Freedom Drive Finalises Its Demands

On 16 Sep 09, 3 delegates from SCIL will join more than 400 Freedom Drivers from more than 20 countries as they march through Strasbourg to the EU Parliament. Regardless of their impairment, they are unified by one goal: Independent Living.

They will hand over the following demands to the President of the EU Parliament. 

1. We call on the European Community to ensure that Independent Living is central in the disability policies of the European Union, as expressed in the EU Disability Strategy, the Disability Action Plan and Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol.

2. We encourage the European Community to continue to assist the development of community-based services to achieve de-institutionalization across Europe.

3. We call for the implementation of our human right to a personal assistance service, fundamental to guarantee the enjoyment of Independent Living.

4. We call for the opportunity to equally enjoy the right to freedom of movement with the portability of personal assistance services.

5. We call for an earmarking of 5% of EU development funding to go to the development of Independent Living programs in developing countries.

6. We call on the European Community to fully ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to sign and ratify its Optional Protocol and for its articles to be implemented in EU legislation and policy. Incumbent in this is the application of pressure by the Institutions and representatives on member states to transpose the convention into law domestically as soon as possible

7. We call for a disability specific directive to uphold and protect the full rights and entitlements of people with disabilities across Europe.

8. Disabled people and our organisations must be decisively involved at all levels of policy-making including planning, producing and implementation.

Whilst in Strasbourg, the Freedom Drive participants will be meeting with many MEPs who have an interest in this area to look at how we can all work together to ensure these demands are taken seriously.

You can read more about the Freedom Drive on our blog over the coming weeks.