Motion for resolution
A vision for the next decade
Implementing the UN CRPD in times of crisis
Preamble
We, over 450 delegates from organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs), representing the 80 million persons with disabilities living in Europe, meeting at the 3rd European Parliament of persons with disabilities on 5 December 2012 in Brussels;
Whereas the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) together with its Optional Protocol has been adopted on 13 December 2006 by the UN General Assembly and was already ratified by 126 countries worldwide, including 24 EU Member States and the European Union as a whole, while the remaining 3 are signatories;
Acknowledging that the UN CRPD is an integral human rights instrument covering civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, that it is the first international human rights Treaty to which the EU is party, and that it entails obligations on matters falling within the Union’s exclusive and shared competences, its existing and future legislation and policies, as well as to its own institutions;
Highlighting that Europe encompasses but also goes beyond the EU and our commitment is also directed towards persons with disabilities and their organizations in all other European countries, and we shall fight together with them for the full implementation of the UN CRPD in the whole continent;
Noting the obligations derived from the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights to take actions to fight discrimination based on disability and to develop positive action measures, as well as mainstreaming in all its policies, programmes and legislation;
Underlining the importance of the European Parliament, which is the legislative institution directly elected by its citizens, including those that have a disability;
Considering that the EU will present its first periodic report in 2013 on the implementation of the UN CRPD that will be examined by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which after a constructive dialogue with EU representatives and taking under consideration the views of DPOs and other civil society organisations will issue concluding observations (including principal areas of concern and recommendations);
Noting that a Framework to monitor, protect and promote the implementation of the UN CRPD is due to be established by the Council of the European Union which will include the EP Petitions Committee, the European Ombudsman, as well as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Commission and the European Disability Forum;
Considering that persons with disabilities must be able to enjoy all human rights in the same way as all citizens, at all levels of decision-making and competence, including local, regional, national and European;
Noting that women and men with disabilities are subject to multiple forms of discrimination and, in this regard, measures must be taken to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by them of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Recognising that persons with disabilities, and in particular women and girls with disabilities, are often at greater risk, both within and outside the home, of violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation;
Stressing that persons with disabilities and their families have been hit disproportionately hard by the current economic climate caused by the financial crisis, for which they are not responsible, leading to a decrease in living standards, greater unemployment, cuts in benefits and services and threats to their social and human rights;
Stressing that the austerity measures constitute a direct violation and abuse of the rights of persons with disabilities enshrined in the UN CRPD and recalling that all the EU member states are parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and that they have a legally binding obligation to progressively improve, in a systematic way, universal access to essential goods and to services such as healthcare, education, housing and social security as well as to ensure just and favourable working conditions, without any discrimination);
Underlining that fiscal and economic consolidation should not be achieved at the expenses of social and human rights and that there is a need for a coordinated approach by EU Institutions and Member States to develop a long-term vision to ensure social and political inclusion of all citizens especially persons with disabilities;
Highlighting the positive role that citizens with disabilities can play in overcoming the crisis if provided the right to independent living and participation;
Outlining that the current economic situation as well as the on-going crisis cannot be used as an excuse not to implement the UN CRPD;
Recalling - at the eve of the European Year of citizenship - that citizens with disabilities often face insurmountable barriers exercising their fundamental right to freedom of movement within the Union by visiting or moving to another country for work, study or leisure, to access services and information, fund and run their own companies, as well as to vote and be elected because of inaccessible transport, infrastructure, and goods and services at public and private level;
Concerned about the lack of availability of proximity services for persons with disabilities and their families in many European countries, and the lack of progress in many European countries in moving from institutions to independent and community living services;
Stressing the need to live up to the obligations enshrined in article 4,3 of the UN CRPD by involving persons with disabilities themselves, as well as through their representative organisations, in all decisions concerning them;
Recalling the commitment of the States Parties to the UN CRPD to ensure and promote the full realisation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities through the adoption and review of legislative, administrative measures, policies and programmes;
Stressing that the EU through its policies and legislation is not just influencing the lives of persons with disabilities in Europe, but can also contribute to improving the lives of persons with disabilities in developing countries by an efficient approach of mainstreaming disability in all dimensions of its international cooperation;
Resolution
We call on the EU institutions and consultative bodies within their powers and competences, the EU Member States, the social partners, civil society, NGOs, DPOs and other stakeholders, to take appropriate steps to ensure the full implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities in Europe and in all international organisations in which the EU institutions and its members are present by acknowledging that:
I. The EU must adopt a new strategic plan for employment, growth and social inclusion for persons with disabilities to exit the crisis
§ By working towards the revision of the EU employment, growth and social inclusion strategy (Europe 2020) as well as of the European Disability Strategy 2010 – 2020 for the next decade by laying strong foundations for human and social rights, paying particular attention to persons with disabilities providing long term investments in social measures for participation and independent living, such as in housing, health, education, and employment, adapted to the reality of the impact of the current economic, social and human rights crisis;
§ By affirming that participation of citizens is the essential base of democracy and is part of sustainable development in society;
§ By arguing for long term investment in social measures including support to income and services that will allow participation of persons with disabilities as well as independent living and inclusion in the community, regardless of their age or other background in society;
§ By recognizing the need for adequate and fully inclusive and accessible education at all levels including higher education, matched to the needs of the individual child as a key factor to enter and re-enter the employment market and become productive citizens, as well as fully accessible lifelong learning programmes at all stages of life;
§ By promoting equal rights and access to all forms of employment for persons with disabilities;
§ By proposing and adopting measures favouring full and active labour and social participation of persons with disabilities, including those who require more intensive support as well as those with psychosocial disabilities, by reforming social protection measures thus allowing persons with disabilities to enter or re-enter and retain employment of their choice, and by developing further tax incentives and schemes for employers;
§ By considering the high unemployment rates and widespread lack of involvement in the labour market among women with disabilities, both cross-cutting and positive measures addressing them are needed to boost training, hiring, access to employment, job retention, equal pay for equal work, workplace accommodations and work-life balance;
§ By calling for the development of specific measures for young women and men with disabilities as well as ageing persons with disabilities who face greater obstacles in entering the labour market or retaining their job;
§ By stressing the need to develop independent living services all over the different European regions, developed in cooperation and with the participation of persons with disabilities;
§ By tackling inequalities in health for women and men with disabilities as well as inclusion by promoting accessible health care and prevention services, multidisciplinary health care, as well as accessible information on health;
§ By pressing for the development of further statistical data and indicators on the different types of disability at EU and Member State level based on the UN CRPD provisions at EU level in order to put in place effective and renewed policy measures adequately matched to the needs of the individual;
§ By reviewing the annual growth survey, the recommendations on the national reform programmes, and the conclusions of the Spring European summit in light of the rights of persons with disabilities;
II. The EU must ensure that financial support tackles first the most needy in the European Union, as well as in acceding and partner European countries and does not create more exclusion
§ By ensuring adequate EU funding for the current social and human rights challenges and ensuring that the EU budget will not be the cause of further barriers and restrictions for persons with disabilities;
§ By including provisions that will enable the construction or renovation of infrastructure, transport systems, goods and services implementing the principles of design for all and accessibility in structural funds across the Union and between Member States as well as in external aid programmes;
§ By making sure that structural funds will sustain the transition process from institutional to community based care, social cohesion and gender equality;
§ By ensuring that future research programmes under Horizon 2020 will include as a priority the development of design for all and accessible products and environments, as well as assistive technologies.
III. The EU must grant full and equal human rights for persons with disabilities
§ By ensuring that the UN CRPD is fully implemented at EU level and in the member States;
§ By developing a specific impact assessment tool on the implementation of the UN CRPD which includes the gender perspective;
§ By ensuring that the Council approves the conclusion by the EU of the Optional Protocol to the UN CRPD;
§ By working towards the adoption of a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of sex, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation compliant with the UN CRPD provisions;
§ By promoting the revision of Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation by ensuring that the denial of reasonable accommodation is a form of discrimination, and by establishing legal clarity of the definition of disability;
§ By adopting a EU regulation for European social services provided in the internal market to be in compliance with the UN CRPD;
§ By reviewing practices for the employment, training and reasonable accommodation of persons with disabilities in EU institutions and in particular at the European Parliament, including at its national representations;
§ By ensuring equal access for children with disabilities in European schools;
§ By making European institutions’ premises and communication tools a model for universal accessibility in Europe;
§ By ensuring that the advisory bodies in the EU (European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions) develop implementation plans to the UN CRPD when exercising their competences;
§ By ensuring that Social Partners adopt a Framework Agreement on the implementation of the UN CRPD in the EU.
IV. The EU must complete citizenship rights for persons with disabilities
§ By adopting a legally binding and strong European Accessibility Act in dialogue with the organisations of persons with disabilities with requirements addressed to public and private service providers and manufacturers, to be linked to European standards, and ensuring access to both virtual and built and natural environments as well as interoperability and compatibility with assistive technologies, as well as the inclusion of appropriate enforcement and redress mechanisms;
§ By adopting incentive measures that will boost the development of accessible goods and services and the renewal of infrastructure, notably through the use of regional development funds and Trans-European networks as well as of public procurement regulations;
§ By adopting a strong and binding directive on the accessibility for persons with disabilities of public websites and websites proving services to the public;
§ By ensuring that all forms of communication and languages of persons with disabilities as defined in article 2 of the UN CRPD are considered valid for making decisions;
§ By establishing requirements for the accessibility of EP elections for all persons with disabilities as well as of information by political parties and candidates;
§ By promoting equal recognition before the law and the right of persons with disabilities to legal capacity, introducing the concept of supported decision-making, thus eliminating the guardian-based model and the deprivation of legal capacity and enabling persons with disabilities to take their own decisions, including decisions on maintaining their fertility, their right to maternity and to enter into relationships, to inherit properties, to control their own financial affairs and enjoy equal access to financial credit, as well as to exercise their right to vote;