Jan 11, 2011
EU ratification of Disability Treaty sends strong signal to member states
A number of recent actions at European regional level will contribute significantly to the promotion and protection of the rights of Europe’s 80 million disabled citizens. In late December 2010, the European Union ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). By doing so, the EU has become the first intergovernmental organization to sign on to any human rights treaty and take on its binding obligations. The CRPD’s ratification by the EU has received a warm welcome by disability and human rights groups. Shantha Rua Barriga, Disability rights researcher with Human Rights Watch describes is as “a clear message that disability rights are a priority in the region and worldwide”, see here. The European Disability Forum, a European platform on disability hailed it as an historic landmark and “a major policy shift in putting disability on top of the human rights agenda”, see here.
Ratifying the Convention obliges the various institutions of the European Union to protect the rights of people with disabilities. While, it obliges its institutions such as the Parliament and the court of Justice, individual member states of the EU still must ratify the Convention domestically. To-date, 16 EU member states have ratified and there are 11 EU member states who have not ratified but have signed. For an up to-date list of countries who have signed/ratified the Convention, see here.
Since the adoption of the Convention by the United Nations in 2006 there has been plenty of activity at EU level and at individual member state level on promoting the rights of people with disabilities. An Information Note by the European Commission on the progress of implementing the Convention[1] found that at member state level, mechanisms were being put in place to support the implementation of the CRPD. It reported that
- Seven of the member states had undertaken strategies which aim specifically at implementing the CRPD
- A further eight were in the process of developing strategies
- Twenty four of the member states had established a focal point
- Thirteen had established or decided upon a coordination mechanism
Additional to member state activities on implementation and coordination mechanisms, progress has also made on gathering research and data on disability among EU member states. The Academic Network on Disability Experts who are a pan-European academic network who support policy development in conjunction with the European Commission’s Disability Unit have published a number of reports documenting issues at member state level (see here)
The EU’s ratification of the CRPD has the potential to improve the lives millions of people with disabilities by setting standards on many issues such as accessibility, housing, independent living, education and employment. However ratification alone cannot solve the daily problems encountered by people with disabilities, for this to be achieved there needs to be a clear vision with strategies and implementation plans.
A welcome companion then to the ratification is the recent EU Disability strategy. Announced by The European Commission in November 2010, the ten-year strategy entitled ‘A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier Free Europe’ aims to promote the rights and equal opportunities of people with disabilities (see here for further details).The 2010 – 2010 strategy’s describes its overall aim as empowering people with disabilities so that they can enjoy their rights and participate fully in society. It focuses on eliminating barriers across eight key areas which are accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, and external action. The actions panning across these areas have timelines and a monitoring system in place to track their implementation.
The specific areas of action for the plan were selected based on the overall objectives of the EU Disability Strategy, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, other related policy documents and a consultation of the Member States, stakeholders and the general public. See here for a downloadable summary of the main outcomes of the public consultation.
The new strategy’s headline actions include:
- A Commission proposal for a European Accessibility Act for 2012 that will set out a general accessibility framework in relation to goods, services and public infrastructure
- A set of actions to address the obstacles that people with disabilities face in exercising their political rights
- A commitment to ensure that the European Platform Against poverty, a flagship under the Europe 2020 Strategy will contribute to the reduction of poverty among people with disabilities
- A promise to ensure that the European Social Fund will continue to offer support to projects related to persons with disabilities
- A set of policies for inclusive and quality education and training
- Efforts to move towards the mutual recognition of disability cards and related entitlements
- A promotion of the rights of people with disabilities in the EU’s external action including the enlargement process and development programmes.
As a member of the EU, Ireland remains a signatory to the Convention (signed in March 2007). EU ratification will no doubt put further pressure on all states that have previously signed to ratify the Convention as a matter of urgency. While broad commitments have been forthcoming by our government that ratification will happen there is no definitive timeline. This has been recently criticized by MEP Mairead McGuinness (see here). The lack of a timeline and the fact that this government’s time in office is expected to finish in March, means that the window of opportunity for its ratification is slim. In the coming weeks of electioneering, disability and human rights supporters must ensure that the campaign for the Conventions ratification becomes an issue on every doorstep and with every handshake.
[1] Information Note from the Commission on progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
