Projet de déclaration 7 Conférence des Etats Parties à la CRPD

Projet de déclaration
7e Conférence des Etats Parties à la CRPD – 10-12 juin 2014
Le projet de déclaration repris ci-dessous aborde chacune des questions soulevées in
fine du ‘background paper’.
(a) What examples exist at the national and local levels with
regards to the implementation of practical actions to ensure the
rights and needs of youth with disabilities are included in policy
and practices on the ground?
La Belgique peut témoigner de bonnes pratiques au niveau de la politique sociale
et de l’émancipation de jeunes porteurs de handicap.
La politique sociale
Since persons with a disability usually require more medical care than on average, the Belgian social
security system has been adapted to their special needs. Under the Belgian security system, patients in
general only have to pay a small amount of overall medical expenses. For persons with a disability and
for persons who receive an additional child allowance for a disabled child, this amount is even lower
than the amount for those who live on welfare. Additionally, the annual amount of medical expenses
per family is limited; above a certain limit no contribution at all has to be paid. For the protected
category the limit of the own contributions is below the general one.
The social protection system also guarantees other benefits for persons with a disability, such as tax
benefits and an additional child allowance. There are also two types of allowances for (young) adults
disabled people: the allowance which replaces the income of a person who is not capable of working
due to his or her disability and the allowance to facilitate their integration.
Disabled people can also enjoy cheaper housing.
La politique d’émancipation et d’inclusion
Déjà avant la mise en avant par la CRPD du principe d’émancipation et d’inclusion des personnes
porteuses d’un handicap (art. 19 CRPD), le Comité des droits de l’enfant a mis l’accent sur ce principe
dans §9, c) du General Comment n°9 CRC: la surprotection mène à la discrimination de fait.
La Belgique reconnaît le besoin d’investir dans l’émancipation des personnes porteuses d’un handicap,
d’une part via une aide à destination de la famille par voie d’un soutien à la parentalité en combinaison
avec un budget d’assistance personnelle, d’autre part via un suivi particulier du continuum entre les
différentes phases de vie.
Afin de pouvoir mesurer les efforts réalisés pour restreindre la durée de séjour dans une institution, il
est utile d’inventariser les efforts réalisés pour accompagner le passage d’un accueil résidentiel à la vie
indépendante: entre autres quelles initiatives sont prises par les institutions en la matière, qui est
chargé de la coordination et de l’accompagnement concret1, quelles alternatives existent (le budget
1
Voir aussi §27 General Comment n°9 CRC: le besoin de former chaque professionnel entrant en contact avec
des enfants porteurs d’un handicap. Voir aussi ENOC, “Statement on Children and Young People with
Disabilities”, novembre 2007, www.ombudsnet.org en http://crin.org/docs/statement_disabilities_2007.doc et
CODE (Coordination des organisations pour les droits de l’enfant - Belgique) « Le respect des droits des enfants
d’assistance personnelle, l’autonomie supervisée, d’autres formes d’aide familiale, des centres de
jour…), quid des listes d’attente, est-ce qu’une période de transition est prévue pendant laquelle un
soutien et des soins sont poursuivis, comment est-ce que les personnes concernées vivent elles-mêmes
cet accompagnement2?
Un travail d’émancipation vers le marché de travail requiert un continuum au niveau éducatif, dès
jeune âge. La Belgique s’efforce d’avancer vers l’inclusion des enfants porteurs d’un handicap au sein
de l’accueil de la petite enfance. Ensuite, les passages vers l’enseignement maternel, l’enseignement
primaire et secondaire et l’enseignement supérieur méritent une attention particulière. Et pour finir, il
y a lieu d’intensifier le soutien adéquat et systématique de jeunes porteurs d’un handicap qui se
préparent au passage vers la vie d’adulte et l’assistance aux adultes3.
(b) What concrete policies and actions proved to be successful
and could be replicable by Governments to realize universal
education for children and youth with disabilities since they have
been known as the hardest to reach in the national efforts for
achieving universal education?
Education is within the competency of the Communities. Flanders has an integrated educational policy
which strives to integrate disabled children in the regular educational system. The pupil/student, the
parents, the school or the student guidance centre can request special support. A teacher or employee
of a school within the special educational system guides the pupil/student so that he or she can go to a
“normal” school. Apart from this system, disabled children can go to specials schools which provide
education adapted to their abilities. The classes are set up according to the type of disability of the
children. The choice of the type of education and of the school is in principle free. Nevertheless, a
school can motivate why it is practically impossible to include a certain child.
(c) Which policies work in terms of effective promotion of
employment for youth with disabilities?
According to Directive 2000/78/EC and the draft “horizontal” Directive Belgium has to provide
“reasonable accommodations” to meet the needs of disabled people.
The federal Act against certain forms of discrimination and the regional Decrees on Fair Employment
Participation, against certain forms of discrimination and on equal chances and equal treatment
provide several means to attain these goals. The Regions can for instance enter into a sector covenant
with employers’ and employees’ organisations, in order to support and execute their policy on equal
employment participation.
(f.i. Flemish Decree regarding the sector covenants within the framework of the Flemish employment
policy, 13 March 2009).
It is possible to bring a discrimination complaint before the Centre for Equal Opportunities and
Opposition to Racism, in case of a violation of the federal Act against certain forms of discrimination
or of the Decrees of the French Community and the Walloon Region against discrimination. The
Centre will try to bring about reconciliation between the parties. When reconciliation seems
porteurs d’un handicap : une double attention est requise », juillet 2009,
http://www.lacode.be/IMG/pdf/analyse_handicap.pdf.
2
ITHACA, The Ithaca toolkit for monitoring human rights and general health care in mental health and social
care institutions, www.ithacastudy.eu, 2010, 59 (prompt questions for the monitoring visit).
3
L’importance de ce point est également accentuée par ENOC “Statement on Children and Young People with
Disabilities”, novembre 2007.
impossible or fails, the case can be brought before a court. In these cases, the Centre is competent to
act on behalf of the discriminated person when this is considered useful. Other discrimination cases, or
cases without the involvement of the Centre, can also be dealt with by Belgian courts and tribunals.
Although inclusion in the regular market is the aim goal, in order to employ people with a mental
handicap whose integration in the regular sectors isn’t always realistic, Belgium organises
employment in sheltered work areas. The regional governments subsidise their salaries and social
security contributions. An additional subsidy is foreseen for the weakest employers. In order to be
recognised as a claimant of the allowance, the sheltered work area has to meet certain conditions: it
must guarantee useful and sufficiently rewarding and paying work, provide technical, social and
medical guidance, aim – if possible – at moving the employees to the regular employment circuit, and
adapt the infrastructure to the special needs of the employees.
(d) Are there any good practices in proactively involving youth
with disabilities in development policymaking forums and processes?
The Belgian Law on Patients' Rights of 2002 aims to improve healthcare quality by providing patients’
basic rights, also for minors.
Ombudsman services are provided in every hospital and at the federal level. The Belgian Federal
Commission on Patients' Rights evaluates the way the ombudsman services operate and deals with
complaints. The Commission also evaluates the application of the Law in general and advises the
government on patients’ rights.
Also in mental health care, the rights of the minor patients to participate in the development and
exercise of the youth care the minor receives is being taken into account, as well as the right to
assistance by a counsellor and the right to complain about the modalities of the help patients receive.
At the legislative level, a consultation of associations dealing with the rights of disabled
children/persons is possible during the preparatory work at the level of the concerned administrations
or of the parliamentary assembly. In case of proposals of Flemish decrees a systematic child impact
assessment is being processed, which takes into account the consultation of experts.