Disability climbs up the human rights agenda

The European Commission and 21 EU member states have signed the United Nations convention on disability which opened on 30 March. The occasion marks a double first for the Commission - not only is this the first time that the Commission has been given a mandate to negotiate on a core human rights treaty, but it is also the first time that the Commission has been a signatory. The Commission says that it will not wait for member states to ratify the convention before taking action on existing EU legislation.

The convention sets out comprehensive civil and political rights on accessibility, health, education, participation and inclusion, employment and social protection. It also obliges governments to support disability rights through development policy.

Governments that ratify the treaty will have to get rid of laws and practices that discriminate against disabled people and report on their progress. Jean-Luc Onckelinx, of the UN’s Brussels office says that, "only 45 UN countries have legislation that deals with disabilities".

"A legally binding standard was needed. Once a state has ratified the convention it will be forced gradually to make changes in its policy," he says.

The treaty, which needs 20 nations to ratify it before it can come into force, has been signed by 81 of the UN’s member nations, including those with hitherto poor human rights records, such as China and Sudan.

But according to Rolf Timans, head of the human rights unit at the Commission’s department for external relations, "ratification is not enough". "An effective implementation strategy needs to be in place prior to ratification," says Timans.

"The Commission will review internal policies in light of the obligations stemming from this convention, to ensure that community policy is up to speed."

"What becomes a bit tricky" he says, "is sorting out community and member state competences."

Work has already started at the two main Commission departments championing anti-discrimination and equal opportunities legislation. The department of employment and social affairs is conducting a series of assessments on the impact of anti-discrimination legislation. Timans’s own department is penning a strategy paper on using a new European human rights instrument that came into force on 1 January to support legislation on disabilities.

Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Slovakia and Latvia have not signed the treaty. But the Commission puts this down to preparation difficulties rather than cold feet. According to Timans "not signing with the others is not a rejection of the treaty. There is across the board consensus among EU nations to sign. They still have time". Estonian diplomats say that elections that took place in the country on 4 March delayed preparations, but Estonia is set to sign the convention in the latter half of this year.

More noticeable is the reticence of France, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and the UK to take on the optional protocol that accompanies the convention and which 17 of the 27 EU countries have already signed. This allows citizens and collectives to bring complaints against their country in the European Court of Justice if they are victims of a breach of the convention, after they have exhausted national possibilities for recourse.

The five nations have asked the Commission to clarify their legal position on signing. The UK in particular has concerns that citizens could by-pass both national and European courts of justice and go directly to the UN. According to a UK government spokesperson, "the UK will keep its position under review". This is echoed by Poland which says it is currently analysing the documentation. The Commission says it will provide an answer before the summer break.

But both the UN and The European Disability Forum representing disabled people, claim that all national legal systems are the first point of recourse. Carlotta Besozzi, director of the European Disability Forum, says that "these countries don’t want to be held accountable to their citizens".

• Saffina Rana is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.

The European Commission and 21 EU member states have signed the United Nations convention on disability which opened on 30 March. The occasion marks a double first for the Commission - not only is this the first time that the Commission has been given a mandate to negotiate on a core human rights treaty, but it is also the first time that the Commission has been a signatory. The Commission says that it will not wait for member states to ratify the convention before taking action on existing EU legislation.