National Association of the Disabled in Finland
                                         To the Representatives of the Finnish government

                                      Participation in the Intergovernmental Conference

AUTOR : National Association of the Disabled in Finland

Around 37 million disabled citizens are living within the European Union. This amounts to 10 % of the area's total population. A report, "The Invisible Citizens," on
the discrimination of European disabled people was published on 7.12.1995 in connection with the European Disabled People's Day. The paper shows the extent to
which disabled people are invisible to European law and how the rules on citizenship contained in the charter agreements do not properly protect disabled persons
from being discriminated. The report proves the necessity to add provisions prohibiting discrimination based on disability to the charter agreements of the European
Union. A recent report "For a Europe of Civic and Social Rights," drafted by European lawyers and specialists on economy, also stresses the necessity to prohibit
discrimination and discusses the legal and financial consequence of a prohibition (Draft IGC Report - 14 August 1996, EDDP 1996).

The European Union's White Book (COM(94) 333, 22.7.1994) on social policies published by the Commission also discusses the position of disabled citizens in
the European Union and refers to the United Nation's document "The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities," which
combats discrimination and promotes human rights, as a model for disability policies in the European Union. The EU Commission again brought up the same
document as a model in a recent communication, "On Equality of Opportunity for People with Disabilities" - A New European Community Disability Strategy
(COM(96) 406 final; 30.7.96).

Citizen organisations in Finland have during the intergovernmental negotiation procedures proposed that provisions prohibiting general discrimination are included in
the charter agreements of the European Union. The Disability Organisations'Advisory Committee repeats this proposal of citizen organisations and demands that a
general provision against discrimination be added to the charter agreements of the European Union, in accordance with the reformation of Finnish fundamental rights
so that a provision against discrimination based on disability is included in the agreements:

"No person shall without legitimate and generally acceptable grounds be discriminated or treated differently because of his or hers sex, age, origin, language, religious
or other belief, opinion, state of health, disability or other reason or qualities related to the person in question."
 

FONTE : http://europa.eu.int/en/agenda/igc-home/instdoc/ngo/fincig.htm