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The Catalan Ombudsman wants to draw the authorities’ attention to the rights of people with disabilities
The Síndic de Greuges (Catalan Ombudsman) has made a statement coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day of Disabled Persons, on December 3. Moreover, 2007 has been declared the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All: Towards a Just Society by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
The Ombudsman, Rafael Ribó, stresses that the authorities should guarantee to people with disabilities they may fully exercise their rights. For that reason he emphasizes the necessity of promoting, protecting and ensuring that all persons with disabilities may fully enjoy, in conditions of equality, all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that they be respected in their dignity.
The Catalan ombudsman underscores the importance of four lines of action to improve the living conditions of all persons with disabilities.
-The application of the principle of equality.
-A guarantee of the right to individual autonomy.
-Conditions of universal accessibility.
-The guarantee of conditions of full inclusion, integration and participation in society. In Catalonia, in 2006, there were a total of 377,527 persons with recognized disabilities, which have filed a total of 750 complaints to the Catalan Ombudsman for the last five years. Those complaints can be considered a reflection of some of the problems that affect persons with disabilities in Catalonia.
