Indicators on the right to political participation of people with disabilities

Ahead of the EU elections, this report explores the political participation of people with disabilities. Although some Member States removed restrictions on the right to vote and to stand for elections, barriers still exist. This report is an update of new developments following FRA’s last report published in 2014. It sets out ways forward to ensure people with disabilities have equal opportunities, in line with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This guide helps independent national monitoring frameworks to fulfil their monitoring responsibility set out in Article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It focuses on the use of indicators. It does not deal with aspects such as compliance with the Paris Principles or the efficiency of complaints mechanisms. Its objective is to support national monitoring frameworks in designing or improving indicators for assessing progress of CRPD implementation at national level.

The opportunity to be involved in political life, whether by standing for elected office, joining a political party, or following political news stories in the media, is at the heart of what it means to live in a democratic society. The report analyses data on the situation of political participation of persons with disabilities collected from across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Commission-funded Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED).

The report analyses data on the situation of political participation of persons with disabilities collected from across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Commission-funded Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED).