Japan will undergo a policy review by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in late August following a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sources close to the matter said Monday, reported the Kyodo News.
The review will recommend non-legally binding policy improvement measures to improve the lives and societal participation of persons with disabilities. Japan ratified the UN CRPD in 2014.
Reviews of Japan’s policies will take place from August 22 to 23 in Geneva, Switzerland. The recommendations are expected within a month of the checks.
In advance questions to the government, the committee is likely to have highlighted issues including the treatment of persons with disabilities in natural disasters, patients’ long-term stays in psychiatric hospitals, and past forced sterilizations under the now-defunct eugenics protection law
After ratifying the convention in 2014, Japan submitted 2016 a report on its implementation of the convention to the United Nations.
“I want the government to accept the recommendations, and work to improve its policy measures,” said Satoshi Sato, who has submitted a report as chair of the Japan Disability Forum’s committee to promote the convention’s implementation.
