European Conference on Protection and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in Europe: towards full participation, inclusion and empowerment

Opening statement of Ambassador Per Sjögren, Permanent Representative of Sweden and Chairman of the Ministers’ Deputies of the Council of Europe

(Strasbourg, 29 October 2008)

Deputy Secretary General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I take the opportunity to address you today at this important conference, to offer some opening remarks as the representative of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The main objective of the Swedish Chairmanship is to promote the realisation of the Council of Europe’s core objective - to make rights real. And one of the priorities falling within Sweden’s objective, has, specifically been to strengthen the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities, in line with the Action Plan adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe at the Warsaw Summit in 2005.

It is therefore particularly satisfying to see that the preparations for this joint Council of Europe and Nordic Council of Ministers conference, under the aegis of the Swedish Chairmanship, have given us a very rich and ambitious programme over the next two days. I am sure it will enable us all to move forward towards this crucial objective, particularly in the light of the synergy and cooperation apparent between the Council of Europe and the United Nations in this field.

Our priority today is of course human rights. But human rights are closely linked to the other core values of our Organisation, democracy and the rule of law. Full equality before the law and access to and participation in democratic processes cannot be guaranteed, if the basic rights of persons with disabilities are not protected and promoted effectively.

Disability issues have long been a priority for the Council of Europe. A number of relevant human rights instruments including the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, with their relevant case-law, have already provided for some progress with regard to the rights of disabled persons. In particular, I would like to underline Article 15 of the Revised European Social Charter which provides for the right of persons with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community and has been a particularly important dimension of this work.

Several other instruments have been adopted over the years, and as mentioned by the Deputy Secretary General, in 2006 we welcomed the adoption by the Committee of Ministers of the 10-year Council of Europe Disability Action Plan. This comprehensive Action Plan seeks to translate the aims of the Council of Europe with regard to human rights, non-discrimination, equal opportunities, full citizenship and participation of people with disabilities into a European policy framework on disability over ten years. The Action Plan also draws attention to the specific requirements of people with disabilities who face specific barriers or need a higher level of support, such as children, women or elderly persons.

In parallel to the progress in the Council of Europe's work there was important progress in the United Nations through its Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,¹ and its Additional Protocol, which were opened for signature on 30 March 2007 and entered into force this year on 3 May, probably the most important milestone in this context. The Swedish Chairmanship considers that the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan can be a particularly useful path to take for member states wishing to ratify the United Nations Convention. But I know that we will be hearing more on that later in this conference.

So there has been substantive progress over the years in the field of standard-setting. And this should be recognized.

Not so long ago, policies in this field focused on providing particular protection, assistance and health care. This attitude has finally shifted. With the United Nations Convention persons with disabilities are now rightly regarded as persons who must be guaranteed the same human rights as anyone else. The right to human dignity. The right to equality before the law. The right not to be discriminated against because of their difference.

The Council of Europe Disability Action Plan is also an illustration of how discourse and policies over recent years have been changing, significantly, with regard to persons with disabilities.

And yet, there are still efforts to be made within our societies to achieve what the Statute of the Council of Europe calls a “genuine democracy”, a truly pluralist, liberal democracy. Despite the standards and changing attitudes, when we look at the daily reality, and come back to the core values of this Organisation, we see that ensuring the actual rights of persons with disabilities is an area where the human rights and democratic ambitions in many of our member states, have not always been fully realised.

Persons with disabilities still have difficulties in some member states accessing certain rights and freedoms, for example in such fields such as employment, education or political life. The responsibility for all of us here is to work towards ensuring that this changes, to ensure that nobody lives in the shadows of political, economic and cultural life because of their disability but empowered by the law, each can assume their place, and actively participate, in the society in which they live.

It should not be forgotten that many suffer discrimination, and are not able to enjoy the same opportunities as others, purely as a result of ignorance and prejudice from other members of society. It is therefore primordial that legal and policy developments are also accompanied by information and educational measures to promote a human rights culture in our societies.

The Committee of Ministers also stresses the important role of local and regional authorities in this field. It continues to encourage the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to involve itself in the promotion, implementation and follow-up of the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan, of which a number of action lines have a particular bearing on local and regional responsibilities. Co-operation with relevant non-governmental organisations is of course also of utmost importance.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we are at a particularly important juncture. We know that it is the governments of member states that have the primary responsibility for implementing disability policies at national level. We have the United Nations Convention. We have the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan. We have the bodies to monitor progress in the implementation of the provisions of these texts. Now is the time for action. For putting norms and standards into practice in our societies. For making rights real for persons with disabilities.

Sweden will continue to push for progress in this field. The Council of Europe will continue to put disability issues high on the political agenda. There just remains for me to wish you a very constructive conference, but above all, to express the very sincere hope that our discussions here today will have a catalyst effect on the processes taking place in each of our countries towards making rights real for the millions of persons with disabilities, living in what we can then justly call our genuinely democratic societies.

Thank you for your attention.