Commissioner for People with Disabilities of Rhineland-Palatinate, Ottmar Miles-Raul, came to Brussels yesterday to present the Action Plan for implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Rhineland-Palatinate is the first German federal state to adopt such a document, thus becoming a leading example of good practice in the country.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified by Germany in November 2008 and came into force on 26 March 2009. A year later, the government of Rhineland-Palatinate introduced its Action Plan, translating provisions of the UN Convention into concrete goals and actions. In doing so, particular attention was paid to inclusion of all areas of policy and administration as well as various institutional players.

The Action Plan was developed by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Health, Family and Women of Rhineland-Palatinate in cooperation with other ministries after intensive consultations with state councils for participation of people with disabilities. On 25 March 2010, it was officially presented to public in State Chancellery.

The document lays down concrete visions, specific goals and actions in 10 key areas: Education; Employment; Community Living, Culture, leisure and sports; Health and care; Protection of personal rights; Participation and self-advocacy; Mobility and accessibility; Accessible communication and information and “Other goals and measures”.

The Action Plan proposes almost 200 measures, each with concretely defined responsibilities and timeframe. In addition, examples of good practice shall motivate the actors and facilitate undertaking of these actions.

In areas of leisure and transportation, for example, much has already been done to enhance accessibility of public facilities. In Mainz, the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, theatre, city buses and tourist train are fully accessible. There is also a city path with guidance system in the city centre and video-guide in sign-language in the state museum. In addition, a number of initiatives comes from citizens, their associations or private sector. A local fishing club, for instance, made an accessible fishing spot after an accident had left one of its members on a wheelchair.

A very interesting example of good practice is the so-called “agreement on objectives for accessible shopping”. Experts and self-advocates approach shopping centers and supermarkets in their area and offer their expertise in return for concrete actions in making shopping easier for people with disabilities. This initiative is very helpful; however, Commissioner Miles-Raul emphasizes the importance of improved legislation on non-discrimination in goods and services. Therefore, adoption of EU directive, pending since 2008, is inevitable.

The Action Plan has already brought its first results:  agreement on objectives on persons with disabilities and police, initiative on accessible elections in 2011, new law on protection and participation of people living in institutions, accessible garden show and a funding program “accessible, inclusive and fair”.

The main challenge for the time being is transforming the Action Plan from the government’s to state-wide initiative, embracing variety of partners such as local administrative districts, cities and towns, churches, employers’ organizations, unions, service providers and most importantly, organizations of persons with disabilities.