OHCHR’s Regional Office for Europe has identified the human rights of persons in institutional care as one of the key human rights challenges in Europe today. Therefore, on 27-28 October it is organizing an international seminar in Brussels with a two-fold objective:
To raise awareness of policy-makers in the EU institutions and Member States to the issues of human rights of vulnerable and often “invisible” groups of persons - i.e., children, persons with disabilities (including intellectual disabilities), persons with mental health problems, and the elderly - who are either already in residential institutional care, or are at risk of being taken into residential institutional care.
To highlight the importance of human rights challenges linked to institutional care within the human rights community, including UN bodies and instruments, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society organizations (CSOs).
In the pursuit of these goals, the Seminar will aim to:
Identify shared human rights issues involved in institutional care for various groups of users.
Identify how the protection and promotion of human rights of persons in residential institutions, or else those who are at risk of such placement, can be improved on the ground. Discuss the potential for practical recommendations to be made in this respect to the Member States.
Explore the potential of (existing) legal, financial and policy instruments of the European Union, mainly those applicable within the EU, but potentially also in the context of enlargement and development policies.
Contribute to the mainstreaming of human rights issues concerning all groups of persons in institutions within existing human rights frameworks and instruments.
Support the creation and development of cooperation between user-specific advocacy groups.
Address the issue of the right to be heard and the participation of members of these vulnerable groups themselves in decision-making processes.
Speakers will include United Nations and European Union experts on the matter, including Members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A number of experts from civil society organizations specialized in the rights of children, disabled and persons with mental health problems will also be sharing their viewpoints and experiences. Successful case studies from, inter alia, Greece and Bulgaria will be shared.
For further information, please contact the Regional Office for Europe at Brussels@ohchr.org.
