Disabled People Converge on the European Parliament To Demand Independence

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Friday September 02, 2005 19:36

by Fergal Scully - Dublin Centre For Independent Living

fergalscully at dublincil dot org

Nothing About Us Without Us

Imagine 3 million adults denied the opportunity to make decisions about
· how and when they get out of bed,
· how and when their personal care needs are met
· or make basic choices that other European citizens make on a daily basis.

Strasbourg Freedom Drive 2005:

Nothing about us without us.

Strasbourg Freedom Drive: a major European Disability Rights rally at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 5-8 September 2005

The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is an organisation and Movement of disabled persons from across Europe campaigning for disability rights and independent living. We are organising the Strasbourg Freedom Drive 2005, a Europe-wide event to foster and support the active citizenship of disabled people in the European Union, particularly those who are personal assistance users and who aspire towards Independent Living. This event will also highlight the needs of disabled people in developing countries.

Between 5-8 September 2005 over 100 disabled people from all across Europe will converge on the European Parliament in Strasbourg to highlight the Independent Living and Human Rights issues we feel need action. We intend to have meetings with our respective MEP’s, the European Parliament Disability Inter-group, the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights.

This event is a continuation of the campaign that ENIL started in 2003 with the first Freedom Drive, in order to bring Independent Living to the attention of the European Parliament.

We will be raising awareness of the facts surrounding disability within the EU and reporting on the real experiences of disabled people across Europe. There are over 60 million disabled people in Europe. Some 3 million of these are living in institutions. This number is increasing all the time.

Imagine 3 million adults denied the opportunity to make decisions about
· how and when they get out of bed,
· how and when their personal care needs are met
· or make basic choices that other European citizens make on a daily basis.

Is it really acceptable for 3 million people to be incarcerated in institutions where their human rights are too frequently ignored. Many have not even chosen to live in these places nor are they obliged to stay.

The Strasbourg Freedom Drive 2005 is campaigning for the rights of all Disabled People to live independently and have the same opportunities in life that non-disabled people have.

STRASBOURG FREEDOM DRIVE 2005

THE EUROPEAN NETWORK OF INDEPENDENT LIVING (ENIL)

Nothing about us without us.

The Freedom Drive seeks to ensure independent living becomes a reality for disabled people throughout the European Union, recognising peoples dignity and self-determination.

One of the main issues we highlighted on the last freedom drive is the lack of cohesive personal assistance services throughout Europe. ENIL believes that the money spent on institutionalising disabled people in every nation can be better spent on direct payments to people, rather than costly institutions. Support for personal assistants to those in need would afford disabled people the opportunity to live with independence and dignity in the community as well as providing much greater value for money. Rather than creating more institutions to hide people away in, we should be creating more active citizens, citizens who are free to contribute to society and our knowledge based economy.
ENIL’s first Freedom Drive presented eight demands to the European Parliament in 2003 (the European Year of the Disabled), amid much fanfare and commitment to deliver mainstream opportunities for disabled people, including the right to live in the community of their choosing.
Two years since the first freedom drive ENIL calls on the Members of the European Parliament to fight, in particular, in support of the campaign for:

1. The right to independent living in Europe

· European wide policy on independent living that is individual focused.

· Personal Assistance Services to be provided for those that need it on a progressively implemented basis, with suitable and acceptable criteria for eligibility for the service in the interim period pending 100% implementation.

2. Portability of Personal Assistance

· Personal Assistance should be regarded as part of European Social Protection payments and portability of these payments should be permitted under the free movement of persons with a disability and under the free movement of labour in the European Union.

Overseas Aid of the European Union

The majority of disabled people, live in developing countries, it is therefore critical that support from the Union to developing countries recognises the principles of Independent living in any overseas aid.

ENIL are seeking The European Parliament
· To pass a Resolution stating that 5% of Overseas Development Aid to be given to community development projects for disabled people in developing countries.
· To ring fencing of 5% development aid must be coupled with efforts to encourage developing countries to integrate people with disabilities into society through planned development of infrastructure.

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Disabled People Converge on the European Parliament To Demand Independence