Purpose and process
These guidelines complement the Committee’s general comment No. 5 (2017) and its guidelines on the right to liberty and security of persons with disabilities (art. 14). They are intended to guide and support States parties, in their efforts to realize the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community, and to be the basis for planning deinstitutionalization processes and prevention of institutionalization.
The guidelines draw on the experiences of persons with disabilities before and during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which uncovered widespread institutionalization, highlighting the harmful impact of institutionalization on the rights and lives of persons with disabilities, and the violence, neglect, abuse, ill-treatment and torture, including chemical, mechanical and physical restraints, that they experience in institutions.
The guidelines are the result of a participatory process, which included seven regional consultations organized by the Committee. Over 500 persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities, girls and boys with disabilities, survivors of institutionalization, persons with albinism, grass-roots organizations and other civil society organizations participated.
