Positive practices to enable participation of persons with disabilities in political parties explored at OSCE/ODIHR event in Brussels
Initiatives to facilitate increased representation of persons with disabilities in political party structures across Europe and the broader OSCE region were the focus of a meeting organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Brussels on 8 November 2017. The meeting, at the European Parliament, was organized in co-operation with the Parliament’s Disability Intergroup and the European Disability Forum.
Over 40 parliamentarians and representatives of political parties, party support organizations, disabled people’s organizations and international organizations participated, among them persons with disabilities.
“As persons with disabilities make up approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, it is time for political parties to acknowledge that they need to address barriers to their equal participation in political life,” said Tiina Kukkamaa-Bah, Chief of the ODIHR Democratic Governance and Gender Unit.
The discussion at the event focused on identifying potential steps and concrete actions to support stronger participation of persons with disabilities in political parties. A number of good practice examples from various European countries were presented, such as the establishment of political party disability branches and making funding available to improve access to elected office.
“Making politics and political life more diverse and more inclusive is a joint responsibility for all of us: citizens, political parties, members of European, national and regional parliaments, ministers and governments. A concerted effort and a set of concrete measures are needed to make politics more inclusive,” said Helga Stevens, the second-ever elected deaf Member of the European Parliament. “This is not only about running in elections, but also about participation in political activities and meetings and access to information and debates, both online and offline, particularly for deaf people who use sign language, blind people and for people with learning difficulties.”
“We need to cross the frontier of expectations by continuing to work on the issue of political participation of persons with disabilities and their involvement in political parties,” said Patrick Clarke, Vice-President of the European Disability Forum. “This way, we can ensure they have an influence as to who is elected to make the decisions that are going to affect their lives on a day-to-day basis.”
The event was organized as part of the ODIHR project “Our right to participate – Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities in political and public life”.