Brussels, 03/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Disability Forum (EDF) convened its management board on Saturday 28 February, in Prague. Chairman of the Board Yannis Vardakastanis seized the opportunity provided by the presence of the minister of the Czech government who is chairman of the legislative council, Pavek Svoboda, to set out his expectations relating to the Employment, Social Affairs, Health and Consumers Council (EPSCO) on 9 and 10 June in Brussels.
The 27 EU ministers will discuss the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), “the first international convention to be ratified at European level”, said Vardakastanis. “Their decisions will affect the future of the UN CRPD and its implementation in the EU. It is a great opportunity to make the principle 'nothing about us, without us' work and turn words into deeds. Including the disability movement and listening to its voice at this stage is essential”, the EDF president said. Vardakastanis also pointed out that the elections of the European Parliament and the new European Commission make 2009 a decisive year for the disability movement. “It is our responsibility to build a strong and effective awareness scheme for future decision makers and disability issues at EU level”, he said, adding that is why persons with disabilities must have access to elections like any other European citizen. He went on to conclude: “Let's make it a very first step for a concrete implementation of the UN Convention for a Europe without Barriers”.
Pavek Svoboda pointed out how important it was to have an environment conceived for all within the EU space, where people with disabilities can exert the same rights as any other citizens. He added: “The Czech Republic not only needs to adopt the UN CRPD but also to implement it at national level”.
State Secretary and Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Petr Simerka recalled how important it is to ensure that the Czech National Disability Council is involved in every decision concerning persons with disabilities. He said: “Our Presidency has opened its meetings to all disability representatives”. (G.B./transl.jl)