The Gulf

Bahrain’s 2017 report to the Committee did not refer to deinstitutionalization but indicated considerable progress in including persons with disabilities in society in terms of education, health care, employment and accessibility.[1] In 2007, Bahrain’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development established the Center for Services for People with Disabilities. According to the report, while the center does provide accommodation to persons with disabilities, it also offers a variety of non-residential services, such as vocational training and physiotherapy programs, and provides counseling to families. Bahrain’s reporting on Article 19 also focused on ensuring the independence of persons with disabilities through inclusive housing measures.

The Kuwait 2015 report outlined plans for a new social integration scheme for persons with disabilities: this scheme includes plans to clarify obstacles to integration, develop procedural mechanisms for each stage of the integration process, and introduce an awareness campaign to reduce stigma and foster social cohesion.[2] Article 28 of Kuwait’s Constitution guarantees the right of all individuals, including persons with disabilities, to mobility and free choice of location and type of accommodation. Kuwait’s report did not mention deinstitutionalization, instead presenting housing policy as a means to ensure community integration. Persons with disabilities receive priority in the housing welfare application process, as well as stipends for domestic help, including drivers for those with “moderate or severe” disabilities.[3]

The report from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2015 stated that 15 per cent of all students with disabilities live in boarding facilities, where they receive a monthly personal allowance. While individuals with disabilities have the right to home care and support services under Decision No. 24 of Saudi Arabia’s 1980 Social Rehabilitation Regulations, the country’s more recent Disability Care Act of 2000 guarantees care through a variety of state-run institutions, and perhaps encourages the use of these institutions by providing stipends to those who use their services.[4]

The United Arab Emirates’ 2013 report to the Convention referenced to the country’s Federal Act No. 14 of 2009, which “guarantees the right of persons with disabilities to enjoy an enabling environment in conditions conducive to an independent life”.[5]The act prohibits the accommodation of persons with disabilities “in such a way to isolate and exclude them from their family milieu,” and stipulates rehabilitation programs should be primarily concerned with facilitating community integration. The initial report stated that the Ministry of Social Affairs had signed memorandums of understanding with the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme and the Ministry of Public Works with the purpose of encouraging these bodies to provide an “enabling environment” for persons with disabilities.[6] Following the United Arab Emirates’s 2013 submission, the Committee urged the State party to further develop community-based services to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities.[7] Rehabilitation centers and other facilities are currently run jointly through the Ministry of Community Development, the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care, and the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services .[8] Notably, the Zayed Organization provides opportunities for in-home treatment. Certain vocational training programs for young adults in the United Arab Emirates include an assisted transition to independent living at age 18.[9]

Qatar’s 2012 report addressed social integration primarily through inclusive housing and accommodation policies.[10]Referring to children whose parents are unable to care for them, the report noted measures to avoid institutionalization through placing the child with extended family or another family within a community. In 2016, Qatar opened its first community-based mental health center, offering outpatient treatments for children and teenagers in a “home-like” environment: this center and others like it are meant to provide holistic alternatives to hospitalization.[11]

The Sultanate of Oman’s 2014 report focused on the creation of awareness campaigns concerning the rights of persons with disabilities and the construction of accessible public spaces and community facilities. The report also referenced Article 11 of Oman’s 2008 Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled Act, which addresses social integration through requiring “agencies concerned with social, athletic and cultural activities to accommodate the participation of individuals with disabilities”.[12]  The report named eight private and public institutions that provide care for persons with disabilities but did not stipulate whether or not these institutions offer residential services.[13]According to a state official from Oman, the Government is in the process of creating new disability legislation in accordance with the Convention. Oman is also currently working in cooperation with UNICEF to identify mechanisms for disability detection and to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in the country’s educational system.[14]

Yemen signed the Convention in 2007 but has not yet submitted a CRPD report. Yemen’s general disability Law No. 2 on establishing the Disabled Care and Rehabilitation Fund, was passed in 2002. The country also has a National Disability Strategy, brought into force in 2010. More than 300 organizations that previously provided specialized services to persons with disabilities have been forced to close as a result of coalition-led airstrikes in Yemen beginning in 2015.[15] UNOHCHR’s 2015 report noted that monitoring the rights of Yemen’s growing population of persons with disabilities is a distinct challenge in the ongoing conflict.