Structural Funds, Social Inclusion
& the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities: The role of
Structural Funds in promoting the social inclusion of
marginalised groups and facilitating the implementation of
the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Camilla Parker
Mental Health & Human Rights Consultant
Open Society Mental Health Initiative
Zagreb, Croatia
24th October 2013
Overview
• Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities (CRPD)
• Institutions – no longer an acceptable form of
care
• Community Living – what it is and why it matters
• Article 19 of the CRPD
• Community Living and the European Union (EU)
• Realising Community Living for All: the role of
Structural Funds and the CRPD
Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
• 1 of 10 core UN human rights treaties
• Wide range of human rights e.g. respect for
home and the family, right to education, right
to liberty
• To ensure recognition of the rights of people
with disabilities (equal to others)
• Ratified by 137 countries (to date)
• Croatia: August 2007 – CRPD part of national law
• EU: December 2010 – impact on EU and
Member States
The Importance of the CRPD
“…the underlying philosophy of the UN CRPD is
to move decisively away from treating persons
with disabilities as ‘objects’ to be managed or
otherwise ‘cared’ for towards treating them as
equal human ‘subjects’ capable of directing
their own lives”
•(UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Getting a Life – living independently and being included in the
community, Gerard Quinn and Suzanne Doyle, 2012)
The CRPD and the European
Union
"The [CRPD] promotes and protects the
human rights and fundamental freedoms of
persons with disabilities... ...It is our
collective responsibility to ensure that
people with disabilities do not face
additional obstacles in their everyday lives.”
•(Vice-President Viviane Reding, 5/1/2011)
Impact of EU ratification on
Member States
• “to ensure the highest protection for
persons with disabilities”
• Invest Structural Funds in accordance
with obligations to combat
discrimination and social exclusion.
Institutional Care: Historical
Perspective
• “In Europe, residential institutions have been the typical
response to the needs of disabled people needing
accommodation and assistance with daily living since the
early 19th Century.”
• “Often established to relieve suffering and with human
ideals, institutional care gradually became an instrument
of segregation and control, in which poor standards
became accepted.”
• “Following the Second World War, some countries began
to move away from large residential institutions…”
• (Deinstitutionalisation and community living – outcomes
and costs, 2007 (“the DECLOC report”))
Community Living
• People with disabilities being able to live in the
community as equal citizens, with the support that
they need to participate in every day life.
• Community Living is important for everyone of us…
• Where we live: having a home
• What we do: work, leisure
• Who we spend time with: personal relationships,
social networks
• Civic engagement: voting, standing for election
Community Living: Why It Matters
• Values each of us as individuals but recognises
our connection with others
• We all need support to realise our aspirations
and fulfil our potential
• Former CoE Commissioner for Human Rights,
Thomas Hammerberg: “Article 19 of the CRPD
embodies a positive philosophy, which is about
enabling people to live their lives to their fullest,
within society”
Article 19 Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
• Equal right of disabled people to live in
the community with choices equal to
others
• States must take effective and appropriate
measures to facilitate disabled people’s:
• Full enjoyment of this right
• Full inclusion & participation in the
community (note: emphasises that it is
not just about where the person lives)
• This includes ensuring that...
Access to range
of communitysupport services
Equal
opportunity to
choose where &
with whom to
live
Equal access to
mainstream
services (that are
responsive to
individual needs)
Community
Living
Community Living & the EU:
Europe 2020
• 5 targets (employment, R&D, climate and energy
sustainability, education & fighting poverty & social
exclusion)
• Structural Funds: assist Member States meet targets
• Structural Funds regulations: thematic objective:
“Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty”
• European Commission: position paper for Croatia on
funding priorities and objectives: “support the transition
from institutional care to community-based care for
children, elderly, and other vulnerable groups; ensure
further training and career development opportunities of
staff working in care services”
Community Living : A right for All
• Article 19 CRPD: equal right of disabled people
to live in the community with choices equal to
others
• Supported by pre-existing standards e.g.
Article 26 EU Charter (integration of persons
with disabilities)
• Underpins policy objectives of social inclusion
(European Commission, Council of Europe and
national governments)
• Institutionalisation (= isolation & segregation)
irreconcilable with community living
What are the barriers to community
living? Some examples...
Equal choice on
living
arrangements?
Access to
community
services?
Equal access to
mainstream
services?
• Guardianship – no recognition that can
make own decisions, guardian decides
• No alternatives/no information
• Lack of services,
• Legal/financial framework prohibits
NGOs from providing services
• Not accessible to people with disabilities
• Use by people with disabilities
prohibited
Community Living &
Deinstitutionalisation: Misconceptions
• Promotes independence NOT isolation: people
to be given support so they can participate in
community life
• Not just about the physical environment essential to avoid developing “miniinstitutions”: the nature of support is key – does
it enable the person “to live the life that they
choose and to be included in their local
community”?
• Progressive realisation and Article 19: no excuse
for inaction, Structural Funds provide resources
Structural Funds, the CRPD &
Community Living
• Structural Funds can fund:
• Development of new services, including
the provision of education and training
of staff and
• Provision of technical support for areas
such as reforming the legislative and
financial frameworks needed to facilitate
community based services
• CRPD provides a framework for this work
CRPD: A Framework for Action (1)
• Commitment: To take action to ensure that people
with disabilities in reality have the equal right to live in
the community with choices equal to others.
• Vision: Range of services needed to make this happen
• Action: Clarity on what needs to be done to realise this
vision (e.g. needs assessment, review of law & policies)
• Progress: States required to take effective measures,
“progressive realisation” not an excuse for doing
nothing
• Clear action plans, with timeframes and benchmarks
• Monitor and review regularly
CRPD: A Framework for Action (2)
• Participation: Involve the wide range of individuals and
organisations with an interest in community living,
including people with disabilities & their families (Art 4(3))
• Avoid: Points that lead to misuse of Structural Funds:
• vague definitions e.g. need ensure that funding is
provided to services that are truly community based
and support inclusion
• investing Structural Funds in institutions: a) ties up
money in an outmoded form of care and b) the use of
Structural Funds to maintain institutions rather than
develop community based alternatives is contrary to
CRPD and EU law (OSF, The European Union and the
Right to Community Living, 2012)
Conclusion
• “Community living for all will not be
achieved overnight. It requires a
deliberate process of transition. This
transition from residential care to
community living is not only desirable –
it is now a clear legal obligation
undertaken by the Member States and
the European Union under Article 19 of
the [CRPD].”
• (Quinn and Doyle, 2012)
Further Information
• The European Union and the Right to Community Living - Structural
Funds and the European Union’s Obligations under the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Camilla Parker and Luke
Clements, Open Society Foundations, May 2012. Available at:
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/mhi/articles_publications/pu
blications/european-union-disabilities-20120507/europe-communityliving-20120507.pdf
• Common European Guidelines on the Transition from
Institutional to Community-based Care Guidance on
implementing and supporting a sustained transition from
institutional care to family-based and community-based
alternatives for children, persons with disabilities, persons
with mental health problems and older persons in Europe,
November 2012
• Toolkit on the Use of European Union Funds for the
Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care,
November 2012
• Both available at: www.enil.eu/recommended-readings2/european-expert-group-on-the-transition-from-institutionalto-community-based-care-guidelines-and-toolkit/