The document discusses the political participation and voting rights of people with disabilities. It notes that historically people with disabilities have been excluded from exercising human rights like voting. While laws now protect voting rights, many countries still deprive people with disabilities of the right to vote based on their disability. The document calls for full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of the political and electoral process, and outlines challenges like legal barriers and inaccessible information and facilities that still must be addressed.

1. Opening the classroom, to expand education
Learning about human rights and the right to vote of each of us
Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from
exercising their human rights, including the right to political participation. The UN Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities responds to this circumstance and provides a holistic
solution. Emerging practices around the globe nonetheless bear out that persons with disabilities
can be successfully incorporated in all phases of an electoral process.
I
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, stresses that it
is not acceptable to deprive persons with disabilities of their right to vote, regardless of the
nature or severity of their disability. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities is very clear on this issue, but this principle is still not respected in many
countries. The Commissioner points to positive developments which took place within the
Council of Europe in 2011, and encourages other representatives of the international human
rights community to follow suit.

2. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg
At a time when election officials are struggling to convince more people to vote, advocates for
the disabled say thousands of people with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy and other
intellectual or developmental disabilities have been systematically denied that basic right in the
nation’s largest county.
Where is the line to disqualify someone from the voting booth because of a cognitive or
developmental impairment?
The complaint by the Disability and Abuse Project argues that intellectual and developmental
disabilities, including conditions such as Down syndrome, are not automatic barriers to
participating in elections. It seeks a sweeping review of voting eligibility in Los Angeles County
in such cases, arguing that thousands of people with those disabilities have lost the right to vote
during the last decade.
“If somebody can articulate in whatever way … that they want to vote, that they have an interest
in voting, that’s the only test that should be applied nationwide,” Thomas F. Coleman, the
group’s legal director, said at a news conference outside the federal courthouse, echoing a
recommendation from the American Bar Association.
At issue in the California case is access to the ballot box for adults who enter so-called limited
conservatorships, legal arrangements in which parents or guardians assume the right to make
certain decisions for people who lack the ability to manage their financial and medical affairs. In
the course of taking that step in court, voting rights are routinely voided, according to the
advocacy group.
“Autism is a broad spectrum, and there can be low skills and there can be high skills. But what I
observed was that people tend to just dismiss it as though they have no skills,” Teresa
Thompson, whose son has autism and whose case helped prompt the complaint, said in a
videotaped statement.
.

3. For years, advocates brought attention to the obstacles to voting faced by the physically disabled.
More recently, the focus has shifted to the mentally or developmentally disabled, who advocates
say have long been stigmatized in the voting process.
All but about a dozen states have some type of law limiting voting rights for individuals based on
competence. But how those laws are enforced varies widely, advocates say.
New research findings published by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) suggest that full
political participation of persons with disabilities can be achieved if an adequate legal and policy
framework is in place, which enables citizens with disabilities equal access to all aspects of the
political process, such as voting in elections, being members of political parties and engaging
with political activities.
Nevertheless, the promotion and implementation of this right is patchy across EU Member States
and further efforts are required to ensure that information and political processes are accessible.
The FRA report entitled The right to political participation for persons with disabilities: human
rights indicators outlines the current barriers and obstacles which must be overcome before the
political participation of persons with disabilities is fully realised in compliance with the
requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The main challenges to address are legal. Obstacles such as restrictions on the right to vote, gaps
between law and policy and a lack of engagement with persons with disabilities in policy
development are major concerns. There is also an imbalance amongst persons with disabilities:
barriers to participation are more significant for those with a certain type of disability or based on
the severity of their impairment.
The report reminds Member States that addressing these barriers and obstacles “as soon as
possible is essential to increasing the legitimacy of public institutions and creating more
equitable and inclusive societies in which all members can participate fully.”
To facilitate this process, FRA has developed a number of human rights indicators that can help
identify the extent to which persons with disabilities participate in political activities across the
EU. Indicators have been developed for following thematic areas: lifting legal and administrative
barriers to political participation; raising awareness of the right to political participation of
persons with disabilities; making voting procedures, facilities and election materials more
accessible; and increasing opportunities for participation in political life.
The right to political participation of persons with disabilities in the UK
Using the FRA human rights indicators, it is possible to assess the extent to which the UK has
adhered to its obligations under the CRPD as well as other significant human rights instruments
such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and
other EU Treaties.
 Lifting legal and administrative barriers

4. In the UK, all eligible citizens, including persons living in long-term institutions, have the right
to vote and can use alternative methods of voting, including proxy voting and postal voting.
However, access to voting procedures is hindered by inaccessible administrative procedures such
as requesting support or assistance. In addition, there is a lack of information on how to submit a
complaint.
 Making political participation more accessible
Accessibility refers not only to facilities but also to voting procedures and election materials.
In the UK, accessibility to public buildings is assured by mandatory accessibility standards for
the construction and alteration of national and local authority buildings. Despite this, in 2013, an
Equality Indicators survey, conducted by the Office of Disability Issues, suggested that 32% of
the disabled population reported having difficulties accessing goods and services, including
access to Local Authority and Central Government services.
Information on electoral processes and election-related media also remain largely inaccessible to
persons with disabilities. In the UK, only public media providers are obliged to ensure that their
broadcasts are accessible to persons with disabilities. The BBC and Channel 4 both have a public
sector equality duty to ensure that their broadcast services are accessible to persons with
disabilities. However, this means that there are no legal accessibility standards for providers of
internet and web-based services.
Notably, the research findings suggest that a disparity exists between information that is
provided according to the type of disability. For example, there has been an increase in the
availability of subtitling for people with hearing impairments; however, there is less availability
of audio description for those with visual impairments. This gap creates an inequity in the access
to information.
Scope, in their 2010 report Polls Apart, outlined their findings following a survey of polling
stations from the 2010 General Election. The main barriers encountered by persons with
disabilities included:
a) The absence of a tactile voting device to help visually impaired voters vote independently;
b) The absence of a large print version of the ballot paper;
c) The absence of level access into the polling station, including an adequate ramp when
required.
d) The absence of a low level polling booth
e) The absence of registration documents and a polling card that were easy to read and
understand.
 Increasing rights awareness

5. Raising awareness is essential to overcome the legal and administrative barriers stated above, as
well as guaranteeing access of persons with disabilities to the electoral process by providing
information.
Increasing awareness of the right to political participation of persons with disabilities can be
achieved using a two pronged approach: i) by ensuring that public officials are well informed on
disability equality and the duty to provide reasonable accommodation and ii) by ensuring that
persons with disabilities are aware of their right to vote and participate in political activities.
In the UK, training of election authorities and officials is not a legal requirement, but there is
nevertheless the provision of training materials and instructions on how to ensure non-
discrimination on the ground of disability and accessibility in voting procedures.
The role of disabled persons’ organisations (DPOs) is key to ensuring that persons with
disabilities are aware of their right to political participation, therefore it is essential that they are
consulted when law and policies are being developed.
Mechanisms have been established, in the UK, to ensure that systematic consultation with DPOs
occurs. This includes guidance issued to government departments about the need to involve
disabled persons in the development of government policy and strategy.
 Increasing opportunities for participation in political life
It is also necessary to increase the capacity of political parties and media organisations to make
information and campaign materials more accessible. In the UK, none of the main political
parties have provided an alternative version to their European Manifesto 2014. In the 2010
general election, of the main political parties, only the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats
produced alternative formats of their General Election Manifestos (including Easy Read, Audio
and Large Print). Labour and the Conservatives produced a Manifesto available for download,
but no links to alternative formats.
Overall, the FRA findings suggest that to improve the political participation of persons with
disabilities, it is necessary to provide more accessible information and processes, including
support and reasonable adjustments
II
Good laws but illegal practice in institutions for people with a disability
CROATIA
Primjer Dobre prakse

6. U udruzi Radost održanaedukacija o biračkom pravuosobas
intelektualnim teškoćama
16 Svibanj 2013
Plod intezivne suradnje udruge Radost iz Ploča, Udruge za samozastupanje i Gonga, između
ostalog, jest i zanimljiva edukacija koja se održala u prostorijama udruge Radost. „Ljudi su
dobili pravo glasa, što je osnovni i temeljni preduvjet uključivanja u javni život “, rekao je
Damjan Janjušević iz udruge za samozastupanje, koja je radila na ovom ostvarivanju biračkog
prava osoba s poteškoćama.
Članak 24 Konvencije o pravima osoba s invaliditetom kaže da osobe s intelektualnim
teškoćama još ne mogu sudjelovati u programima cjeloživotnog učenja, a 16 000 ljudi bilo je u
potpunosti zakinuto za osnovno ljudsko pravo -biračko pravo i ravnopravan život u zajednici.
Udruga Radost je članica mreže od 12 lokalnih grupa za samozastupanje u Hrvatskoj i aktivno
sudjeluje u ostvarivanju prava osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama.Kroz rad sa samozastupnicima
iz Radosti, Dajana Boras-Durmić kaže, najvažnija je upravo inkluzija u društvo i mogućnost

7. informiranja o pravima koja imaju. Katarina Matijašević, koja također kroz radionice uči
Radosne kako da se čuje i njihov glas, izrazila je zadovoljstvo postignutim rezultatima koje su
postigli kroz druženja.
U ugodnoj atmosferi članovi udruge predavačima su prepričavali svoja iskustva s izbora za
Europski parlament. Predsjednica udruge Radost, gđa. Nada Boras ovom prilikom istaknula je
važnost ovakvih edukacija pomoću kojih ovi divni ljudi uče da mogu govoriti u svoje ime i
donositi odluke o vlastitom životu. U listopadu ove godine Hrvatska je domaćin Europske
konferencije samozastupnika „Čujte naše glasove“, na kojoj će prisustvovati i samozastupnici iz
Ploča, iz udruge Radost.
Samobor, 23.01.2015.
Links:
1. Submit signatures Croatian Parliament
https://www.facebook.com/UImeObitelji/app_109849065805705
2. sign up and start changes in https://www.facebook.com/UImeObitelji/app_109849065805705
3. Disabled and Looking For Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofzxzBRpKFM
4. Voting and Civic Involvement: Access for people with cognitive disabilities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Sp7Ul2d1U
5. Human rights advocate Thomas Hammarberg on disability rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62LpYWHOLQY
6. Dominic Grieve QC MP on European Convention on Human Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awf15ahfHUo