Posted Tuesday July 04, 2023 by efhoh

V European Parliament of Persons with Disabilitie
“Nothing about us without us!”

On 23 May, the hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels hosted the “5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities” – an event during which 600 disability advocates including EFHOH and IFHOHYP attended to discuss the European Union’s role in advancing Disability Rights.

The event was marked by the adoption of the European Disability Forum’s Manifesto on the 2024 European Elections” – the roadmap of the European Disability Forum’s campaign for next year’s scrutiny.

It shares the movement’s demand to be fully involved in the political process – from having the right to vote (still denied to many) and being able to stand as a candidate, to having accessibility measures in place to ensure a free, private and informed vote. Voters must be able to understand all aspects of the electoral process and parties’ manifestos and have accessible measures to cast a secret vote.

The manifesto also outlines key demands for the next legislative term – actions that are essential to fully ensure the rights of persons with disabilities, especially hard of hearing persons.

Ensure that all persons with disabilities have the right to vote and the right to stand as candidates in European elections.
Ensure strong services focusing on disability rights in EU Institutions: a new Directorate-General for Equality and Inclusion in the European Commission under the leadership of the Commissioner for Equality; a Disability Committee in the European Parliament; an Equality Configuration in the Council.
Create a new European agency for accessibility.
Adopt an EU-wide Disability Card, which ensures the mutual recognition of disability status across Member States.
Establish a Disability Employment and Skills Guarantee to boost the participation of persons with disabilities in the open labour market.
Introduce legislation to guarantee the availability and affordability of assistive technologies for persons with disabilities.

Jonathan Elebjörk Wahlström, Paulina Lewandowska, Marcel Bobeldijk, Alf Lindberg and Lidia Best have met with MEPs supporting the delegates to Parliament. Jonathan and Lidia were also invited to deliver interventions during the debates.