ESC: Promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in Brussels

The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is a Europe-wide network of disabled people, with members throughout Europe. ENIL brings together Independent Living organisations and individuals, and non-disabled allies, to promote the right to live independently in the community for all disabled people. ENIL supports a human rights vision of disability based on social inclusion, solidarity, peer support, deinstitutionalisation, democracy, self-representation and self-determination across different impairment groups. ENIL’s mission is to advocate and lobby for Independent Living values, principles and practices, namely for barrier-free environment, provision of personal assistance support and adequate technical aids, together making full citizenship of disabled people possible. ENIL’s activities target European, national and local administrations, politicians, media, and the general society. ENIL works to strengthen the empowerment of disabled people mainly through providing resources for peer counselling and peer training. ENIL seeks to enhance the European disability movement by providing the arena for the sharing of experience of services and by providing expertise on the right to independent living (as set out in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and General Comment 5) and personal assistance. ENIL has a strong grassroots network and is actively engaged with local Centres of Independent Living. Every year, ENIL undertakes a number of activities to raise awareness of the rights of disabled people in Europe at both a national and European Level. The Freedom Drive is ENIL’s flagship campaign and takes place every two years. The week-long event provides an opportunity for Members of the European Parliament to meet with disabled people from across Europe and to discuss issues that are affecting their lives. It also provides an opportunity for disabled people from across Europe to come together and exchange their experiences in an informal way, as well as facilitate further development of the Independent Living movement. In 2020, ENIL promoted the European elections with the ‘this year I am voting for inclusion’ campaign as part of the 6th edition of European Independent Living Day on the 5th May. During the IL-day activities every year, ENIL mobilises members in over twenty countries, resulting in numerous activities throughout Europe to mark this day. In view of the European Parliament elections, ENIL has launched the European Elections Campaign, consisting of the manifesto, questionnaires for MEPs and a toolkit to support disabled people to identify potential candidates that align with the Independent Living philosophy. Since 2017, following from continued cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE-ODIHR) on disability hate crime, ENIL Participates in the Facing all the Facts project. Facing all the Facts is a civil society initiative coordinated by CEJI that aims to improve the recognition and recording of (disability) hate crime and hate speech. ENIL regularly publishes fact sheets, policy briefings and statements related to the right to independent living, as well as a monthly Newsletter. Our most recent publications are: Summary Report on Independent Living Survey. In June 2020, ENIL launched its first Independent Living Survey, with the aim of collecting general information about access to Independent Living of disabled people across Europe, and detailed information about Personal Assistance schemes or systems; in cooperation with the European Parliament group GUE/NGL, ENIL prepared a Study on EU Funds and Independent Living: Lost in Interpretation: The use of ESI Funds during 2014 – 2020 and the impact on the right of persons with disabilities to independent living (December 2020). When the COVID19 pandemic started, ENIL joined 6 global disability rights organisations and launched a Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) Initiative. The aim was to support the global understanding of consequences of COVID19 challenges on persons with disabilities. Report Disability rights during the pandemic: A global report on findings of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor was launched in October 2020. Toolkits and training manuals are also published each year, targeting disabled people across Europe, representative organisations, policy and decision makers, European institutions, equality bodies, academia and the general public. ENIL's Youth Network organises regular webinars on different topics related to independent living and every year holds a three week-long study session on disability and inclusion in cooperation with the Council of Europe's Youth Department. ENIL provides regular input to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and participated to the Global Independent Living Summit in Washington in 2017.