The Conference “Prepared for the future. Ensuring legal protection and inclusion of persons with disabilities in today’s biggest challenges” took place on 8 November in Madrid. It was organised by the European Disability Forum, CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities) and the ONCE Foundation. Over 120 representatives came together to discuss three pressing issues for persons with disabilities: legal frameworks that underpin disability rights (especially countries’ constitutions); climate change and sustainability; and the mental health and wellbeing of persons with disabilities.
Ana Peláez Narváez, General Secretary of EDF opened the conference marking 1 minute of silence to mourn the victims of the catastrophic floods in Spain.
The conference then followed with 5 keynote speeches:
- Antonio Rodríguez de Liévana, Director General for the Internal Market, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation
- Concepción Díaz, President of Fundación CERMI Mujeres
- Luis Cayo Pérez Bueno, President of CERMI
- Alberto Durán López, Vice-President of ONCE Foundation
- Yannis Vardakastanis, President of EDF
Antonio Rodríguez de Liévana opened the conference by outlining the EU’s work towards disability rights, stating that it is “essential to keep working to progress inclusion at all levels of society”. He focused on the low employment rates of persons with disabilities and on the high rates of discrimination against persons with disabilities.
He finished by highlighting that all policies, including in external action and foreign affairs , must include the specific issues of gender and disability.
Alberto Durán López, started the speech with an explanation of how the Spanish disability movement is trying to support persons with disabilities affected during the catastrophic floods in Spain, including by helping people on the ground and working with authorities. He highlights how persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by crisis, including disasters, economic crisis, health crisis and that “we are the last ones to recover”. He asks the European disability movement to bring visibility and lead in ensuring persons with disabilities are not forgotten, and that disability issues are always striking.
Concepción Díaz focused on the need to support organisations of women with disabilities. She started by sharing recent progress in Spain, including the change in the constitution that now mentions the rights of women and girls with disabilities and criminalising forced sterilisation. She, however, reminded that many things are going backwards: increasing hate, discrimination and violence against minorities and marginalised groups, and denial of climate change. She called on the EU and the European Commission to take decisive steps towards equality by prohibiting forced sterilisation, establishing a Directorate-General for Equality and by adopting the Equal Treatment Directive.
Luis Cayo Perez explained how the Spanish disability movement is supporting persons with disabilities during the flood. He highlights that it is a dangerous time for disability rights and that persons with disabilities are not fully included, which is creating significant challenges for example in climate action policies. He also urged Europe to not give up on social issues in favour of other areas: ”social issues have deteriorated and no longer form part of the essential pillar of the European construction of its beginnings”.
Yannis Vardakastanis closed the opening speeches by expressing the strong solidarity of the European disability movement with Spain. He congratulated the Spanish disability movement on their success in changing the Spanish constitution to be more in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
He called on the European Union to reinstate equality as a highest priority, and to ensure that the European Disability Rights Strategy is not an “empty strategy” – the Commission must add adding new flagship initiatives for the next five years.
He added that persons with disabilities need to be fully involved in climate negotiations, including in the COP climate change conference.
He called for European leaders to take strong and decisive action to save Palestinians with disabilities before finishing by stating “what we need to do is to rethink, rebuild and change our purpose.”
The first panel then discussed how constitutional reforms can uphold, or hinder, disability rights
Constitutional reforms to underpin the rights of persons with disabilities
The panel explored how Constitutions and other fundamental legal texts can support disability rights.
Panellists included:
- Alberto Durán, General Secretary of CERMI, Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities
- Bernadette Pilloy, President of CFHE, French Council of Disabled People for European Affairs
- Sorin Tata, Lead on International Cooperation of CNDR, Romanian National Disability Council
- Marine Uldry, Human Rights Coordinator EDF
The session was moderated by Ana Peláez Narváez.
Alberto Durán explained the success of the longstanding campaign of the Spanish disability movement to amend the Spanish Constitution, which led to the successful amendment in February 2024. He started by saying that the Constitution was created in 1978 after a long period of dictatorship, and that the wording on article 49, that spoke about the need for equality for all citizens but with outdated and discriminatory language on disability reflected the mentality of the time.
The reform effected this year used the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as it’s guide to enshrine the rights and autonomy of persons with disabilities. It now explicitly states that it’s the duty of political powers to foster policies that support social inclusion, accessibility, and upholding the rights of women and girls with disabilities. He mentioned that the reform was possible thanks to the movement of women with disabilities.
Bernadette Pilloy spoke about the French Constitution and explained that while there are articles about equality and rights such as the right to employment and education, disability is never mentioned. She said that they admire the Spanish campaign for constitutional reform and that changes should also be done on the French constitution.
She added that technically, the UN Convention on the Rights Persons with Disabilities should take precedence over French domestic law in some courts, according to French legal practice. Hower, this almost doesn’t happen.
Sorin Tata explained that the Romanian constitution was changed in 2003 and that article 50 refers to disability and, while better than before, it still underpins the view of persons with disabilities as a burden on the family, powerless and helpless.
He highlighted that, just as in France, there is the need to revise the language to bring it in line with accessibility, autonomy and human rights.
Marine Uldry explained most Constitutions from EU Member States either don’t mention disability, make outdated references to disability, or have provisions that actively discriminate against persons with disabilities.
She explained that there is no “EU Constitution”, but the EU treaties refer to equality, dignity and human rights, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights has a specific article on the rights of persons with disabilities. However, the language still allows Member States to apply a narrow reading of the EU’s competencies in the area. This is why, for example, countries refuse to adopt EU-wide legislation to criminalise forced sterilisation or criminalise rape based on a common definition related to lack of consent. She added that reform of the treaties to solidify EU competencies on equality would be welcome.
Participants then discussed the need to guarantee that Constitutions are applied through strategic litigation – but that it’s very difficult to get results on this. It was also mentioned that the political context in most countries makes it dangerous to open Constitutional revisions.
Bringing the disability dimension to climate and sustainability policies
The second panel took the form of a conversation between Nadia Hadad, Executive Committee Member of EDF, and Fernando Riaño, Institutional Affairs and Sustainability Director of ONCE Social Group.
They underlined that persons with disabilities are not meaningfully involved in the work on sustainability and climate change. Not only that, but they are not properly and accessibly informed. They are then left behind in emergency situations.
They reflected on the need for persons with disabilities and their representatives’ organisations to receive proper resources and knowledge to be able to be properly involved in climate and sustainability policies.
The last panel focused on the mental health of persons with disabilities
Advancing mental health and well-being of persons with disabilities
The panel focus on the barriers to accessing mental health support and how to combat discrimination.
The panel was moderated by Kristijan Grđan, Senior Policy Advisor, Human Rights at Mental Health Europe. He introduce the panel by highlighting the bias against people with mental health problems, especially in the medical sector: “I am as well a person with a disability. And during my lifetime I have often experienced problems of mental health. However, I was not able to share that. Because if I did, the information that I mental health problems would be written into my medical records. Therefore, I would have faced many problems with the medical assistance I needed.”. He added “I have had chronic pain for more than 30 years now. And if medical doctors recognise I had mental health problems, they would not believe me.”
Basilio García Copín, Vice President of Mental Health Spain, started by calling for an accessible and inclusive society for persons with disabilities, not only in issues like employment but also through support for persons with psychosocial disabilities and reinforcing personal relationships.
He added that there is the need for a holistic system to support persons with psychosocial disabilities, with specific funding and that raises awareness and educates about psychosocial disabilities and mental health issues.
Guadalupe Morales, Vice-Chair of European Network of (ex)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry highlighted the need to ensure all persons with psychosocial disabilities have legal capacity and liberty.
She explained that persons with psychosocial disabilities are covered by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities but often don’t know about it or about their rights.
She called for the end to forced treatment, coercion, torture and other inhuman treatments that persons with psychosocial disabilities are subject to all too often.
She finished by stating that there is a need for independent teams that support persons with disabilities in their houses and communities and ensure dignity and freedom.
Nina Portolan brought the perspective of youth with disabilities. She explained that young persons with disabilities still very much lack access to mental health and healthcare, including due to lack of accessibility and high costs of healthcare. The criminalisation of mental health is also pushing young people away from seeking treatment.
She touched on barriers faced by persons with disabilities in the digital world and how it impacts the mental health of youth with disabilities, with the need to ensure the negative impacts of social media and other online information is limited, while allowing young persons to use them as a platform to express themselves.
She explains the need to take an approach that ensure choice and control.
The Conference was followed by EDF’s Board meeting.