B4-1494, 1498, 1510, 1513, 1540 and 1552/95

Resolution on the human rights of disabled people

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the European Day of Disabled People and the International Day of Human Rights of Disabled People on 3 December 1995,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on this subject, the resolution of the 1993 Parliament of Disabled People and the standard UN rules on equality of opportunity for disabled people,

- having regard to the estimate by the International Labour Organization that unemployment among disabled people is two to three times higher than among non-disabled people, and that long-term unemployment is more frequent among disabled people, leading to a waste of skills and resources,

- having regard to the forthcoming Green Paper on the deployment of telematic systems as a means of assisting handicapped and elderly people,

A. welcoming the tabling of the non-discrimination report on the European Day of Disabled People 1995 and noting with regret its conclusion that the status of disabled people in the Treaties is that of 'invisible citizens' and that human rights violations against disabled people take place in every area of daily life throughout the European Union in the form of discrimination on the grounds of disability,

B. whereas the aforementioned report states that European Union institutions discriminate against disabled people in their employment policies,

C. deploring the fact that disabled people are discriminated against directly, for example by being barred from public events or from certain buildings, and indirectly, by being refused many of the rights granted to non-disabled people by the Treaty on European Union,

D. whereas even new Union legislation discriminates against disabled people, for example by not taking into account their specific needs when harmonizing social rights,

E. disturbed at the fact that the rights guaranteed in the Treaty on European Union are being denied to disabled people,

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in their revision of the Treaties at the Intergovernmental Conference, to build in a clause forbidding discrimination on the grounds of disability;

2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up proposals aimed at enabling disabled people to enjoy the right to freedom of movement in the same way as non-disabled people;

3. Calls on the Commission to respond without delay to Parliament's resolution on violence and discrimination;

4. Calls on the Commission to submit proposals aimed at preventing every form of discrimination against disabled people in work and social situations and calls on the Commission to ensure that the rights, interests and concerns of disabled people are considered in all legislation;

5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take active steps to increase employment opportunities for disabled people, adopting the rule of focusing on abilities rather than disabilities;

6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue their support for European action directly involving disabled people and non- governmental organizations, in particular those run by disabled people;

7. Asks the Commission to include the particular social and consumer-related problems facing disabled people as well as those pertaining to the job market in its report and studies on unemployment;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, and the organizations that are concerned with disabled people.