In its final report, the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) Coordinating Group calls for urgent action by States and the international community to halt the catastrophic failure to protect the lives, health and rights of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is entitled ‘Disability rights during the pandemic: A global report on…
In Brussels, 7 October 2020 – The European Network on Independent Living – ENIL welcomes the appointment of Prof. Gerard Quinn as the new UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, succeeding Catalina Devandas. Our organisation’s close cooperation with Prof. Quinn goes back at least 15 years, to Ireland, and we have…
The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is looking for a part time Office Manager for its Brussels office, with a starting date on 19th November, or as soon as possible after that. The Office Manager will be responsible for running ENIL’s administration and for financial management. This is a key post in the organisation,…
On 14 September we organised an online members’ meeting. Adolf Ratzka, a pioneer of the Independent Living Movement in Europe, gave a great speech on how to effectively advocate for PA legislation. It is already mentioned in the respective article, but we decided to publish it also separately because of the high interest of people….
On 7 September, the Board of the European Network on Independent Living decided unanimously to postpone the next Freedom Drive until September 2022. This decision has not been made lightly, as it is a key event in the calendar of Europe’s Independent Living movement, but it had to be made due to the ongoing COVID-19…
Following on from a successful regional members’ meeting in Poland in 2019, ENIL hosted an online members’ meeting on Monday 14 September, with an accompanying webinar on “Independent Living for All” on Tuesday 15 September. The two-day event was well-attended, and questions and debates were lively. Personal Assistance was in the focus of the discussions,…
This month, on the14th and 15th of September, ENIL participated in two webinars on inclusive education. The first one was hosted by COFACE Families Europe, entitled “Back-to-school: Triggering a meaningful shift towards inclusive education”. The S.H.I.F.T. guide, focusing on different areas (Support, Human Rights, Independence, Families, and society Transition), was used as the starting point…
Brussels, 23 September 2020 — On 21st September, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and MEP Katrin Langensiepen hosted an online event to address the key question of why the European Union continues to fund institutions for disabled people. Disabled people, activists, legal experts, representatives of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with…
Since the elections on 9 August 2020, people in Belarus have been peacefully protesting, in demand of new, fair and free elections. The ENIL member in Belarus — the Office for the Rights of People with Disability (ORPD) — shared an Open Letter with us on the current situation in the country. The letter was initiated…
My academic carrier at Vilnius University started and evolved in parallel with my work for the civil society organisation (CSO) Mental Health Perspectives. In autumn 2002, I started my Ph.D. studies and in March 2003, I started working as a project manager at Mental Health Perspectives (formerly known as the Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry and…
One month ago, I wrote ENIL’s submission for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, regarding the implementation of article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), on access to sports and leisure. My whole heart went into this assignment, because I am an athlete. It also…
In 1997, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) initiated the Programme for International Student Assessment, known as PISA. PISA is an international OECD’s study-test that was first applied in 2000 and has been carried out every three years since. So far, more than 80 countries and economies volunteered to participate in it. PISA…
This article was written by our member from Greece, Maria, to raise awareness about the discriminatory treatment against disabled people by companies producing household appliances. In the article, she describes her experiences with purchasing a dehumidifier. Have you ever come across the following statement (or a similar one)? “This appliance is not intended for use…
Over the last few years ENIL Youth, as young disability rights activists, have followed the announcements that different groups have made on International Youth Day. We have noticed that those messages reflect current policies and official goals of different institutions. These goals are justifiable, but not easy to achieve. There is always a gap between…
Brussels, 10 August 2020 – Poland has invested over 7 million EUR of European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF) on institutional settings for persons with disabilities, in violation of international human rights law. The case represents a further example of significant levels of EU funds being used to segregate persons with disabilities and violating their…
The COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Coordinating Group express their alarm about increasing police violence against persons with disabilities in the context of the pandemic, and are calling on governments around the world to take urgent steps to prevent acts of brutality. Early in the COVID-19 global pandemic, the global community and persons with disabilities highlighted…
Brussels, July 31, 2020 – Serbia’s government should collect and make public the data on Covid-19 infections and deaths inside institutions for people with disabilities, six organizations for people with disabilities and human rights groups said today in a letter to Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on people in institutions is…
CLE Autistes is a major autistic-led group of French autistic people. They advocate for neurodiversity, acceptance, disability rights and independent living for autistic people. CLE Autistes notes that the French Disability Model is based on institutions for disabled people. From schooling to employment, disabled people are therefore rarely directed towards quality community services, that would…
My name is Ciara Brennan. I am from Dublin, Ireland. For more than a decade, I have worked as a disability researcher in Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Currently, I am a research and advocacy consultant for the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM). DRM is collecting data from around the world in order to measure…
On 8th of July 2020, the European Commission held an online Strategic Dialogue meeting to discuss a “Digital Education Action Plan”. On behalf of the Commission, Georgi Dimitrov, Deputy Head of Unit Innovation and EIT, and Deirdre Hodson, Member of the Digital Education team highlighted the main challenges for a European Digital Education plan, and…
