Right of citizenship

Improving the quality of life of disabled persons between now and 2015: that’s the objective of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which adopted in recent days a recommendation, addressed to all the Council’s 46 member states, called “Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation in society of people with disabilities: improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in Europe 2006-2015”. The Council of Europe’s Disability Action Plan – which will be officially launched in September 2006 on the occasion of a European conference at St. Petersburg being held under the aegis of the Russian Federation Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers – seeks to translate the aims of the Council of Europe with regard to human rights, non-discrimination, equal opportunities, full citizenship and participation of people with disabilities into a European policy framework on disability for the next decade. It promotes the paradigm shift from a health-related to a social and human rights-based approach to disability: from the “patient” to the “citizen”. It is estimated that disabled persons represent 10-15% of the population in Europe. Here are some of the proposals made in the recommendation of the Council of Europe. 15 ACTION LINES. The Plan is intended in the first place to “serve as a roadmap for policy makers”: “a practical instrument to conceive and improve the strategies with a view to achieving the full participation of disabled persons in society and integrating the questions relating to handicap in all the fields of action of the member states”. It therefore recommends specific actions to be carried out at the national level. Private enterprises, non-governmental organizations and international organizations may also seek inspiration from the Action Plan. It will also permit the implementation of strategies and programmes in all key areas for people with disabilities, reflected in 15 action plans including participation in political, public and cultural life, education, information and communication, employment, accessibility of the built environment and transport, professional training, the life of society, health, protection against violence and abuse, social and legal protection. Particular attention is paid to the needs of women and children with disabilities, severely disabled persons in need of a high level of support, children and adolescents, the ageing of disabled persons, and persons with handicaps who belong to ethnic minorities such as Roma or who have arrived Europe as immigrants. FULL AUTONOMY AND PARTICIPATION. Participation in political life, for example: “Disabled persons – recommends the Council of Europe – must have the chance of exerting an influence on the destinies of the communities to which they belong. That’s why it is important for them to be able to exercise their right to vote and participate in political and public activities”. Access to information is also “an indispensable prerequisite”. Here the Action Plan recommends “public and private suppliers of information and communication to take into account the needs of disabled persons and do their utmost to ensure that they be able to receive and communicate information on a par with other members of society”. Access to education is also “an essential factor of social integration and independence”. “Education – says the document – must be present in all the stages of life, from the kindergarten to professional training and must comprise ongoing formation throughout life. Ordinary school structures and special structures for the disabled should be encouraged to work together to support persons with disabilities. The integration of the disabled in the ordinary structures may help to raise the awareness of persons without handicaps to better understand human diversity”. With regard to employment, career guidance and professional training, the Council of Europe calls for “laws, provisions and services to offer [the disabled] chances of obtaining and retaining a job”. Equally important is the application of shared principles to create environments without architectural barriers and the creation of accessible transport systems, the first step towards the mobility of the disabled and their active participation in society. AGAINST VIOLENCE AND ABUSE. Particular attention is urged to protect disabled persons from violence and abuse, because “it seems that the number of victims [among the disabled] is disproportionately high in relation to the population as a whole”. Such violence and abuse is all the more grave when committed on women with disabilities. “Governments – recommends the Council of Europe – must do everything in their power to implement as full-proof as possible mechanisms of protection and safeguard, even if they cannot guarantee the elimination of abuses”. The means to prevent such abuses include education in the rights of persons with disabilities. The member countries are also invited to raise the awareness of public opinion through the media and other communication methods to “change the way in which handicap and persons with disabilities are perceived”.