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Information relayed by the Comité Español de Representantes de Personas con Discapacidad (CERMI) / The Spanish National Disability Council

Action

• The Ministry of Health has granted permission to autistic people to access the streets during lockdown thanks to advocacy from CERMI and Autismo España
• Support network for autistic people – Hospital Gregorio Marañon

Letter

• Infringements on the rights of persons with disabilities and recommendations to authorities to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – CERMI

Statement

• Call on public health authorities to not discriminate against persons with disabilities when deciding on access to life saving treatment – CERMI
• Call on national authorities to ensure the social and economic support of persons with disabilities and their families – CERMI
• A CERMI report documents the most serious violations of the human rights of people with disabilities during the pandemic
• CERMI Women, together with experts and testimonies, addresses gender-based violence and disability during confinement this Wednesday
• CERMI will ask Congress for a social reconstruction fund for the disability sector
• CERMI Women warns that “the pandemic has shown, more than ever, that care falls disproportionately on women”
• The CERMI movement addresses the challenges of people with disabilities and their families at state and regional level in reconstruction
• CERMI presents to the Government its proposals for the transition to the new normality of social services aimed at people with disabilities

Media highlights

• David venció a Goliat en la UCI – 13 Abril
• Rosa, una mujer contagiada con discapacidad intelectual: “En el hospital nos dijeron que no entraría en la UCI” -12 Abril
• Sanidad le dice a Cataluña que es “inaceptable no tratar a los mayores de 80 años” – 8 Abril”
• Coronavirus.- CERMI insta a los Comités de Bioética de CCAA a dictar criterios de atención sanitaria no discriminatorios – 3 Abril
• El Comité de Bioética recuerda que en España se prohíbe la discriminación por discapacidad en la asistencia sanitaria _ 31 Marzo
• Coronavirus.- CERMI Mujeres pide tener en cuenta la discapacidad en la protección de víctimas de violencia machista – 31 Marzo
• La Ertzaintza abre una investigación sobre la detención de una madre y su hijo en San Francisco – 30 Marzo
• El CERMI denuncia “falta de accesibilidad” en las emisiones educativas de TVE durante el confinamiento – 30 Marzo
• El CERMI pide a la OMS “directrices mundiales” para cuidar a personas con discapacidad durante la pandemia – 30 Marzo
• Antonio Zapatero: “Era impensable que podría verse en España un hospital de este calibre” 24 Marzo
• Organizaciones piden protección a personas con discapacidad intelectual afectadas por coronavirus – 21 Marzo

Information relayed by the Fundamental Rights Agency (May 2020):

It its annex, Royal Decree-Law 10/2020 of 29 March38 establishes that the following are essential activities (whether public or private):

• Health professionals. Manufacturers and distributors of supplies of any kind for the health system. Employees who import these products.
• Workers in retirement homes and other social centres. Persons who care for the elderly, minors, dependent persons or persons with disabilities, but not household employees in general if they do not fulfil these functions, as was shown in drafts filtered during the afternoon.

The Electronic Code COVID-19: Vulnerable Groups, edited by the Official State Bulletin (BOE)52, shows that during the period in reference, both central and regional governments adopted a series of measures aimed at strengthening the protection of people with disabilities against the impacts of the coronavirus crisis.

Meanwhile, there have been complaints from organizations representing groups of people with disabilities53 about certain discriminatory practices which, in their view, result in social exclusion and lack of protection for people with disabilities. The most serious of these complaints relate to health care and the accessibility of information and communication. In this regard, in response to the complaints of CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities)54, the national Bioethics Committee recalled that discrimination on the basis of disability in health care is prohibited in Spain 55 . In turn, the Ombudsman recalled that “it is not acceptable” that scientific societies recommend the sacrifice of persons with disabilities due to lack of means. To all this, the Ministry of Health responded that the Government guarantees health care for those affected by COVID-19 on an equal basis 56 . CERMI also complained to the Ombudsman about the lack of accessibility for deaf and blind persons to Ministry of Education teaching materials broadcast on television during school closures