Today, the European Commission released a Notice on “Guidance on independent living and inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities in the context of EU funding”. This guidance is targeted to all Member States, authorities and organisations using EU funds to support persons with disabilities.
We warmly welcome this important and long-awaited guidance from the European Commission. We believe it will be a crucial tool in reducing cases of EU funds supporting institutions that segregate persons with disabilities and that deny them of their basic rights. It represents a clear commitment to transition away from this outdated form of care.
We also appreciate the Commission’s decision to extend this guidance to cover the use of EU funding destined for external action and international projects. This is particularly important at a time when growing instability and crises across the globe are simultaneously increasing the risk of institutionalisation and highlighting the extra dangers persons in institutions face in cases of war and environmental emergencies.
The preparation of this guidance has demonstrated that the European Commission is willing to involve persons with disabilities and their representative organisations and take their input into account.
The path ahead
An estimated 1.4 million persons with disabilities still live segregated in institutions in the EU. They are too often neglected and abused, in some cases suffer horrific conditions behind closed doors (including cases of death by malnourishment). This notice is a first step towards ensuring the right to independent living for persons with disabilities.
We now urge the European Commission to insist upon compliance with this notice and to guarantee that EU funds are channelled to human-rights-based solutions. We call for this Notice to be referenced in all future legal texts governing the use of EU funds and for compliance with its core principles to be a prerequisite for receiving funding.
Related documents
Contacts
Haydn Hammersley
Social Policy Coordinator