The Levant

In Iraq, the right to independent living is guaranteed under Article 17 of the Constitution. According to the country’s 2015 report to the Committee, the majority of persons with disabilities live in “family settings”.[1]Iraq’s Child Protection Bill, proposed in 2013 and referenced in the country’s report, contains articles relevant to the institutionalization of children with disabilities. Specifically, two chapters of the bill are dedicated to “the right of the child to reside in nurseries and state houses (alternative care institutions)” and “the right of the children with special needs to receive care and rehabilitation; especially because the State guarantees the protection of the child in any condition or action that impedes his/her learning, health, physical, or mental development” . [2] While the intended purpose of the bill is to secure the rights of children throughout Iraq, articles within these chapters may potentially encourage the institutionalization of children with disabilities if community support services are not available. The British council is working with the Ministry of Education in Iraq on an inclusive education policy.

Over the last decade, Jordan has become a regional leader in its support of the rights of persons with disabilities to self-determination and independent living. Since 2008, disability programmes have aimed at integrating students with intellectual or visual disabilities into the standard education system.[3] In response to Jordan’s submission of its initial report to the Committee in 2012, the Committee criticized the country’s involuntary institutionalization of persons with disabilities and advised allocating necessary resources for a deinstitutionalization strategy.[4] Jordan has since introduced a revised law on disability that stresses the intersection of disability with the surrounding environment (Law No. 20 of 2017), as well as a new national disability strategy, including specific action plans for inclusive education, accessibility and deinstitutionalization. Informed by Law No. 20, Jordan’s current action plan on deinstitutionalization aims to replace all residential institutions with community-based care centers over a period of ten years. Law No. 20, which replaced Law No. 31 of 2007, prohibits institutionalization of persons with disabilities except with their informed consent.

In 2007, the Government established the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), which was renamed to the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2017 in accordance with the new law.[5]In line with the Convention and its role in supporting deinstitutionalization, the HCD in 2017[6] has emphasized the right of all people with disabilities to live independently and participate in their communities on par with other citizens. In accordance with Articles 27 and 29 of Law No. 20, the HCD has committed to taking the lead “to find alternatives that will lead people with disabilities to independent living […] and terminate institutionalization on the basis of disability” by 2027.[7]

Lebanon signed both the Convention and its Optional Protocol in 2007, but its Parliament has not yet ratified them. Lebanon has a separate law on the rights of persons with disabilities (Law No. 220) and its national disability strategy is under development.[8] Lebanon has also established a National Committee for the Affairs of the Disabled. Throughout Lebanon, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the main providers of specialized services for persons with disabilities, rather than the governmental agencies.[9] Though the government supports several NGO-managed centers monetarily, as of 2013, no governmental medical institutions in Lebanon were equipped to provide specialized medical services to persons with disabilities.[10] Progress has been made specifically in the realm of psychosocial disability through Lebanon’s 2015-2020 Mental Health Strategy, which placed an emphasis on funding community-based mental health services.[11]UNICEF is also currently working with the Ministry of Education to support the inclusion of children with learning disabilities in 30 public schools throughout Lebanon.[12]

Palestine ratified the Convention in 2014 but has not submitted a report to the Committee. The State’s national disability legislation, Law No. 4 on the Rights of the Disabled, has not been updated since 1999, though Palestine adopted its National Strategic Plan for the Disability Sector in 2012.[13]A key policy goal of the plan is “the provision of all basic and vital services for persons with disabilities”.[14]Palestine’s Ministry of Health’s 2016-2018 strategy also includes new disability related interventions, including the development of community-based mental health services.[15]

Syria has ratified the Convention but has not yet submitted its report to the Committee. In 2009, prior to the outbreak of the conflict, Syria established the National Plan for the Care and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities.[16]The interviewed public official from Syria also reported the existence of a 2018-2020 plan to expand and improved disability-related services. Several international organizations are currently working in Syria to protect persons with disabilities. In 2016, UNICEF’s Syria Country Office introduced the first cash transfer scheme to support the families of children with disabilities.[17]In evaluating the implementation of Article 19 in Syria, it is necessary to consider that over the course of the conflict, the majority of Syria’s health infrastructure has collapsed .[18]