People with disabilities do not generally ask for charity; they demand equal human rights. Their message was heard when the United Nations adopted a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006. This treaty has now been ratified by 27 member states of the Council of Europe and signed by another 18. However, this is only the first step – the Convention should be implemented. A good start would be to “ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others… including the right …to vote and be elected”.
In fact, this right – spelled out in Article 29 of the UN Convention - is not a reality today in the majority of European states. The principle of universal suffrage is not consistently applied. Persons with mental health problems or intellectual disabilities are denied voting rights, in most cases as a consequence of having had their “legal capacity” restricted or removed.
Human Rights Comment : Persons with disabilities must not be denied the right to vote
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