Welcome to e-include, the e-journal of Inclusion Europe.

The United Nations is a group of countries
that work together to make the world a better place.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
is part of the United Nations and deals with rights.

In short, we call it OHCHR.

The OHCHR did a study on
how people with disabilities take part in politics.

Inclusion Europe did an easy to read version of this study.
You can find it here.

Inclusion Europe has prepared an easy to read version of the thematic study on participation of people with disabilities in political and public life published by·the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It’s the first time that a thematic study by the OHCHR is also available in easy to read and understand format.

On 1 March, the High Commissioner presented the study at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council, acknowledging the support of Inclusion Europe in making the document accessible to people with intellectual disabilities.

The paper highlights participation in political and public life as a fundamental right of all citizens as well as an important step towards exercise of other human rights. It examines relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, points out the main issues related to the effective exercise of political rights by people with disabilities and presents good practices, particularly in the field of access to elections.

The study highlights that in the majority of reviewed countries, persons with intellectual disabilities are still deprived of their right to vote and stand for election by legal provisions linking political rights to legal capacity. “Such restrictions may be inconsistent with the obligations that States parties have undertaken under articles 2,12 and 29 of the Convention, and should be eliminated as a matter of priority from national legislation and practices” the study concludes. In addition, it calls on states parties to provide people with disabilities with the necessary support they might require to participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others.

The information contained in this study was gathered through a consultation process involving state administrations, civil society organisations, including organisations of persons with disabilities, inter-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions. Individuals and other organisations had an opportunity to contribute by responding to a questionnaire. You can read the respective submissions here.

More information can be found at
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/Pages/ParticipationPoliticalAndPublicLife.aspx

The access to information is crucial for effective participation and full inclusion of person with intellectual disabilities. Since a number of years, it has been among the key policy priorities for Inclusion Europe to make sure that people with intellectual disabilities have access to important information about their rights in a format that easy to read and understand. To this end, Inclusion Europe has developed European standards for making information easy to read and understand and continues to produce accessible information, publications and newsletters. To inform people with intellectual disabilities that some publications are specifically produced to meet their needs and abilities, Inclusion Europe has developed the European easy-to-read logo.