This workshop will take place in person on 16 November in Brussels. It is aimed at Equality Bodies’ experts who are playing or may play a role in supporting de-institutionalization, concretely members of the Age and Disability Clusters.
This Workshop will be followed by Age Cluster and Disability Cluster meetings on 17 November, you can register to attend either in person or online through the same link below.
Background
The right to independent living is enshrined or inferred from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Social Charter, and the European Convention on Human Rights, among others. The issue of de-institutionalization, i.e. transitioning away from institutional care to enable individuals to enjoy the right to independent living, is relevant not only to persons with disabilities, but also to older persons and other vulnerable groups living in institutional facilities.
According to the European Disability strategy 2021-2031, more than 1 million children and adults with disabilities aged less than 65 and more than 2 million aged 65 and over live in institutions. The strategy reiterates the EU committed to promote the participation of persons with disabilities in leisure activities, employment, education, health, social services and to achieve the transition from institutional to community-based care. Further, many children and older persons without identified disabilities currently also live in institutions, without a chance for independent living and making their own choices.
These figures show the need for Member States and the European Union to take further action in the area to reinforce the transition from institutional to community-based services. Equality Bodies, as national Equality watchdogs should be vested with the knowledge and powers to support this transition for right-holders, in order to enable them to exercise choice and control over their lives and make all decisions concerning their lives. To this end, this workshop, to be organised in collaboration with right holder’s organisations aims to, through an intersectional lens, explore the role Equality Bodies may take in supporting de-institutionalization.
Objective
This workshop aims at equipping experts from Equality Bodies to better understand and support the de-institutionalization process.
For further information, contact Jone Elizondo-Urrestarazu (Jone.Elizondo@equineteurope.org) or Daris Lewis Recio (daris.lewis@equineteurope.org).