In March 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will start the second review of the European Union. It will examine how the EU implemented the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, since it was evaluated for the first time in 2015.
The review starts with the adoption of a document called a “List of issues prior to reporting” that will ask questions on how the EU implemented each article to the Convention.
To inform the Committee, EDF submitted an alternative report and suggested questions. You can download our report here. The Executive summary of the report is available in French, in Spanish and Easy to Read.
In addition, EDF contributed to two other submissions to the Committee:
- Joint briefing on equality and intersectionality: the briefing is co-signed by over 10 organisations highlights how intersectionality shape the experience and human rights violations faced by persons with disabilities in Europe. In this report you can read about the state of equality in the EU and the situation of children and young persons, women, older persons, LGBTIQ+ and racialised persons with disabilities
- Input for the List of Issues Prior to Reporting for the second review of the EU by the CRPD Committee:
This joint submission together with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) focuses on the EU’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in its external action beyond Europe.
Our key concerns:
- Legal harmonisation with the CRPD: The Commission has not taken steps to ensure legal harmonisation with the CRPD. The review of existing legislation and policy has not taken place.
- Implementation and enforcement of EU legislation: Existing EU legislation relating to the rights of persons with disabilities lack effective implementation and enforcement.
- Consultation and involvement of persons with disabilities: There is no clearly structured or documented process for the consultation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations. Digital tools for public consultations are not accessible, nor provided in accessible and easy to read formats.
- Protection against discrimination: EU anti-discrimination legislation is inconsistent in its scope. Persons with disabilities are not fully protected against discrimination.
- Women with disabilities: EU laws and policies on gender equality and on disability do not fully take into consideration the rights and needs of women and girls with disabilities.
- Accessibility: Persons with disabilities still do not have equal access to the built environment, transport, digital technologies, information and communication, and services.
- Civil protection, humanitarian and climate actions: Persons with disabilities across Europe and globally are still being disproportionately impacted by conflict and by natural events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding and heatwaves.
- Denial of legal capacity: Persons with disabilities, whose legal capacity has been denied or limited, are unable to enjoy and exercise an array of rights that come from EU law.
- Access to justice: The justice system at EU and national level is not fully accessible to persons with disabilities. The EU Justice Scoreboard does not evaluate the compliance of national justice system with the CRPD.
- Violence: Persons with disabilities are still at higher risk of violence and abuse than other people. The EU has not ratified the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence.
- Freedom of movement: Persons with disabilities cannot transfer their social security allowances from their Member State of origin when they move to a different Member State temporarily.
- Use of EU funds and independent living: Some Member States have used Structural Funds to maintain and promote institutional care, rather than developing community-based alternatives in line with the CRPD and investing in opportunities for personal assistance. The EU fails to collect data on people living in institutions.
- Health: The EU fails to consider the rights and needs of persons with disabilities in its health policies, including in actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and in its European Beating Cancer Plan.
- Participation in political and public life: The EU has not aligned the 1976 Electoral Law with the CRPD. There are 14 Member States in which persons with disabilities under total or partial guardianship are denied of their right to vote in the European elections.
- Data collection: Very limited reliable data on persons with disabilities is available at EU level. Data is also not disaggregated by different types of disability, gender and age, and data collection and surveys may not be accessible to all persons with disabilities.
- EU in the World: Although the EU is the largest donor in the field of international cooperation, it has not yet undertaken all appropriate measures to enhance EU disability-inclusive development policies and programmes.
- CRPD Implementation and monitoring: The EU has neither created a CRPD unit, nominated focal points in all institutions, agencies and bodies nor established an inter-institutional mechanism for the coordination of the implementation of the Convention between the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council.
More information about the UN Convention.
Resources
EDF alternative report for the second review of the EU by the CRPD Committee
Contact
Marine Uldry – Human Rights Officer
marine.uldry@edf-feph.org