it was definitely worth it, stressed the Rapporteur, and urged Bulgaria to continue raising awareness about the value and benefits of inclusive education. What was the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities compared to persons without disabilities, continued the Rapporteur and asked the delegation to inform on how accessible Bulgaria was for tourists?

Responses by the Delegation

The National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities 2016-2020 had been adopted in line with good practices of the European Union, recommendations of the Council of Europe and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It aimed to ensure that persons with disabilities had equal opportunities for participation in economic, social, and cultural life. The Strategy called for, inter alia, the harmonization of the national legislation with European Union regulations and standards; enhancing access to information and freedom of expression using Braille, sign language and other forms of communication; and adapting public transport. Its priorities were to provide access to transport, home environment, education and lifelong learning, quality services, employment or jobs, adequate support, and sport, recreation and tourism.

The new law on preschool and school education had entered into force in August 2016, and regulated the provision of education based on the individual needs of all children. There were 28 centres, located in all administrative regions, that supported the process of inclusive education, including by providing a specialized assessment of educational needs of children with disabilities and providing specialized support. The regional centres only intervened when schools or kindergarten were not able to provide the required support to students. There were over 22,200 children with disabilities in education: 18,000 in mainstream schools and 4,000 in kindergarten. Of those, the regional centres for inclusive education supported over 7,000 children based on their individual needs. The centres provided therapeutic and rehabilitative work for children with disabilities if their parents wished so and the needs had been established by the assessment. There were five special schools, with a total of 708 students with disabilities, supported by multidisciplinary teams which provided services based on the child’s individual assessment.

The Ministry of Education and Science, under the operational programme called science for smart growth, provided support for children with special educational needs starting with early prevention and intervention already in kindergarten. The digitalization of the education project would be launched in 2019, as well as another project to support the pedagogical expertise of teachers, and also to support their work in a multicultural environment.

In response to questions raised about the employment of persons with disabilities, a delegate said unemployed persons with disabilities had been a priority target group for the past 10 years; they benefitted from a number of programmes and measures aimed at job seekers in general, as well as from the specific programmes targeted at this population group. Over the past years, the number of persons with disabilities in work had increased: from 8,159 in 2015 to over 10,700 in 2017, as did the funding for the employment of persons with disabilities, from 14 million Bulgarian lev in 2015 to 18 million in 2017. The delegate further said that the employment rate for persons with disabilities was 17.6 per cent in 2014 and 20.1 per cent in 2017. The unemployment rate for persons with disabilities in 2016 was 16.7 per cent and for those without disabilities it was 9.2 per cent; the following year, the rate of unemployment among persons with disabilities stood at 13.1 per cent versus six per cent for the general population.

On training and education for work, the delegate said that the Vocational Education and Training Act envisaged specific training for people with different disabilities, such as visual, hearing or sensual impairments, and intellectual disabilities as well. The training would be offered for jobs that required routine actions, and would be appropriate to the health status of children with disabilities or chronically ill children. Additionally, said another delegate, there were programmes promoting the self-employment of persons with disabilities, through which 150 individuals had been employed.

In response to questions concerning support offered to refugees and asylum-seekers with disabilities, another delegate said that the law did not restrict the support for persons with disabilities based on citizenship thus all persons with disabilities in the national territory were entitled to support. The draft law which was being prepared would stipulate that foreign nationals with disability with permanent residence, or those with a refugee status and under temporary protection, were entitled to the same protection as Bulgarian citizens. The law would enter into force in 2019 and it would provide monthly financial support which would be based on the level of disability and individual circumstances, and it would be indexed annually.

There was a restriction on legal capacity and it was hoped that by the end of the year the new law would enter into force. Persons with disabilities had the right to vote and those who had reduced mobility could use mobile facilities. The European Union observers had remarked that Bulgaria had very good conditions to enable the exercise of the right to vote online, which would be favourable for many persons with disabilities. The draft law on sign language had been returned by Parliament for redrafting, and there was the intention to submit it again and work towards the legal regulation of sign language.

Concluding Remarks

MINCHO KORALSKI, Executive Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities of Bulgaria, concluded by stressing that the synergy between all the Convention’s provisions turned it into a coherent policy and emphasized that the Convention’s aim was not to place persons with disabilities on a higher level but on an equal footing with everyone else. Bulgaria would carefully examine the Committee’s remarks and recommendations, he said, reiterating its full commitment to continuing inter-institutional coordination and work with all stakeholders.

DAMJAN TATIĆ, Committee Rapporteur for Bulgaria, commended the truly open, sincere and constructive dialogue and urged Bulgaria to use more guidance from the Committee’s general comment N°5 on the deinstitutionalization process, and expressed hope that soon, Bulgaria would adopt a number of draft laws, including on supported decision-making, social support services, and on sign language. Further, Bulgaria should continue to invest even more into inclusive education.

MAYA MANOLOVA, Ombudsperson of Bulgaria, thanked the Committee for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the importance of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Bulgarian society was ready for reform and it was now the time for institutions to bring that reform to completion and for Bulgaria to become a positive example of implementing the Convention and showing respect for persons with disabilities.

THERESIA DEGENER, Committee Chairperson, recalled that Bulgaria was a friend of the Convention and hoped that it would become a model country in Europe.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CRPD18/016E