Discrimination on the Grounds of Disability

 

 

 

 

Before the revision of the Treaty in Amsterdam, the Community had no power to tackle discrimination based on disability.

However, the European Parliament has repeatedly indicated in its resolutions since the beginning of the 1990s that "the status of disabled people in the Treaties is that of "nvisible citizens" and that "human rights violations against disabled people take place in every area of daily life throughout the European Union in the form of discrimination on the grounds of disability".

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EUROPEAN UNION

Resolution of the Council and the Ministers for Education meeting within the Council of 31 May 1990 concerning integration of children and young people with disabilities into ordinary systems of education
Official journal NO. C 162 , 03/07/1990 P. 0002 - 0003
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1990/en_490Y0703_02.html

Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 20 December 1996 on equality of opportunity for people with disabilities
Official Journal C 012 , 13/01/1997 p. 0001 - 0002
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1997/en_497Y0113_01.html

Council Resolution of 17 June 1999 on equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities
Official Journal C 186 , 02/07/1999 p. 0003 - 0004
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1999/en_399Y0702_01.html

 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Resolution on threats to the right to life of disabled persons

Resolution on the human rights of disabled people

Resolution on the rights of disabled people

Resolution on the Commission's communication on equality of opportunity for people with disabilities
(COM(96)0406 - C4-0582/96)

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UNITED NATIONS

Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/72.htm

Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mental.htm

Principles for the protection of persons with mental illness and the
improvement of mental health care

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/68.htm

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COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Protection of the human rights and dignity of the terminally ill and the dying
http://stars.coe.fr/ta/ta99/erec1418.htm

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NGOs

EDF response paper on the Commission proposal for a Community Action programme to combat discrimination 2001-6
http://www.edf-feph.org/en/policy/non-disc/nondisen.html

EDF campaign : Disability Specific non-discrimination directive needed
http://www.edf-feph.org/en/policy/non-disc/nondisen.html

Discrimination and Violence against disabled people
http://www.edf-feph.org/en/policy/non-disc/nondisen.html

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Titles I and V
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/ada.html

ACLU on Disability Rights
http://www.aclu.org/issues/disability/hmdr.html

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Author : Whittle, Richard
Title : European Communities and EEA. Disability Discrimination and the Amsterdam Treaty.
Summary : A key of the Amsterdam Treaty is to place greater emphasis on the rights of individuals, both in terms of employment and European citizenship. Although it will be some time before the Treaty is ratified by the Member States, it is likely that it will have a significant impact on the lives of European citizens. This article examines the Treaty from a disability rights perspective and identifies the legal benefits that may emanate therefrom for people with disabilities.
Source : EUROPEAN LAW REVIEW. London. Vol. 23. No. 1. February 1998. p. 50-58.

Author : Lewis, Robin
Title : Disability discrimination: the advent of the fair discriminatory dismissal?
Summary : This article concerns the Disability Discrimination Bill in the United Kingdom which completed its passage through Parliament and received the Royal Assent in November 1995. The author discusses a number of problems and paradoxes contained in the employment provisions. The framework of the act is: to apply to disabled people some of the protection from employment discrimination found in the Race Relations and Sex Discrimination Acts, if the particular event - recruitment, appointment, dismissal and the like - occurs "for a reason which relates to the disability".
Source : NEW LAW JOURNAL. London. No. 6724 (suppl.). 15 December 1995. p. 34-38.

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