In a press release published on Thursday 3 April, the European Disability Forum welcomes the UN experts’ assessment report on the European Union, Concluding Observations, published on 21 March.
“The experts’ conclusions are largely in line with our demands to the European Union”, said EDF President Ioannis Vardakastanis, who also called on the EU to show “leadership on human rights in these difficult times, by implementing these recommendations”.
And with good reason: following a periodic review of the European Union’s practices carried out on 12 and 13 March (see EUROPE 13599/25), the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities urged the European Union to “conduct a comprehensive review of its legislation, policies and practices” to ensure compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
While it recognises progress, such as the European disability card and the 2021-2030 strategy, the Committee points out shortcomings in the allocation of funds to closed institutions, the forced sterilisation of disabled women and limited access to employment, justice or health.
The experts also recommend strengthening the participation of representative organisations, extending the disability card to free movement, adopting an action plan in the EU’s external policy and, above all, “generating the necessary political support to pass the Equal Treatment Directive”.
Read the UN experts’ assessment report: https://aeur.eu/f/g8y (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)