3rd December 2008 - The Campaign Begins

Estimates for the number of persons within the population who are considered as disabled vary between 9% to 15%. The reason for this variation is because there is no clear definition of term 'Disabled' within the various countries of the World.

Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has a definition of ; "Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others".

In Spain it is estimated that there are in excess of 3.5 million persons, in Europe a figure of 50 million is suggested, and around 10 per cent of the world's population, or 650 million people, live with a disability. Persons with disability are the world's largest minority. It must also be taken into consideration that this figure is increasing through population growth, medical advances and the ageing process. In those countries with an increase in an ageing population with life expectancies going beyond 70 years, individuals spend on average about 8 years, or 11.5 per cent of their life span, living with disabilities.

The finite actual numbers or percentages is not what is important, what is important is that those citizens who are considered disabled in that they are hampered in daily activities by any physical or mental health problem, illness or disability should not, as happens now, suffer from many forms of discrimination. As full citizens, people with disabilities have equal rights and are entitled to dignity, equal treatment, independent living and full participation in society. A society in which disabled people are fully included, is a better society for all. Disabled people are people with equal rights, are workers, consumers, tax payers, politicians, students, neighbours, family and friends. But disabled people are not treated that way. There is a serious lack of understanding of what disability means and how many people it affects. Disabled people should be treated as equal citizens who have the power to speak for themselves, not as objects of pity or charity. Disabled people are often excluded from society.

It is thought that 20% of Europeans have a family member with a disability. Six Europeans out of ten know someone, in close or more distant circles, who has a disability.

In recent years there has been considerable effort made to remove barriers that allowed discrimination to take place, intentionally or unintentionally, towards those citizens considered as disabled.

In the European Community we have seen in 1997 the Member States approve unanimously the Treaty of Amsterdam in which Article 13 of the Treaty of the European Union granted the Community new powers to combat discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Since the amendment to the Treaty came into force in 1999, new EC laws, or Directives, that have been enacted in the area of anti-discrimination are the Racial Equality Directive, 2000/43/EC, and the Employment Equality Directive, 2000/78/EC. Since the year 2000 EU anti-discrimination legislation has been in place to ensure minimum levels of equal treatment and protection for everyone living and working in Europe. These laws are designed to ensure equal treatment irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation, and age. These laws aim to ensure equal treatment in many aspects of daily life - from the workplace, to issues covering education, healthcare and access to goods and services.

In 2003 we saw the European Year of People with Disabilities and the commencement of the European Disability Action Plan to cover the years from 2003 to 2010. The objective of the Commission’s disability strategy since 2003 has been to make equal opportunities for disabled people a reality. The EU Disability Action Plan 2003-2010 provides the means to make this happen in practice. It is used to make sure that disability issues are integrated within all relevant EU policies. The DAP has been developed in two-year phases with policy priorities that respond to the equality gaps disabled people face. The 2008-2009 DAP focuses on accessibility. The aim is to stimulate inclusive participation of people with disabilities and to work towards full enjoyment of fundamental rights.

On the 2nd July 2008, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive which provides for protection from discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief beyond the workplace. This new directive would ensure equal treatment in the areas of social protection, including social security and health care, education and access to and supply of goods and services which are commercially available to the public, including housing. Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities said referring to the proposal "The right to equal treatment is fundamental, but millions of people in the EU continue to face discrimination in their everyday lives. At present, there is an inequality in Community legislation itself because people are protected from discrimination outside the workplace only on grounds of gender and race or ethnic origin. We must ensure equal treatment for all grounds".

For People with disabilities it's all about access to equal rights. As full citizens, people with disabilities have equal rights and are entitled to dignity, equal treatment, independent living and full participation in society.

On the 3rd May 2008 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol came into force. This is a major step in the effort to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The Convention marks an example of change in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It raises to a new level the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as "citizens" with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society.

The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced.

On the 3rd December 2008 the International Day of Persons with Disabilities will be celebrated. The theme for 2008 is to be " Dignity and justice for all of us", as well as for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Dignity and justice for all persons are established universal principles.

At the 2nd European Green Party Congress held In Geneva on the 13-14 October 2006 the Charter of the European Greens including the European Green Party Guiding Principles was adopted. Within it is the following reference to Individual autonomy: “We Greens believe all human beings - regardless of sex, age, sexual orientation or identity, ethnic origin or disability- have the right to make their own choices, to express themselves freely and to shape their own lives. This freedom is not exclusively about material possessions; it includes the social, cultural, intellectual and spiritual dimensions of human life. These inalienable rights should be guaranteed by law and taught in schools as basic foundations of our societies. They should be fulfilled by empowerment of the people, by the opportunity for all women and men to make a living for themselves and their families and, where necessary, by social and material support, sufficient to lead a dignified life and to fully participate in society. Where these rights are lacking, we Greens will fight for them, proposing solidarity, education, development cooperation and protection from violence, oppression, and discrimination.” Los Verdes de Orihuela are part of the EGP.

The Campaign.
On the 3rd December 2008 Los Verdes de Orihuela are launching the campaign entitled “Dignidad para los Discapacitados” as part of the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and in line with the European Green Party Guiding Principles.The objective of the ongoing campaign is to assist and support all citizens of, and visitors to, the Orihuela Municipality who have disabilities, to experience with the highest level of dignity a quality of life as free from discrimination as is possible. This is compatible with the purpose of the UN Convention as defined in Article 1 "to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity".

The campaign will provide the means for a two way dialogue between Los Verdes of Orihuela and the citizens of the Orihuela Municipality including Orihuela Costa and Las Pedanias on matters that effect the lives of persons with disabilities.

When Los Verdes are made aware of problems experienced by disabled persons we will act with them, or on their behalf where appropriate, to try rectify the situation. This may require contact with the Ayuntamiento and or Businesses to remind them of their responsibilities towards persons with disabilities, and to put forward constructive suggestions of action that they (government and companies) could take to remedy any shortcomings in this aspect.

We will use all methods available to us, including newspapers, television, radio and the Internet to inform all the public of news that may effect the quality of life for disabled persons. Two Internet Blogs are being published, one entitled dignityforthedisabled.blogspot.com , in English, and the second entitled dignidadparalosdiscapacitados.blogspot.com in Spanish. Each will be a mirror image of the other in the relevant language. In addition there are email addresses for both languages, dignityforthedisabled@gmail.com and dignidadparalosdicapacitados@gmail.com .

As mentioned in the introduction the European Union 2008-2009 DAP focuses on accessibility and therefore as part of the initial action of the campaign Los Verdes would like, with the help of the citizens of Orihuela Municipality to tackle the problem of substandard levels of accessibility. Any failure in the provision of ease of accessibility stops persons with disabilities from accessing the environment, transportation, public facilities and services. Restricted or limited access to a range of public, commercial, and private premises is a major problem, as is movement along, to and from public footpaths, as is entry and exit to public transport of all kinds for persons with limited or assisted mobility. This presents a daily barrier against leading a full an active life. It is thought that 50% of disabled persons have never participated in leisure or sport activities, and that one third of the disabled population has never travelled abroad or even participated in day-excursions as a direct consequence of inaccessible premises and services. Many disabled people suffer from isolation as a direct result of poor access facilities.

Los Verdes would like members of the public to send them evidence of facilities in the Orihuela Municipality that fall below the standards suitable for persons with reduced mobility. This could include the lack of ramps where needed, ramps that have been installed having too steep a gradient, obstacles placed in front of ramps, obstacles placed on or in pavements preventing free movement, public transport that is not usable by disabled persons, and similar examples. Photographs or information accompanied with details of location can be sent by email to either of the campaign addresses or handed to members of Los Verdes at the regular fortnightly Los Verdes Councillor's surgery held at the Celtic Isle bar and pool in Playa Flamenca. If this is not possible then telephone 965319660 (English) or 965328190 (Multilingual) and alternative arrangements for receipt of the information can be considered.