DPI Europe

Yes! Our rights are recognized in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and in more and more national laws. 

Thirty years after its creation our organization has succeeded in reaching its objective and so should close ….

However, there is still a lot to be done.  And, although our slogan “nothing about without us” is now “fashionable” and used by institutions, the United Nations, the European Commission and others, it seems that it is not always well understood and, in fact, not implemented.

During the 61th annual DPI/NGO Conference held in the “Palais de l’UNESCO” in Paris September 3-5, 2008, the Round Table on the CRPD was presented without any participation by persons with disabilities, and DPI had to raise its voice to remind everyone that nothing about us is to be discussed without us. As with the plenary session, DPI was the only organization represented by a disabled person to the workshop on the CRDP.

With the objective of promoting inclusive education, DPI has invited UNESCO to be more attentive of our participation and stressed that, on the basis of DPI and NGOs experiences and on the fact that it seems difficult to make it concrete, participation has to be recognized as a Human Right and introduced in the Universal Declaration.

Finally, we invite UNESCO to promote the CRPD and in particular, Article 24 on education and Article 30 on participation in cultural life; and we are confident that the best way to promote Human Rights and to educate people about them is to implement them.