Posts Tagged ‘human rights’

Social inclusion beyond the European Year 2010

Society and poeple with disabilities: future challenges for the EU

giovedì, May 26th, 2011

The fight against poverty and exclusion is still a key challenge for EU. The Member States are committed to reinforcing the institutional mechanism adopting an integrated system, considering themes on social inclusion in national-level policies.

Promoting inclusion means to work in order to assure equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and to guarantee unquestionable dignity and participation opportunities to all. All the citizens should not be left apart in the personal life and work but actively involved in their community and in the European context.

It also means to act with the aim of making the society truly inclusive and capable of adapting to correspond to the citizens’ concrete rights.

Even if there is an intrinsic solidarity which fully acknowledges the need of adaptations for people with mild disabilities in European societies, people with severe or multiple disabilities need more help in terms of human rights and inclusion. Many disabled people continue to suffer discrimination with regard to the lack of equal recognition before the law and justice. Member States have to remedy these deficiencies including electoral rights.

Compared to the average, people with disabilities have more chance of being poor; around 80 million people with disabilities are poor, including one million deaf people.

In line with what emerged during the European Year for Combating Poverty and social, we need to consider that it is impossible to reduce poverty without integrating people with disabilities in the labor market and to adjust policies supporting incomes in case of disability.

The current systems of education and training do not prevent the dropout among people with disabilities. Its high rate leads to greater social disadvantage and employment especially in this time of economic crisis.

Succeeding in the workplace is still very difficult for people with disabilities, but there are good examples that could show the possibility of a change involving all the EU countries in implementing non-discriminatory and inclusive policies.

An example of this success is the experience of Hungarian Ádám Kósa EPP deputy who oversaw the report on "European strategy on disability 2010-2020. 

An example of this success is the experience of Ádám Kósa, MEP of  PPE, author of the report on EU’s disability strategy 2010-2020.

An interesting interview with Ádám Kósa on problems that disabled people face is published on the European Parliament website here.

 

European Union between defense of the Treaties and electoral consensus

From 2010 Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion to 2014 Year of European elections

giovedì, March 31st, 2011

The full text of the E.M.E.R.G.E. publication can be read here:

European Union between defense of the Treaties and electoral consensus

 

Discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin or race has no place in Europe

Commissioner Reding announces infringement action against France for a discriminatory application of the Free Movement Directive

venerdì, September 17th, 2010

An extraordinary political conflict between the European Commission and the French Government is taking place in this summer of 2010, European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. On the 14th of September Ms Vivian Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Statement, attacked the Sarkozy government over the mass expulsions of Roma people and accused it of duplicity in its dealings with Brussels. “I personally have been appalled by a situation which gave the impression that people are being removed from a Member State of the European Union just because they belong to a certain ethnic minority” said Commissioner Reding. “This is a situation –she added – I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War.”

The reference to deportations in the 1940s facilitated the hard reaction of the French Government. President Sarkozy invited the Commissioner to welcome Roma people in Luxembourg. The comments of Pierre Lellouche, the French European affairs minister, were more articulated. "The tone she took … is not the manner one uses to address a great state like France, which is the mother of human rights" he told French radio. "We are not the naughty pupil of the class whom the teacher tells off and we are not the criminal before the prosecutor."
The point of view of Commissioner Reding is more institutional. After having reminded a contradiction between the political assurances that specific ethnic groups had not been targeted in France and the administrative circular mentioning the Roma people as target group of the expulsions, the Commissioner underlines that “The role of the Commission as guardian of the Treaties is made extremely difficult if we can no longer have confidence in the assurances given by two ministers in a formal meeting with two Commissioners and with around 15 senior officials on the table from both sides.”

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Child poverty

An affliction spreading across Europe

giovedì, July 15th, 2010
 
A social issue of considerable importance is the threat of poverty among children in the EU. In the past years, the percentage of people living in poverty has steadily risen, having a severe impact on several social branches, children being amongst the worst affected. This consequently has a disastrous impact not only on the normal physical and psychological growth and development of those children, but also on their chances of completing their schooling and integrating smoothly into society. As a result, it affects our entire future society.
 
Before the crisis erupted, a European Parliament report warned that 19 million of Europe’s 78 million poor were children. That number is now even higher and the scourge of poverty is growing in proportion by the day. This is nothing else than an imperative call for change. There must be found a way to resolve the sad paradox of a rich continent which has children in poverty, children that are nothing else than innocent victims of our society.
 

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Disabled people: fighting poverty through inclusion

venerdì, July 9th, 2010

People with disabilities are full citizens who have equal rights, are entitled to dignity, equal treatment, independent living and full participation in society as non – disabled people. Despite equal rights for non – disabled people, they have more difficulty in finding a job with a decent income. Reaching a good level of education is another problem they have to face; even when they reach high education studies they are much less employed in high level jobs. People with disabilities represent one sixth of the overall EU working population but their employment rate is comparatively low.
2003 was the European Year of People with Disabilities and one of the main objectives was achieving equal rights for people with disabilities and since this year the Commission’s disability strategy has been to make equal opportunities a reality. The Commission’s strategy is to integrate the disability issues in all UE policies: this is made since 2003 through the EU Disability action plan (DAP), a “mainstreaming” strategy. The DAP is developed in 2 years phases. Each phase is focused on one special issue – the 2008-2009 DAP focus is accessibility. The Commission is preparing the new strategy for 2010-20201.
The aim of DAP strategy for 2003-2010 was to enable disabled people to play an active role in society, improving employment and education prospect to increase their access to goods and services. Member States design their own strategy for the inclusion of disabled people in the labour market, in educational initiatives and in all other initiatives that can help disabled people living independently, get transportation, access to information, access to buildings and infrastructures. European Union is committed to respect the Human Rights of all people, but the fundamental rights of millions of disabled people (disabled people in the EU are 65 million) are regularly violated in many Member States2.

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