MEPs attended a three-day United Nations meeting in New York this week focused on the rights of people with disabilities, urging the EU alight its funding with the UN disability convention.
A European Parliament delegation took part in the 19th session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 9 to 11 June, the parliamentary press service announced on Thursday.
The convention is a UN treaty setting out the rights of people with disabilities and the duties of states that sign up to it.
The delegation was led by Li Andersson, who chairs the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee.
The group also included MEPs Giusi Princi, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut, Alex Agius Saliba, Assita Kanko and Katrin Langensiepen.
MEPs held bilateral meetings on issues facing people with disabilities and took part in side events linked to this year’s theme — the 20th anniversary of the UN disability rights convention — with sub-themes on care and support systems and political participation.
Co-hosted event with UNICEF and UN agencies
The European Parliament also co-hosted an event with UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the role of the private sector in providing inclusive care and support for people with disabilities.
After the visit, Andersson said “there is still a lot of work to be done to translate the core principles of the convention into practical action for persons with disabilities.”
She also stated that one of the EU’s tasks “must be to bring its long-term budget in line [with] the convention”, including earmarking funds for people with disabilities and their organisations.
