EU Accession: An opportunity for the transition towards human rights-based disability services
Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are all candidate countries for European Union accession. As part of the pre-accession process, national structural reform programmes are carefully assessed within the framework of the EU Enlargement Package to ensure alignment with EU human rights standards, including the rights of persons with disabilities. Each year, the European Commission presents a report on the progress made by these candidate countries in deinstitutionalisation and the transition to community-based services.
The accession process presents a significant opportunity for disability services to collaborate with their national governments to advance deinstitutionalisation. Within this context, this webinar will:
- Address the importance of upholding the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of the EU accession.
- Present some reforms being undertaken by candidate countries and identify the remaining gaps in meeting EU standards.
- Identify the opportunities and challenges faced by services in the pre-accession process.
Draft Agenda:
11h00 | Welcome and Introduction
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11h05 | Presentation of EU accession process and the assessment of the countries’ reforms on human rights
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11h15 | How the EU accession can advance the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
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11h30 | Challenges and opportunities of the accession process – Focus on the DI process in Moldova
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11h40 | Q&A: How can services for persons with disabilities advocate for deinstitutionalisation in the negotiation process? |
12h10 | Closing remarks
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