ENIL is preparing a submission for the 9th Session of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing. This group, which meets at the UN in New York, is considering if there is a need for a new UN convention to protect the rights of older persons. One of the topics that will be discussed at the next meeting in July is ‘autonomy and independence’. We think it is important to contribute, to make sure that the Working Group takes into account the views of disabled people.
We are interested in how the frameworks surrounding autonomy and independence will affect your life as a disabled person when you reach retirement and/or old age. Knowing that many older people end up in residential care, we would like to provide examples of countries where this is the case and show how important it is to provide independent living support as people get old. The answers we receive will be summarised in a paper, which will be sent to the UN, but also to the European Commission and MEPs, and will be available on our website.
Until now, we have not done any research on the situation of older disabled people, so we would appreciate any information you might have when it comes to your country. Please do not feel you have to reply to all the questions – whatever information you can provide will be useful. Our EVS volunteer, Miriam Graute, who is drafting the submission, would also be very happy to talk to you on the phone or by Skype, if that would be easier.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could get back to Miriam at evsvolunteer1@enil.eu by 12 March. Thank you in advance!
