The European Disability Forum (EDF) has been advocating to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are included in the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility. The aim of this proposal is to support short-term recovery needs and the reconstruction and modernisation of Ukraine.
The proposal reinforces the EU’s commitment to Ukraine’s reconstruction and to reforms that will foster Ukraine’s EU accession path. The proposal commits to 50 billion euros in investment from 2024 to 2027.
We believe that the recovery and reconstruction must create accessible infrastructures and an inclusive society for persons with disabilities. This is not only about rebuilding what was destroyed but also about building an inclusive and accessible Ukraine, ensuring that the recovery and reconstruction will lead to a more resilient society.
Our key demands for the Ukraine Facility
- Strengthen the reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by the EU, all its Member States and Ukraine, so the Ukraine Facility underpins Ukraine’s efforts to implement the Convention.
- Ensure accessibility as a core principle of the Ukraine Facility. The plans developed by the Ukrainian authorities should contribute to building and rebuilding more accessible and inclusive communities.
- Accelerate the transition from residential institutions to community-based living for children, adults and older persons with disabilities. Ensure no funding through the Ukraine Facility is spent on building, renovating, or rebuilding segregating residential institutions.
- Build services and support for persons with disabilities as an integral part of society. This includes making all public services fully accessible (in particular, education and health care) while simultaneously providing relevant disability-specific services where required.
- Ensure the right of meaningful participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations by consulting them in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the reconstruction programmes funded by the Ukraine Facility. This should be a condition to receive the funding from the Ukraine Facility.
- Ensure the timely collection of disaggregated data by gender, age and disability, using the Washington Group questions and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) Disability Marker.
Our work on the Facility and the next steps
EDF has shared its position with key demands and proposed amendments with the lead negotiators of the Ukraine Facility within the European Parliament. (Foreign Affairs and Budget Committees).
The vote in the European Parliament will take place on the 5 October. Together with our members and partners in Ukraine and in the EU, we will continue to advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the Ukraine Facility and within the Ukraine Plan.
Contact
Giulia Traversi, EDF Humanitarian Policy Officer