At the annual workshop of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI), held on Tuesday 2 December as part of the European Disability Rights Week, speakers highlighted the points of convergence between the findings of the United Nations and the testimonies of citizens’ petitions.
The ‘Concluding Observations’ of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the EU report, published last March (https://aeur.eu/f/jtt ), describe problems that petitioners have been reporting for a long time, linked to the delay in European implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, particularly in terms of accessibility, support for independent living and integration into the labour market.
Lucie Davoine, Acting Head of the Disability and Inclusion Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, pointed out that the current period represented a “pivotal moment”, as the EU was between two budget cycles and halfway through its 2021-2030 strategy.
A public consultation is open until 6 February (https://aeur.eu/f/jtu ), with a view to an update starting in 2026, taking into account the recommendations identified as urgent by the Committee.
Lawyer Shivaun Quinlivan, Associate Professor at the University of Galway, presented situations taken from petitions received by Parliament. These include the lack of interpretation for deaf people in hospitals, the inaccessibility of certain school buildings and inadequate admission procedures for higher education. These are just a few examples of the effects of standards and infrastructures that do not take account of the needs of disabled people.
The EU Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, has established that these testimonies are consistent with the complaints dealt with by her institution, in particular concerning the use of European funding and working conditions within the EU institutions. The Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Sirpa Rautio, noted the inadequacy of impact assessments on fundamental rights in the preparation of legislative texts.
The Vice-President of the European Disability Forum, John Patrick Clarke, called for a strategy fully in line with the Convention, an end to the funding of segregated structures and a systematic examination of European policies in the light of the UN recommendations.
The Parliament report: https://aeur.eu/f/jtg (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)