The Social Promotion Foundation has organized together with the Mainel Foundation the VI Congress on Human Rights, with the topic “Human Rights and Disability”.
The Congress was held at the Illustrious Bar Association of Valencia, on April 27 and 28, 2023, and its objective was to reflect on the current situation of people with disabilities and how their human rights can be guaranteed.
In recent years, the way of understanding disability has evolved from purely health and care aspects, together with charitable considerations, to a model based on the concept of human rights that emphasizes equal opportunities and nondiscrimination. In fact, it is not the disability that prevents the exercise of their rights, but the social barriers that must be eradicated to recognize and facilitate their effective exercise.
For this reason, this Congress has sought to raise awareness among citizens and training them to assume responsibility for guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities. Likewise, it has served as a framework to analyze the progress and difficulties in the application of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, carried out on December 13, 2006, is a binding legal tool to compel States and other subjects of international law to ensure their rights and freedoms. Spain signed and ratified this Convention in 2008. And, in 2018, the Generalitat Valenciana adapted its Statute of Persons with Disabilities in accordance with this Convention.
The event was attended by experts in disability and human rights, as well as representatives of organizations and associations of people with disabilities, and has served as a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences, which could also serve to develop concrete proposals.
Among the topics, disability has been addressed from a human rights perspective; the promotion of the autonomy of people with disabilities and their decision-making capacity, also from a legal point of view; the need to guarantee the active participation in society and the social inclusion of people with disabilities from different areas and the overcoming of social and architectural barriers; or the right to inclusive education.
Within the framework of this Congress, Macarena Cotelo, Project Director of the Foundation, has moderated the table “The human rights model for disability and the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. Likewise, she has presented a communication prepared by the Foundation on “The difficulty of access to health services for the Syrian and local refugee population with disabilities in Lebanon.” This communication is based on the results of the study “Disability and Health Situational Analysis Report” (Disability and Health Situational Analysis Report in Lebanon 2019-2020), carried out in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and International Medical Corps (IMC), within the framework of the project “Improving access to quality health services for people with disabilities in Lebanon”
In addition, two exhibitions linked to the VI Congress on Human Rights and Disability have been planned to make visible and raise awareness about this problem. The samples will combine testimonies from people who will tell about the difficulties they encounter in their daily lives to participate in equal rights and, in parallel, inclusive and effective architectural solutions to current integration problems:
- • From May 17 to June 7, the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de la Universitat Politècnica de Valencia will host an exhibition of proposals to improve accessibility to the beach and the bathroom, designed by architecture students.
- • From July 4 to 28, the Colegio Territorial de Arquitectos de Valencia (CTAV) will bring together a dozen architectural projects with innovative inclusive solutions, selected by Fernando Zaparaín, professor at the University of Valladolid and renowned architect in this field, curator of the sample. In addition, it will also be accompanied by video testimonies from people with disabilities.
The IV Congress on Human Rights has had the support of the Department of Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality of the Generalitat Valenciana and by the Department of Development Cooperation and Migration of the Valencia City Council.
