Ongoing Disability Rights in the European Elections (DREE)

The Disability Rights in the European Elections (DREE) project aims to increase political participation of persons with disabilities, as voters, political activists and candidates in European elections.

Background

There are legal and practical barriers that prevent millions of persons with disabilities from exercising the same political rights as other EU citizens, a direct violation of the fundamental rights outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In the 2019 European Parliament elections, approximately 400,000 persons with disabilities in 14 countries were deprived from their right to vote on the basis of their disability. The right of persons with disabilities to stand as a candidate is even less common among EU countries, with only a few countries upholding the right for all persons with disabilities to stand for office.

Objectives

By 2024, when the next EU elections take place, the DREE project will have contributed to increased voter turnout, activism and candidature by persons with disabilities. Specifically, the project aims to:

• Mobilise persons with disabilities to engage in the 2024 EU elections
• Raise awareness of:
  • The importance of the EU for ensuring disability rights
  • The EU decision-making process and resources available such as the eu platform
  • Political participation of persons with disabilities in EU elections
• Facilitate exchanges between activists with disabilities across Europe, within the framework of the 5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities
• Empower national organisations representing persons with disabilities to:
  • Raise awareness about disability rights achieved at EU level
  • Promote agreed priorities at national level and among candidates to the European Parliament
  • Advocate for further participation of persons with disabilities in the EU elections through the removal of legal and practical barriers

Project Partners

The formal partners in the project implementation are the European Disability Forum (EDF), as Project Coordinator, and 7 national organisations of persons with disabilities:

• Croatian Union of Associations of Persons with Disabilities (SOIH)
• The Estonian Chamber of Disabled People
• National Confederation of Disabled People (NCDP) Greece
• The Latvian Umbrella Body for Disability Organisations (SUSTENTO)
• Lithuanian Disability Forum
• Institute of Independent Living Poland
• Romanian National Disability Council

Project Updates

In this section, you will be able to find the latest news about the project activities and outputs.

Timeline and Contact

The project began in January 2023 and will continue through June 2024.

For further information, please contact Markaya Henderson, EDF Project Officer
Markaya.henderson@edf-feph.org