Activities of Richard HOWITT related to 2015/2258(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (debate)
Amendments (33)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes new Objective 12 in the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019; calls on the Commission to ensure that CRPD implementation is systematically raised in human rights dialogues with third countries, included in Human Rights Country Strategy Papers, is supported by European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights projects targeted at representative organisations of disabled people and is promoted through application of the anti-discrimination toolkit; calls for detailed reporting of EU implementation of the CRPD in its external relations, in the Annual Report on Human Rights; calls on the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to lead and monitor progress in this field;.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for Section 8 of the European Disability Strategy referring to external action to be matched by the inclusion of genuine and concrete commitments which will improve the lives of disabled people, in the strategy’s new ‘list of actions’ for 2016- 2020, such commitments having been absent in the 2010-15 list;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. CSupports the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all external action financing instruments; calls for the mid-term evaluation of the external financing instruments to assess how effectively thesey have contributed to the inclusion of persons with disabilities; demands an e in their societies, barriers have been dismantled, and accessibility has been promoted; furthermore demands tohat any expenditure in the EU programmes that perpetuates the segregation of persons with disabilities be stopped;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the CRPD is the first international human rights treaty ratified by the EU, which has also been signed by all 28 EU Member States and ratified by 25 Member States excluding Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the CRPD expert recommendations thatfor the EU to be more accessible and inclusive to achieve a human rights-based approach to disability in situations of risk and emergency; including through implementation of the Sendai Framework, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing, and monitoring using disaggregated data; strongly urges the mainstreaming of disabled peoples’' human rights in EU migration and refugee policies;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas children with disabilities have the rights to live in (their) families or family environment in line with their best interest;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas children with disabilities are 17 times more likely to live in an institution than their peers without disabilities, where their risk of violence, neglect and abuse is much higher than when living at home;1a __________________ 1aFRA Report: Violence against children with disabilities: legislation, policies and programmes in the EU, http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_ uploads/fra-2015-violence-against- children-with-disabilities_en.pdf
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas disability is a cause and consequence of poverty and approximately 30% of the homeless population have a disability and are at risk to be overlooked;1a __________________ 1aVan Straaten et al (2015). Self-reported care needs of Dutch homeless people with and without a suspected intellectual disability: a 1.5-year follow-up study, In: Health Soc Care Community 2015 Oct 1. Epub 2015 Oct 1.
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F e (new)
Recital F e (new)
Fe. whereas an estimated 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries;1a __________________ 1a World Report on Disability, 2011.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the CRPD Committee’'s recommendations thatfor the EU to develop a human -rights- based indicators system; highlights this must clearly measure the access of persons with disabilities to EU external programmes and the impact of EU funds on disabled peoples' human rights, in line with articles 31 and 32 of CRPD, refers to the structure-process- outcome framework developed by the OHCHR with respect to Articles 19 and 29 of the CRPD; calls for an explicit reference to the CRPD in all impact assessment guidelines.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F f (new)
Recital F f (new)
Ff. whereas the EU supports the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities at the international level, and is the world’s biggest donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA);
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regrets the absence of consultation by the EU with disabled people’'s organisations in its preparations for the review process by the UN CRPD Committee in 2015 and in drafting its progress report; calls for disabled people’'s organisations to be fully involved in future, including participation through the structured dialogue ensuring direct participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations as recommended; including by taking part in official EU delegations for future reviews.
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas disability can be caused by a gradual and sometimes invisible degradation of the state of health of an individual, as is the case for people with neurodegenerative or rare diseases; 2Or. en
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the EU, as a party to the CRPD, has the duty to ensure the close involvement and active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the Convention and in all decision making processes concerning issues that relate to persons with disabilities;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges a comprehensive and cross- cutting review of EU legislation and funding programmes, including future programming periods, with a view to complying fully with the CRPD by constructively involving disability organisations and the members of the EU Framework for the CRPD (hereinafter the ‘EU Framework’);
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Asks the Commission to proposevide a list of legislation with a view to proposing an update of the declaration of competence in light of the Concluding Observations, to be repeated periodically with the formal involvement of disability organisations and the European Parliament;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to set up a structured dialogue with disabilityconsolidate and make a proposal for a structured dialogue between the EU and disability organisations including appropriate funding to ensure full and equal participation by persons with disabilities and their representative organisations;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to use the review of the European Disability Strategy and to develop a comprehensive EU CRPD strategy with a clear implementation timeframe, benchmarks and indicators;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the European institutions and Member States to ensure that boys and girls with disabilities and their representative organisations be consulted in all matters affecting them – with appropriate assistance provided, according to their disability and age;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to work with Parliament to deliver a strongclear and effective directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites, with a broad scope and a robust enforcement mechanism in line with the proposed European Accessibility Act;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is concerned about the lack of accessibility of the EU-wide 112 emergency number, which is at national level and when roaming, causing unnecessary deaths and injuries; highlights the need for implementing measures at national level ensuring inter alia compatibility across Member States, including accessible national emergency points;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is concerned that the Employment Eq2uality Directive does not explicitly make the denial of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities a form of discrimination; asks the Commission to provide a state of play on the kinds of complaints received;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is concerned that the European Structural and Investment Funds are being misused to foster institutionalisation, and calls on the Member States and the Commission to strengthen their monitoring in line with the CRPD and in consultation with disability organisations and recommends to suspend, withdraw and recover payments from Member States if the obligation to respect fundamental rights is breached;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Welcomes the ex-ante conditionalities on social inclusion and its investment priority on the ‘transition from institutional to community based services’ in Regulation 1303/2013 on the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF); calls on the Member States to use the funds for deinstitutionalisation and as a tool to implement the CRPD;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the development of human rights-based indicators and calls on the Member States to provide comparable disaggregated disability data;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commissionbudget authorities to allocate adequate resources to enable the EU Framework to perform its functions independently;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Highlights that the CRPD network needs to be strengthened to appropriately coordinate CRPD implementation internally but also interinstitutionally, while actively involving and closely consulting with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in its activities and meetings;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the institutions to review allensure existing staff regulations, internal rules and implementing provisions for CRPD compatibility are fully implemented in line with the CRPD and internal rules and implementing provisions are developed fully applying CRPD provisions, as part of an open and disability-inclusive process, in order to address the Concluding Observations;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls for the provision of adequate needs-based and CRPD-compatible reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities – or with dependent family members with disabilities – who are in the service of the European institutions, paying particular attention to the needs of disabled parents;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Urges the EU institutions to make their internet-based content and apps, including their intranets and all documents and audiovisual content, accessible while equally ensuring physical accessibility of their buildings;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls for the EU to revise the rules of the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme, the pension system and disability-related social security and social protection measures in order to ensure non- discrimination and equality of opportunities for persons with disabilities, inter alia by recognising disability-related health needs as being distinct from an illness;