Ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), the head of the 47-nation Council of Europe has urged national governments and international organisations to put human rights first when dealing with disability.
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said: “Much progress has been achieved in the past 10 years, not least due to a series of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights as well as other Council of Europe initiatives.
“However, many challenges still remain and Europe has a lot to do to bridge the gap between legal standards and the daily reality of persons with disabilities. We must put human rights first in our concerted efforts to deal with disability.”
The Council of Europe recently published an evaluation report on its 2006-2015 Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation of people with disabilities in society. (more...)
See also:
File on People with disabilities
