Challenges and strategies for the local implementation of the UNCRPD
Enabling people with disabilities to live independently and to participate in community life is a principle enshrined under the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD), signed by Member States and the European Union itself. The role of regional and local authorities in planning for inclusive community-based services which allow for inclusion is key to ensure the successful implementation of the Convention.
The implementation of the UNCRPD and the concept of planning for inclusive communities at the local level was the topic of a conference in Siegen, Germany on 27-28 March. The conference was organised by the Centre for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services (ZPE) at the University of Siegen, in cooperation with the European Association for Service Providers for People with Disabilities. ESN members from the German Network for Social Planners (VSOP) also participated at the event.
Approaches towards planning inclusive communities in Europe
Speakers highlighted that the duty to implement the UNCRPD falls to all levels of government and the particular role the local government plays in recognising and implementing the principles of inclusion. Some countries, but also regions and municipalities across Europe, have developed plans for inclusive action to implement the UNCRPD.
In Germany, the Ministry for Employment, Integration and Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia had commissioned the University of Siegen to write a Manual for Planning Local Communities based on the concept of inclusion. The report defines ‘inclusive communities’ as the programmatic establishment of cooperation between local actors in social planning that allows for people with disabilities to develop their lives in every day settings. The definition also emphasises that community social planning should be done with the participation of service users themselves under the leadership of local government. “Planning replaces coincidence. We need to ensure we are planning, but it doesn’t end there. Inclusion is a continuous process, which we have to address on an on-going basis”, argued Guntram Schneider, regional Minister for Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In Sweden, the national government adopted a strategy for the implementation of disability policies for 2011-2016. To monitor the implementation process at local level, the national disability organisation Handisam is currently developing a set of reporting indicators on how municipalities, counties and regions are working to increase the participation and improve accessibility for people with disabilities across Sweden.
Support from European level
From the European Commission’s unit on disability rights, Johann Ten Geuzendam talked about the need for effective use of EU Structural Funds for the development of quality, sustainable and attainable services to support people with disabilities in the community and a move away from institutional models of care in Europe. In his intervention, he praised the work of the European Expert Group, which ESN co-chairs, for running national training seminars for public authorities across several EU Member States on the use of EU funds to support the transition to community-based services.
ESN’s work in this area
In 2013 the European Social Network (ESN) launched its work on disability through a seminar and report on ‘Independent living: making choice and control a reality’.
In 2014 ESN will be launching a new working group for ESN members to come together with disabled people, national governments and service providers and discuss issues surround independent living and active inclusion for public social services in Europe. Calls for expression of interest will be sent out to ESN members in the coming weeks.
Resources
View the conference programme
More on ESN’s work on disability