Our investigation revealed serious problems in the work of the State Welfare Organization (SWO), the main agency charged with providing services to people with disabilities. None of the disabled people interviewed for this report have benefited from professional personal assistance (PA). However, interviews with people with disabilities in Iran revealed that many of them face different barriers in different areas.
Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran have documented the many barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing health services on an equal basis with others. Many disabled people interviewed said that they faced discrimination from medical staff, including denial of care. To ensure that health care for the disabled will be of the same quality and equally accessible to the disabled as to others.
The interviewees were: 10 parents of disabled people; 3 health workers; and 9 experts, including staff of the state welfare organization, NGO activists and other service providers.
Overview: Disability in Iran
According to SWO data, only 35 percent of registered disabled people are women.12 Rooted stigma about disabled women, as well as more widely. In many provinces and cities where we were able to access information, there was a significant disparity between the number of persons identified as having a disability by Disability Organizations (DPOs) and advocates and those registered and supported by the SWO office organization . Disabled Persons, which monitors countries' compliance with the CRPD, Iranian officials provided updated statistics on the number of registered disabled persons, however.
The Foundation for Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA) has a narrow mandate to serve approximately 565,000 disabled veterans.23 Both SWO and FMVA serve as the government's point of contact for matters related to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).24 In addition to of which the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (IKRC) is a government charity mandated to support the poorest and most disadvantaged populations, including some with disabilities. See Law on the Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ϥϮϴδϧϮϨ̯ΐϳϮμΗϥϮϧΎϗ ˬΖϴϟϮϠόϣ̵έΩΩήϓϕϮϘΣ passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament of Iran). known as Majlis), 3 Dec. 2008, http://rc. majlis.ir/fa/law/show/134833.
State Welfare Organization Failures and Abuses
39 Researcher interviews with Zeinab, woman with physical disabilities, city in southern Iran, November 21, 2016; Fatemeh, woman with physical disabilities, Tehran, December 5, 2016; Akbar, father of a man with psychosocial disability, Tehran suburb, May 5, 2017; and Yashar, man with physical disability, town near Tehran, May 15, 2017. 42 Researcher interviews Hamed, man with physical disability living in a small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016;. 46 Researcher interview with Najmeh, mother of a 9-year-old girl with physical disabilities living in Tehran suburbs, March 30, 2017.
56 Researcher interviews with Alireza, a man with a physical disability in a city in southern Iran, 23 November 2016; and Hamed, a man with a physical disability, a small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016. 63 Researcher interview with Najmeh, mother of a 9-year-old girl with a physical disability, a suburb of Tehran, March 30, 2017. 66 Researcher with Mahnaz, a woman with a physical disability disabled person using crutches, a city in southern Iran, November 22, 2016; and Fatemeh, a woman with a physical disability, Tehran, December 5, 2016.
67 For example, researcher interview with Farideh, mother of a 7-year-old girl with a physical disability, Tehran, May 24, 2017. 76 Researcher interviews with Homa, woman with a physical disability, Tehran, November 20, 2016; Yashar, man with a physical disability, city near Tehran, May 15, 2017; and Farideh, mother of a 7-year-old girl with a physical disability, Tehran, May 24, 2017. 78 Researchers' interviews with Fatemeh, woman with a physical disability, Tehran, December 5, 2016; and Yashar, man with a physical disability, city near Tehran, May 15, 2017.
81 Researcher interviews with Hamed, man with a physical disability, small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016; Hassan, man with a physical disability, Karaj, May 12, 2017; and Yashar, man with physical disability, city near Tehran, May 15, 2017. Hassan, a 27-year-old man with physical disability, living in Karaj, a city on the outskirts of Tehran, said:. 82 Researcher interviews with Arash, man with a physical disability, city in eastern Iran, May 16, 2017; and Nader, man with a physical disability, city near Tehran, May 18, 2016.
84 Researcher interviews with Hamed, man with physical disability, small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016; and Hassan, man with physical disabilities, Karaj, 12 May 2017;. 97 Researcher interviews with Mahnaz, woman with physical disability, city in southern Iran, 22 November 2016; and Afsaneh, mother of Golnaz, a young girl with intellectual disability, Tehran, November 30, 2016.
Discriminatory Laws and Policies
Any person who, on the basis of the diagnosis of the SWO Medical Commissions, has physical, intellectual, mental or multiple impairments leading to persistent and significant deficiencies in their general health and functioning to the extent that reduced social and economic independence of the person. 108. As a result of this overly restrictive definition, a large number of people with psychosocial disabilities are unable to register with SWO and receive SWO services. Farah, a woman with psychosocial disabilities, said she was unable to register with SWO because she refused to be hospitalized.
Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran found that disability prevention is one of the top priorities of Iran's disability policy. 111 Regulation for the establishment of rehabilitation and treatment centers for persons with chronic mental disorders. Ϧϣΰϣ̶ϧϭέϥέΎϤϴΑ̶ϧΎϣέΩϭ̶θΨΑ Article 1(1) approved by SWO Board of Directors, Summer 2007, SWO Tehran Provincial Office Website,.
112 Ali Akbar Sayari, Deputy Minister of Health Affairs of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education: "23/6 percent of the population aged 15 to 64 suffer from mental disorders The inclusion of disability prevention as an integral part of government disability policies and programs reflects a medical approach to disability as something to be cured or fixed. While government actions to improve public health, access to health services and information, and other policies may result in a reduction in disability, preventing disability is different from protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
Some aspects of current disability prevention policies are incompatible with Iran's obligations under the CRPD. In the agreement reached between representatives of the deaf and hard of hearing and SWO in March 2016 (see Appendix 2), SWO has committed to providing clearer and more accurate information about cochlear implantation surgery. To register a marriage, couples must present a certificate documenting a genetic consultation.117 Although the law does not prohibit marriage based on the result of the consultation, it violates the right to respect for private life and family life.
Inaccessible infrastructure
Hamed, physically disabled man, small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016; Fatemeh, woman with physical disabilities, Tehran, December 5, 2016; Hamid, physically disabled man, city in southern Iran, November 22, 2016; Alireza, physically disabled man, city in southern Iran, November 23, 2016; Hassan, physically disabled man, Karaj, 12 May 2017; and Yashar, physically disabled man, city near Tehran, May 15, 2017. 127 Researcher interviews with Hamid, physically disabled man, city in southern Iran, November 22, 2016; and Yashar, physically disabled man, city near Tehran, May 15, 2017. Homa, physically disabled woman, Tehran, November 20, 2016; and Mahnaz, woman with physical disabilities, a city in southern Iran, November 22, 2017.
129 Researcher interviews with Fatemeh, woman with physical disabilities, Tehran, 5 December 2016 and Hassan, man with physical disabilities, Karaj, 12 May 2017. 134 Researcher interviews with Hassan, man with physical disabilities, Karaj, 12 May 2017; and Yashar, man with physical disability, town near Tehran, May 15, 2017. 155 Researcher interviews Ehsan, man with physical disability, small town in western Iran, November 18, 2016; and Hassan, man with physical disability, Karaj, 12 May 2017.
Hamed, a man with a physical disability, a small town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016; Ehsan, a man with a physical disability, a small town in western Iran, November 18, 2016; Fatemeh, a woman with a physical disability, Tehran, December 5, 2016;. Hamid, a man with a physical disability, a city in southern Iran, November 22, 2016; Alireza, a man with a physical disability, a city in southern Iran, November 23, 2016; and Javad, a disability advocate with a physical disability, December 5, 2016. 157 Researcher interview with Ehsan, a man with a physical disability, small town in western Iran, November Researcher interview with Hamed, a man with a physical disability, a small town in northern Iran, November 11 .2016.
Persons with physical disabilities who were interviewed expressed specific concerns about access to banks and ATM machines. 160 Researcher interview with Hamed, man with physical disabilities, town in northern Iran, November 11, 2016; Nader, man with physical disability, town near Tehran, 18 May 2017. 161 Researcher interview with Fatemeh, woman with physical disabilities, Tehran, 5 December 2016; and Yashar, man with physical disabilities, town near Tehran, May 15, 2017.
Lack of Accessibility and Discrimination in Healthcare
Many people with disabilities Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran interviewed said they faced discrimination from health care personnel, including denial of care. There is no publicly available information about the training that doctors and other medical personnel receive regarding the rights of persons with disabilities. Due to additional barriers, people with disabilities face greater difficulties in accessing these services and information.
This legislation guarantees fundamental rights and privileges for persons with disabilities in areas such as accessibility, education, rehabilitation and employment. Persons with disabilities have the right to choose services and service providers according to their individual requirements and personal preferences, and individualized support must be flexible enough to adapt to the requirements of the users. Support services must be available within a safe physical and geographical reach to all persons with disabilities living in urban or rural areas.
In the implementation of legislation, policies and programs, States Parties must closely consult and actively involve a diverse range of persons with disabilities. 242. Conduct a comprehensive review of legislation and policies, including the legal definition of disability, to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;. Ensure that all disabled people have the opportunity and accessible information to register as a disabled person with the relevant state authorities;
Ensure that disability prevention programs are funded and implemented separately from policies designed to secure the rights of persons with disabilities. All disability prevention policies should be designed and implemented with full respect for disabled people's independence and right to privacy and family life. Develop and publish a time-bound detailed plan to ensure, using the maximum available resources, that public transportation becomes equally accessible to persons with disabilities.
Provide adequate training to public transport staff, including bus and social taxi drivers, to support persons with disabilities in their use of public. Ensure that medical care for persons with disabilities is of the same quality and equally accessible to persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
