Parlamento delle Persone con Disabilità

LUISA BOSISIO FAZZI               SPEAKING TIME 11 novembre ’03   (3min.)

Il Consiglio Nazionale sulla Disabilità, nella Celebrazione dell’Anno Europeo delle Persone con Disabilità,  propone una riflessione sulla  Convenzione dei Diritti del Fanciullo affinché i diritti dei bambini con disabilità non siano diversi da quelli di tutti gli altri bambini.

Chiediamo ai Parlamentari Europei di impegnarsi  a indirizzare la loro attenzione e le loro azioni politiche verso la situazione dei  bambini con  disabilità che dovrebbe essere presa nella dovuta considerazione perché ci siamo resi conto che diversamente i bambini con disabilità risultano  invisibili in tutte le realtà.

Chiediamo di analizzare il Rapporto Supplementare ONU così come i Rapporti Governativi e delle ONG circa la situazione dell’infanzia in Europa e nel mondo discusso a Ginevra, il 16 gennaio 2003, dal Comitato Internazionale ONU sui diritti del Fanciullo che sottolinea l’importanza di alcuni valori basilari espressi negli articoli 2, 3, 6, 12 della Convenzione così da considerarli come “principi generali”.

Il Consiglio Nazionale sulla Disabilità italiano propone ai Membri del Parlamento Europeo e ai candidati alle Elezioni Europee Parlamentari 2004 di  inserire nelle loro azioni misure volte a favorire l’inclusione sociale dei bambini e bambine, ragazzi e ragazze  con disabilità basate sui diritti del fanciullo ed in particolar modo sui “principi generali” della Convenzione del Fanciullo

Non discriminazione: inteso come il diritto di TUTTI i bambini, senza distinzione di sorta, a veder riconosciuti TUTTI  i principi e TUTTE le norme enunciate nella convenzione

Diritto alla vita e alla sopravvivenza: inteso come ambito a cui si ricollegano tutte le dimensioni relative alla promozione della salute, alle cure necessarie per garantire un ottimale sviluppo psicofisico, alla protezione ed alla tutela dell’incolumità fisica e psicologica del bambino.

Diritto allo sviluppo: concetto che sottintende tutte le tematiche relative alla crescita cognitiva, sociale, culturale ed affettiva del bambino nella prospettiva del pieno sviluppo della sua personalità.

Diritto di opinione e partecipazione: Intesa come l’insieme delle opportunità, delle possibilità e degli strumenti forniti al bambino di modificare ed interagire in modo significativo ed in accordo con le proprie capacità evolutive, con le circostanze contestuali che direttamente o indirettamente lo coinvolgono.

Noi chiediamo il vostro  impegno a creare un mondo, dove uno sviluppo umano sostenibile, che tenga conto degli interessi dei bambini con disabilità, sia fondato tanto sui principi di democrazia, di eguaglianza, di non-discriminazione, di pace e di giustizia sociale, quanto sull'indivisibilità, interdipendenza e correlazione tra tutti i diritti umani, compreso il diritto allo sviluppo.

Draft Resolution

European Parliament of Disabled People

The European Year of People with Disabilities and beyond:

A vision for the future

(i)   This European Parliament of Disabled People (EPDP) is of historic importance.  It has brought together the European disability movement in plenary discussion with Members of the European Parliament and other key EU decision makers to consider the legacy of the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD) and our vision for the future for EU disability policy.

(ii)  The EPDP made up of 200 official delegates of disabled people and parents of disabled people unable to represent themselves demonstrate the diversity of the disability movement in Europe which consists of 50 million people.

(iii) The EPDP is outraged and dismayed at the fact that disabled people and their families continue to be discriminated against and their rights are denied every day.

(iv) The EPDP considers that the legacy of the EYPD 2003 must mean concrete and sustainable measures to combat discrimination and bring down barriers which disabled people and their families face in all areas of life. We want clear targets for this with deadlines for implementation of these targets.

(v)  The EPDP demands that disability policy and issues relating to discrimination and human rights of disabled people are placed among the top priorities in the political agenda.

(vi) The EPDP considers the Madrid Declaration as a valid framework on how disability policies should be designed. As the Madrid Declaration has stated, non-discrimination plus positive action results in social inclusion.

We the EPDP have the following demands of the EU institutions and Member States:

Non-Discrimination Legislation

1.   We call for explicit support for an EU Disability Specific Directive which will cover all areas of EU competence and request that the process to adopt this Directive should start during 2004. This new legislation would prevent the establishment of new barriers and request that all existing barriers faced by disabled people are completely dismantled in Europe over the next decade.

2.   We call on the EU Member States to  fully and completely transpose into national law the provisions relating to the combating of discrimination on grounds of disability set down in EU Council Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/ EC). We want this to happen by the end of 2003. We urge that the resulting national legislation will recognise a broad definition of disability in the law and set down strict and effective sanctions to be used in cases where the law has been breached.

3.   We call on all Member States to use the opportunity provided by the transposition of the EU Council Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/ EC) to promote more comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, covering all other areas of life.

The New Constitutional Treaty of the European Union

4.   We call on Heads of Government and Ministers attending the Intergovernmental Conference to ensure that Legislative Measures under Article III-8 on non discrimination on grounds of disability (former article 13) included in Part Three of the Constitution are decided by qualified majority voting.

5.   We call on the IGC to support the positive measures for disabled people already included in the draft Constitutional Treaty, notably the inclusion of the fight against discrimination along the objectives of the EU, of equality among its values, the mainstreaming of non discrimination across all EU policies and actions, the full inclusion of the Charter of fundamental rights in the new Treaty, the recognition of the importance of civil dialogue and of participatory democracy.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People

6.   We strongly welcome the support given by the EU institutions to the initiative for a United Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. We call the EU to continue to support this process, requesting a comprehensive Convention, which will protect and promote the civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights of disabled people through enforceable anti-discrimination legislation as well as positive action. Furthermore, the EU institutions shall continue supporting the active participation of the representative organisations of disabled people in this process as key stakeholders.

Mainstreaming disability in all EU policies

7.      We call for an EU action programme to be established which would have as its main purpose to ensure the mainstreaming of disability in all EU policy areas. We request the European Commission to produce an annual report on how disability has been taken into account in all policy areas. This report would include an evaluation on how disability has been mainstreamed at EU Member States level in the different areas for which the open method of co-ordination has been established.

Better co-ordination of national disability policies

8.   Call on the EU institutions to set up the following process which should result in better national disability policies:

(a)   Following a proposal from the European Commission, the EU Member States agree to provide structured information on national disability policies (as well as relevant statistics) on a biannual basis in the form of country reports. In order to facilitate comparison between Member States, the reports will be prepared following an agreed structure.

(b)   The European Commission, after bilateral discussions with Member States and having also consulted with the European Disability Forum will produce a comprehensive report, highlighting examples of good practice, as well as general and country specific recommendations.

(c)   These abovementioned reports will be presented to the last Council of Employment and Social Affairs every second year and will also be presented to the European Parliament.

Employment and Social Inclusion Policy

9.   We call on EU institutions to give much greater prominence to the status of disabled people in the European Employment Strategy and European Strategy against Social Exclusion and Poverty.

10. We call on Member States to mainstream disability horizontally across the National Action Plans on Employment as well as Social Exclusion and Poverty. We demand that the European Commission and Member States put in place concrete targets and timetables to promote the employment and social inclusion of disabled persons through non-discrimination and positive action measures. We request that disability organisations are closely involved in all stages of the definition, implementation, and monitoring of these strategies

11. We call on the Eurostat and the EU Member States to compile regular statistics on the living and employment situation experienced by disabled people and to agree on common disability indicators in order to evaluate how well objectives to promote non-discrimination and social inclusion are being achieved;

Transport

12. We demand adoption of a directive requiring all forms of collective transport to be fully accessible to people with disabilities. Sustainable transport means that all of society, including disabled persons, must have full and equal access to modes of transport including buses, coaches, taxis, metros, trams, light rail and heavy rail, and travel by air and sea or inland waterway.

13. We consider that the principle of integrated and seamless travel, must be fundamental to the transport system across Europe. Without seamless and accessible transport systems disabled people do not have the confidence to travel and their freedom is restricted. Accessible travel for disabled people must include, timetable-, ticketing- and on-vehicle information in accessible formats, comprehensive information about the accessibility of stations and transport nodes, access to the built environment, access to transport vehicles, and provision of assistance.

Access to the Built Environment

14. Accessibility of the built environment is a fundamental right and central to securing free movement of disabled people, equal opportunities and non-discrimination.  We demand the adoption of an EC Directive on Access to the Built Environment, to mandate that all new and existing buildings be made fully accessible as well as the wider built environment.

15. We demand coordination of EU access initiatives in the fields of ICT, Transport and Built Environment and Tourism through close and regular communication and information exchange between the European Commission Directorates-General and other EU institutions, and in consultation with representatives of the disability movement.

Public Procurement Legislation

16. We call for EU public procurement legislation to allow public authorities and other public contractors to include among the award criteria of public tenders bidding companies’ practices towards disabled people in terms of equal treatment in recruitment and employment.

17. We call for EU public procurement legislation to include Design for All and accessibility requirements in the provisions on technical specifications of tendering documents.

Information Society

18. We call on the EU institutions to fulfill their commitment to fight against exclusion of persons in the information society and we, therefore, demand that the eEurope 2005 action programme and all future programmes in this field give specific attention to the access needs of disabled people by means of a dedicated action line, with clear targets of attainment, to address technical, legal, social and economic barriers faced by disabled people to the information society.  Furthermore, we call for scope of the Web Accessibility Guidelines to be extended and strengthened.

19. We demand that EU legislation in the field of electronic communications requires, on a mandatory basis, the provision of accessible services and equipment and that rigorous measures are put in place to monitor the implementation and to impose sanctions where no effort is being taken to achieve these aims.

Culture, Education and Youth

20. We request the European Commission to prepare a Communication on access of disabled people to the cultural environment, as a follow-up to the Council Resolution adopted under the Greek Presidency.

21. We ask that EU policy on education, youth, and culture promotes the inclusion of all disabled young people and adults. In particular, we ask for further progress on accessibility of youth and education programmes, the development of peer training and education programme, and to include accessibility as a requirement of culture projects funded by the EU.

Research

22. We call for EU research funding to give significantly greater priority to social research in relation to the quality of life of disabled people and for research in other areas which impact on the lives of disabled people notably in the field of transport, ICT, biotechnology, that there is a mandatory requirement in the project selection criteria to involve representative disability organizations and consult with disabled users in the development of this research.

Bioethics

23. We demand that the views of disabled people are taken into account in all bioethical discussions, by ensuring that representatives from the disability movement are members of the relevant bioethics committees and working groups that exist or will be established in the future.

Development Cooperation and Disability

24. We demand that the EU Guideline document on Disability and Development Cooperation is fully implemented and that a specific European Commission Communication on Disability and Development Cooperation is drawn-up setting out a timeframe and concrete targets to address the needs of disabled people in EU development cooperation policy and funding allocations.

Women with Disabilities

25. We strongly call for the interests of disabled women to be given specific recognition in equal opportunities policies and for targets to be set to promote the role of disabled women in the field of employment, social inclusion and decision making.

Disabled People who experience Multiple Discrimination

26.      We call all EU institutions to give particular recognition to persons facing multiple discrimination, including discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age or sexual orientation, and to give focused attention upon how to address this complex issue;

Disabled People with Complex Dependency Needs

27. We call for particular attention and support to be given by Governments, all relevant stakeholders and the public at large to the needs of disabled persons with severe and complex dependency needs and their families. We demand that Member States commit adequate financial provision in order that persons with CDN and their families may move out of social exclusion into a situation of non-discrimination and social inclusion;

Disabled People in Institutions

28. We demand the dismantling of all large institution existing across Europe over the next five years in favour of community based provisions for persons with severe and complex dependency needs;

29. We demand effective and regular independent monitoring and assessment of the situation experienced by disabled persons living in institutions and for transparent and open reporting by all EU Member States on the results of such undertakings;

Disabled people in the ten new Member States

30. We request from the European Commission to provide funds to be devoted to the capacity building of representative organisations of disabled people in order to ensure their active participation in all EU initiatives. We request the Governments from the ten new Member States to provide funding for the representatives organisations of disabled people to allow them to exercise their role of advocacy of disabled people.

Disabled people in the future accession countries

31. We request the EU institutions to pay special attention to the situation of human rights of disabled people in the countries that will join the European Union in the coming decade and to use the accession negotiations to improve this situation.

Structured consultation with representative disability organisations

32. We call for a clear recognition of the European Disability Forum as the umbrella organisation representing disabled people and families of disabled people unable to represent themselves. The European Disability Forum has to be granted a special status in all stages of the structured consultation between the EU institutions and the disability movement, notably within the High Level Group on Disability. To be able to realise its important work, the European Disability Forum needs to obtain sufficient public funding, funding which should in no way limit its independence.

Nothing about us without us.

Draft Manifesto

from the European Parliament of Disabled People

to the European Parliament (and all prospective election candidates)

regarding the 2004 European Parliament elections

Whereas:

(i)         Elections for a new enlarged Europe will take place in May 2004. This is a turning point for Europe and an opportunity for future members of the new  European Parliament to commit to concrete changes that will ensure that disabled people can fully enjoy their human rights;

(ii)        We the delegates of the European Parliament of Disabled People, 200 official disabled representatives of 50 million disabled people and parents of disabled people unable to represent themselves, call upon all candidates running as prospective members of the European Parliament and all political parties to adopt the following commitments which are crucial to respecting the human rights of disabled people and to ensuring equal opportunities for disabled people in society;

(iii)       There is a diversity of disability and consequently there are many types of barriers to the full participation of disabled people in society;

(iv)      Disabled people make up at least 10% of the population and at least one in four people have a disabled family member. Allies such as families, friends, colleagues and assistants are also concerned that society take the concerns of disabled people into account. Disability issues are issues for everyone and the European Parliament of Disabled people calls on prospective MEPs to listen and address our demands;

(v)       The European model on disability should be human rights-based and consist of a combination of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that outlaws all forms of discrimination faced by disabled people and positive action that provides those disabled people that so require the support to ensure a real integration in society;

We the delegates of the European Parliament of Disabled People, representative of the diversity of the disability movement which consists of 50 million people in Europe, call upon all candidates in the May 2004 European Parliamentary election campaign to promise to commit to realise the following:

Campaign for Human Rights Legislation

1.      Adopt Disability specific Directive :

adopt a horizontal anti-discrimination Directive which remove barriers in all areas of EU competence to enable disabled people to achieve their full potential in life including access to education and access to goods and services;

2.      Support National non-discrimination legislation :

where it does not already exist, support and campaign for the adoption at national level of comprehensive horizontal legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in areas including education, transport, health care, social services and access to goods and services, and ensure there are strict and effective sanctions in cases of non-compliance;

3.      Transpose Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment immediately:

support and campaign for immediate and full transposition at national level of the Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment, including those provisions which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, by the end of 2003 at the latest;

4.      Support legally binding UN Convention :

support a UN Convention on the rights of Disabled People to be legally binding in nature with strong and effective monitoring mechanisms and sanctions in cases of non-compliance;

Build a Europe for All

5.      Mainstreaming :

ensure that disability policy be recognised across all areas of EU policy and national policy.

6.      Funding conditions :

support introduction of accessibility criteria attached to the disbursement of European funds such as Structural funds which would ensure that all components of funded projects (eg. information, infrastructure, built environment, employment schemes) would be fully accessible;

7.      European Parliament for all :

ensure that the European Parliament itself be an example of good practise and guarantee the accessibility of its facilities, documents, web sites, and meetings and ensure equal opportunities employment;

Demonstrate Commitment to Disability Issues

8.      Endorse Madrid Declaration :

endorse the Madrid Declaration adopted by the European Congress on Disability on behalf of 50 million Europeans with disabilities;

9.      Join Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament :

become a member of the Disability Intergroup which is a multi-party group of MEPs that informal grouping of MEPs from all nationalities and the major political groups working within the European Parliament on disability policy;

10. Consult disabled constituents :

consult constituents who have a disability on a regular basis.

In addition, the representatives at the European Parliament of Disabled People call for accessible democracy, including fully accessible 2004 elections, by ensuring:

Full and Equal Access to Democracy

11. Consultation :

that before election campaigns are finalised, disabled people including members of the European and national disability movements are consulted on what their issues and demands are;

12. Accessible information about election procedure :

that information about the whole election procedure be made fully accessible to disabled people. This would include information on how to present oneself as a candidate, how to register as a voter and where and how to vote;

13. Accessible and inclusive campaigns :

that political campaigns reach all voters with disabilities and that political campaigns include as key commitments the demands of disabled people. This would include ensuring that campaign messages are communicated in accessible formats and that information is made available in plain easy-to-read language;

14. Disabled candidates :

that candidate lists are representative of society which means encouraging disabled people to participate in the election process and to run as candidates;

15. Accessible voting :

that full access to the voting process be guaranteed. This would include accessible information about registering to become a voter, access to polling stations on the day of the elections and maintaining the integrity of secret  ballots for all voters during voting including those with visual disabilities.

Nothing about us without us.