Focal Points

Article 33 (1)

States Parties, in accordance with their system of organization, shall designate one or more focal points within government for matters relating to the implementation of the present Convention...

Article 33(1) requires governments to designate at least one focal point to maintain overall responsibility for the country’s implementation of the Convention. In other words, the focal point represents the central actor within government to ensure the full, effective and coordinated implementation of the Convention’s various provisions. 

Selecting focal points

States Parties are recommended to designate their focal points at the highest level of government, such that they have sufficient authority and political clout to effectively coordinate and ensure CRPD implementation.[1] In many countries, focal points were already established under the UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1993,[2] in which case States Parties were invited to redesign their existing focal point structures rather than to create new ones.

States Parties have significant freedom in selecting which person or entity will be their focal point(s): “Focal points could be a section or a person within a ministry or cluster of ministries, an institution such as a disability commission, or a particular ministry, such as a ministry for human rights or a ministry for persons with disabilities, or a combination of the three.”[3Ministries of social affairs are most commonly selected as focal points, which is in part a reflection of the expertise of these ministries in relation to disability issues. They also often maintain strong relationships with relevant institutions and civil society organizations and have usually led the CRPD ratification process at the national level.[4]

According to some experts, ministries with responsibility for justice and human rights may represent more appropriate CRPD focal points.[5]From this perspective, the designation of ministries of social affairs reflects a more traditional, care-based approach to disability, whereas ministries of justice and human rights represent a clearer reflection of the CRPD’s broader human rights focus.[6]Despite this recommendation, however, “not a single State has […] designated its ministry of justice [as focal point], not even in addition to its ministry of social affairs.”[7]

Another option available to States Parties is to assign the focal point role to the Office of the President or Prime Minister, or to establish a State Secretary portfolio on disability.[8]This option has the added advantages of both seniority and centrality within the government, making it particularly well-placed to coordinate government actions. In these cases, sufficient human resources and technical expertise are needed to ensure that the focal point is well-equipped to fulfill all of the requirements outlined in Article 33 (1).

In cases where only one focal point is designated, their roles and responsibilities are quite clear. However, some States Parties choose to nominate several focal points, which can be distributed horizontally (i.e. across government bodies and institutions), vertically (i.e. at regional and local levels) or both. Lithuania, for example, designated ten different focal points across its various ministries.[9] Austria has focal points in all of its federal nine states, in addition to its national-level focal point (the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection).[10]These types of multi-focal point set-ups can be advantageous as they enable States to pool the mandates, resources and expertise of different actors. At the same time, a clear division of labour and responsibilities is essential, which can be achieved through, for example, the designation of a lead focal point that ensures general coordination, oversight and promotion with respect to CRPD implementation.

Functions

Under their overall mission of spearheading national CRPD implementation, the work of focal points can cover a variety of different functions (see Box 1). Focal points are responsible for coordinating the government’s overall implementation of the CRPD, including the actions of relevant ministries. Given the weight of this task, however, many governments choose to appoint a coordination mechanism as well, which will be explored in depth in the next section.

While their exact functions will differ between countries, it is advisable that focal points (especially lead focal points) do not engage directly in service provision:

“the mandate of the focal point should clearly focus on developing and coordinating a coherent national policy on the Convention. As such, the focal point should promote, guide, inform and advise government on matters related to the implementation of the Convention but arguably not implement it by delivering disability support services.”[11]

In other words, focal points should avoid blurring their mandates and leave service provision up to implementing ministries. However, this line obviously becomes very difficult to draw where a country’s focal point is de facto an implementing ministry, such as a ministry of social affairs. In these cases, States must devise strategies to clarify a division of labour, such that the focal point can effectively execute its mandate.

Box 1. List of potential functions for Article 33 (1) focal points

  1. Serve as the CRPD contact point for relevant actors (government ministries and departments; local and regional government bodies; persons with disabilities and their representative organizations; other civil society organizations; frameworks established under Article 33 (2) of the Convention; and international organizations and bodies such as the CRPD Committee).
  2. Coordinate human rights and disability activities of various ministries and departments and at different levels of Government (national, regional, local, etc.).
  3. Build capacities within the Government on disability-related issues and CRPD implementation.
  4. Advise government officials on the development of policies, laws, programmes and projects with respect to their impact on persons with disabilities.
  5. Revise strategies and policies to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are respected.
  6. Draft, revise or amend relevant legislation.
  7. Raise awareness about the CRPD and its Optional Protocol within the Government and among the public.
  8. Ensure that the CRPD and its Optional Protocol are translated into local languages and issued in accessible formats.
  9. Establish an action plan for ratifying and/or implementing the CRPD and monitor the implementation of such an action plan.
  10. Coordinate the preparation of the State’s initial and periodic reports to the CRPD Committee.
  11. Ensure and coordinate the collection of data and statistics.
  12. Ensure the participation of persons with disabilities in the development of policies and laws that affect them, including by establishing a permanent discussion or consultation forum.
  13. Promote the participation of persons with disabilities in civil society and encourage the creation of organizations of persons with disabilities.

 

Compiled by the author based on: DESA et al., 2007, pp. 95-96; Mental Disability Advocacy Center, 2011, p. 26.


[1]Thematic Study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/HRC/13/29), p. 7; UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) et al., 2007, p. 84; Mental Disability Advocacy Center, 2011, p. 28; and de Beco and Hoefmans, 2013, p. 24.

[2]See Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (A/RES/48/96), Rule 17.

[3]DESA et al., 2007, p. 94.

[4]De Beco, 2015, p. 16.

[5]Thematic Study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/HRC/13/29), p. 7; de Beco and Hoefmans, 2013, p. 20.

[6]Thematic Study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/HRC/13/29), p. 7.

[7]De Beco, 2015, p. 17.

[8]Thematic Study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/HRC/13/29), p. 7; Mental Disability Advocacy Center, 2011, p. 94; de Beco and Hoefmans, 2013, p. 24.

[9]De Beco, 2011b, p. 30.

[10]Initial Report of Austria on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/AUT/1), p. 51.

[11]Thematic Study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/HRC/13/29), p. 7.