40 representatives of the European Commission, the United Nations, civil society organisationshad a meeting recently to talk about a study on disability. The study made recommendations on improving inclusion for people with disabilities. The study also made recommendations about how to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities across Europe.

The disability dimension needs to be systematically incorporated into all levels of EU development cooperation. This has to be done both internally, within its own structures, and externally, in political dialogue with partner countries. Furthermore, it is essential to strengthen the collaboration between the EU delegations and civil society on the ground.

These were the main conclusions of the workshop on disability in the EC development cooperation hosted by the European Commission in Brussels.

Forty representatives of the European Commission, the UN, the EU member states and civil society organisations, including Inclusion Europe, gathered to learn about the findings of a study that was carried out by three independent experts and presented during the workshop.

The study examined recurrent practices in the EC development cooperation and suggested recommendations aiming at improved inclusion of the rights and interest of persons with disabilities, in line with the Article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It revealed that despite various initiatives (disability-related projects, disability contact persons in the delegations etc), the EU development policy lacks systematic approach to disability, particularly with regard to the mainstreaming. To what extent disability is addressed in each partner country often depends on personal involvement inside the EU delegation.

One of the several underlying causes is the absence of a policy document explicitly dealing with disability and development. Disability is neither mentioned in the European Consensus for Development, the main political statement of the EU development cooperation.

In this respect, much hope is put in the forthcoming European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 that will be released on 9 November. Its external action component is considered as a key for future EC’s steps in the field of disability and development.

It has been widely accepted that the best way to achieve systematic integration of disability in the EC development cooperation is following a twin-track approach. This means, mainstreaming disability in all areas of work on one hand and implementation of specific disability-related projects on another.

First of all, the EC should address the issue internally, mainly through awareness-raising among its personnel, elaboration of firm, clear and concise guidelines and sectoral notes and adaptation of structures.

The participants further agreed that the EU, as a major international player, is best placed to promote ratification and support implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in political dialogue with partner countries. This needs to be done in close collaboration with the EU member states in order to ensure coherence and common understanding.

Another essential question addressed during the workshop was strengthening of collaboration with civil society. Its role proved to be particularly important in the least developed countries where the public administration is very weak.

Since 2000, the EC has funded around 440 disability-related projects in 82 countries directed towards community-based rehabilitation, capacity-building, social inclusion, promotion of human rights and humanitarian and emergency assistance. Most of them were implemented in partnership with NGOs funded by thematic lines and to a lesser extent through bilateral geographic cooperation programs.

Following the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU committed to a more coherent and systematic standing on disability in all areas of policy-making, including the development cooperation.

A detailed report from the workshop will be available upon request.