On Wednesday 3 September, the European Disability Forum (EDF) published an information note written last July (https://aeur.eu/f/i9p ) for the experts of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on the main issues affecting more than 100 million Europeans with disabilities.
Among the priorities identified are accessibility issues, with the transposition of the European Accessibility Act and the implementation of the Web Accessibility Directive (see EUROPE 12956/40), as well as freedom of movement, with the new European Disability Card (see EUROPE 13503/27).
EDF also points to the risks of exclusion associated with the use of artificial intelligence, which can reinforce discrimination if it does not incorporate accessibility requirements. It calls for women with disabilities to be included in equality policies, for real access to the labour market to be guaranteed, and for European funds to be channelled towards local services rather than institutionalisation.
The document also calls for improvements in access to justice and political participation, cross-border mobility, the response to the climate crisis and the promotion of inclusive European international cooperation. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)