The
world, including your country, is facing enormous challenges caused
by COVID-19. To support the global understanding of consequences of
these challenges on persons with disabilities, this Initiative seeks
to gather information on what measures States are taking with respect
to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
We
are glad that you/your organisation has accepted to be a partner in
this initiative
aiming to ensure that inherent dignity of persons with disabilities
is respected worldwide even during this pandemic.
Below,
you can find some important information and suggestions about how you
can contribute to this initiative in an effective way. It does not
mean, however, that you cannot work out your own ideas and make your
own advocacy steps. We encourage you to do so and share them with us.
Please
send the
link to the survey (www.covid-drm.org),
with a cover letter, to the following stakeholders:
-
Ministries
responsible for health care, social affairs, education, justice
- National
Human Rights Institutions (Office of the Ombudsperson)
- National
Preventive Mechanism (under the UN Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture – OPCAT)
- National
Monitoring Mechanism under the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities – CRPD Article 33(2))
Download a cover letter in your language:
If
you have time and capacity, please send the link to the survey
(www.covid-drm.org),
with a cover letter, to the following actors:
-
Persons
with disabilities
- Organisations
of Persons with Disabilities at national, federal, regional and
local levels
- Prime
Minister’s office
- Relevant
departments within ministries responsible for health care, social
affairs, education, justice
- Government
authorities responsible for health care, social affairs, education,
justice
- State
and private-run institutions where persons with disabilities are
staying/living, including:
-
social
care institutions
- group
homes
- children’s
institutions
- boarding
schools
- psychiatric
health care institutions
- forensic
psychiatric settings
- homes
for older persons
- shelters
for homeless people
-
Equality
bodies
- Focal
points within government for matters relating to the implementation
of the CRPD (CRPD Article 33(1))
- Coordination
mechanism within government to facilitate implementation of the CRPD
in different sectors and at different levels (CRPD Article 33(1))
- National
Disability Council
- Non-Governmental
Organisations active in the field of disability policy at national,
federal, regional and local levels.
Please
put in
the subject line: Persons with Disabilities in COVID-19 pandemic
Please
copy
monitoring@covid-drm.org
in the emails you send out. It will help us to collect data on how
many surveys have been sent out per country and in total.
Please
note the
following:
-
The
scope of this survey is limited both (i) to focus on a specific
group of people
(persons with disabilities), and (ii) timely, since it aims to look
at the consequences
of COVID-19 and state measures being implemented
on persons with disabilities.
- This
is not scientific research.
- The
survey is currently available at www.covid-drm.org
in the following languages: Bulgarian,
Czech, English, French, Hungarian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian,
Spanish, and will soon be available in German. More languages will
be added gradually.
- Please
contribute
to the results of this initiative by completing the survey yourself.
We
thank you for all your efforts.
Please share any additional information, advice or thoughts directly
with us, and should you have any questions about the survey or the
COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor initiative, please contact in
English, French or Spanish our colleagues on
monitoring@covid-drm.org.