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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Brussels and Budapest, 23 July 2020 – Two senior United Nations (UN) experts have expressed concern about numerous instances of EU funding being used to finance the maintenance and expansion of institutions for persons with disabilities across the continent, in violation of international human rights law. UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with…
On 20 April 2020, the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) launched an international survey to monitor state measures concerning persons with disabilities amid the pandemic. The initial analysis of the ongoing global survey has revealed grave and systemic violations of fundamental freedoms and human rights of persons with disabilities detained in large- and small-scale institutions, which have…
In Brussels, Sofia and Budapest, 17 July 2020 – In high-level communications issued on 11 March 2020, Mr. Dainius Pūras, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, has called on the Government of Bulgaria and the European Commission “to immediately stop the…
Vienna and Brussels, 8 July 2020 – 7.5 million Euros of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) have been used in Upper Austria to build institutions and sheltered employment facilities for disabled people. The investment went ahead despite Austria’s and the European Union’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons…
On 18 June, the European Parliament adopted a progressive Resolution for a new European Disability Strategy post 2020 (further referred to as ‘the Resolution’). ENIL is pleased to see strong emphasis on Independent Living throughout the document. This is particularly visible in three points: deinstitutionalisation with access to services, personal assistance and freedom of movement….
On 11 June, ENIL, Validity Foundation and Disability Rights International organised a webinar “Safety through Inclusion: the Case for Emergency Deinstitutionalisation*”. The webinar was a call to action to ensure that disabled people can leave institutions as a matter of priority, in order to prevent further deaths from COVID-19 and to accelerate access to living…
My experience of disability was shaped, initially, by my personal experience of impairment. Before the introduction to disability politics, my overall perspective was one rooted in the individual model of disability, wrapped in a tragedy narrative. I was ashamed of identifying as a disabled person, professionals and practitioners encouraged me to be passive and dependent,…
It was close to +35 degrees on the 25th of June and there was no shade to take shelter in front of the Palais de Justice law courts of the busy city of Lyon. At noon, as the first protesters unfolded their banners, the barristers, judges, clerks and litigants had just started to leave the…
My pathway to disability research was not a straightforward one but it’s certainly an interesting one. Originally, I had studied international economics at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, and obtained a master’s degree there but I’ve never seen myself as the practitioner in the field of finance. What’s more, I didn’t exhibit much interest…
On 5th May, every year since 2014, we are celebrating the European Independent Living Day, together with our members and allies. Year by year, we were becoming louder and more visible across Europe (and beyond). We had the same expectations for 2020, however the COVID-19 pandemic came and changed everything, not only for us but…
We are only five days away from the 5th May, when we will be marking the 7th European Independent Living Day. This year’s theme is LIBERTY, which seems even more apt now that everyone’s liberty is restricted in some way due to the pandemic. Despite restrictions on movement, gatherings, protests and the social distancing rules,…
When people ask me how I started to work with disabled people’s organisations, my usual answer is that it was an accidental choice. As a skint university student of Hungarian literature and linguistics in Budapest in 1999, I needed a job so I ended up working as a part-time personal assistant to people with severe…
Today, a group of seven organisations of persons with disabilities and other organisations advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities sent an urgent appeal to ensure equal access to COVID-19 medical treatment for residents of Sasca Mică Centre and other institutions for persons with disabilities and older persons in Romania. On 21 April 2020,…
On 5th May, disabled people, friends and allies across Europe will be marking the 7th European Independent Living Day. This year’s theme, proposed by the European Network on Independent Living, is LIBERTY. One of the things we asked you, is to share with us personal stories of people deprived of liberty on account of being…
