The Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has just issued a new thematic factsheet on how judgments of the Court have helped to protect and advance the rights of persons with disabilities in many countries.
Here is a brief description:
‘The Council of Europe promotes, protects and monitors the implementation of human rights for
all, including persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are entitled to have access to and
enjoy, on an equal basis with others, the full range of human rights protected by the European
Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter, the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international treaties.
The European Court of Human Rights has enshrined the rights of persons with disabilities in its
case-law through a dynamic and evolutive interpretation of the European Convention in the light
of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and
its fundamental principles of independence, freedom of choice, full and effective participation
and inclusion in society, equality of opportunity and human dignity of persons with disabilities.
The European Convention on Human Rights in its interpretation by the Court and other Council
of Europe texts, such as the European Social Charter, as well as the standards of the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CPT), and the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers, play an important role in
encouraging and supporting member states to implement the necessary measures and changes
to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
The present factsheet provides examples of measures reported by states in the context of the
execution of the European Court’s judgments concerning rights of persons with disabilities.’