Max Rubisch

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(No Transcript)
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Austrian National Action Plan on Disability 2012
- 2020

• Strategy of the Austrian Federal Government for
  the implementation of the CRPD
• Adopted on 24 July 2012
• Eight main areas Disability policy, Protection
  against Discrimination, Accessibility, Education,
  Employment, Independent living, Health and
  Rehabilitation, Awareness-raising and Information
• 250 measures to be implemented until 2020
• The objectives are more important than the
  measures!

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National Action Plan on DisabilityIndependent
Living Objectives (1)

• Objective living as independently as possible
  and participate in all areas of society
• This includes the possibility of entering into a
  partnership, marrying or having a family
• Different support services and benefits must be
  available for the varying needs and different
  stages of life
• Housing a de-institutionalisation programme is
  necessary in all nine Länder
• Self-advocacy has to be supported
• Peer counselling has to be supported

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National Action Plan on DisabilityIndependent
Living Objectives (2)

• Personal assistance should be extended and
  offered for all types of disabilities
• The rules on personal assistance at regional
  level should be standardised throughout the
  country
• Political adult education has to be accessible to
  people with sensory or learning disabilities
• Official documents must be understandable for
  people with learning disabilities
• All sectors of the population have to be included
  in the information society

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Work programme of the Austrian Federal Government
2013 - 2018

• Objective inclusion of persons with disabilities
  in all areas of life
• CRPD and National Action Plan have to be
  implemented
• To enable independent living, large institutions
  have to be broken down and alternative support
  services have to be developed
• Personal assistance at work is on the same level
  throughout Austria - Personal assistance in other
  areas of life should be harmonised by the Länder
• Accessibility is a condition for equal
  opportunities
• Guardianship will be reduced, supported
  decision-making will be supported

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UN Disability Rights CommitteeConcluding
observations (1)

• Austrian State examination dialogue of the
  Austrian delegation (federal and regional
  governments) with the Disability Rights Committee
  of the UN on 2/3 September 2013 in Geneva
• Concluding observations from 30 September 2013
• Congratulation Adoption of the National Action
  Plan on Disability
• Concern Austria has a federal system of
  government and this has led to a fragmentation of
  disability policy, especially in social services,
  accessibility standards and protection against
  discrimination
• Recommendation federal and regional governments
  should adopt an overarching legislative framework
  and policy on disability

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UN Disability Rights CommitteeConcluding
observations (2)

• Concern over the last 20 years the population of
  Austrians with disabilities living in
  institutions has increased (13.000 persons in
  2010) this is contrary to Article 19 CRPD and
  leaves these persons vulnerable to violence and
  abuse
• Recommendation Federal government and
  governments of Länder should step up efforts
  towards de-institutionalization and allowing
  persons with disabilities to choose where they
  live
• Concern 55.000 Austrians are under guardianship
  (2012), half of them in respect of all aspects of
  life this is old-fashioned and contrary to
  Article 12 CRPD
• Recommendation replace guardianship with
  supported decision-making and ensure that persons
  with disabilities have access to it

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UN Disability Rights CommitteeConcluding
observations (3)

• Committee commends Austria for its various
  personal assistance programmes
• Concern personal assistance programmes are not
  available to persons with psychosocial
  disabilities and not all cover persons with
  intellectual disabilities
• Recommendation Austria should ensure that the
  different personal assistance programmes
• provide sufficient financial assistance to ensure
  that a person
• can live independently in the community
• are harmonized throughout the country
• are made available to all persons with
  intellectual and psychosocial disabilities

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UN Disability Rights CommitteeConcluding
observations (4)

• Concern there is no progress towards invlusive
  education in Austria, the number of children in
  special schools is increasing
• Recommendation greater efforts should be made to
  support students with disabilities in all areas
  of inclusive education from kindergarten to
  secondary school to universities
• Concern in Austria all persons, including
  persons with intellectual and psychosocial
  disabilities, have the right to vote, but the
  elections are not always accessible
• Recommendation voting information should be
  provided in all accessible formats, the voting
  procedure should be fully accessible to all
  persons with disabilities

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Concluding observationsImplementation in Austria
(1)

• Coordination of disability policy since
  September 2014 talks between the Federal Ministry
  for Social Affairs and the governments of the
  Länder are on-going with a view on reaching an
  agreement Inclusive Disability Policy this
  includes also the topics of
• accessibility
• de-institutionalization
• personal assistance
• protection against violence
• National Prevention Mechanism Since 2012 the
  Austrian Ombudsman Board and its Committees are
  controlling institutions for persons with
  disabilities in order to prevent violence and
  abuse

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Concluding observationsImplementation in Austria
(2)

• Inclusive Education the Federal Ministry of
  Education and the Länder are preparing inclusive
  pilot regions for inclusive education (the
  nationwide extension is planned until 2020)
• Project Support of independent living since
  March 2014 a working group in the Federal
  Ministry of Justice together with the Länder
  works on creating alternatives to guardianship
• Participation in political and public life more
  and more official and political documents are
  available in an easy to read version, since
  2013 there are improvements in the voting
  procedure for persons with visual disabilities