Grammar school from Sevojno with Association of CP and Polio from Uzice, Intermunnicipal organisation of Blind from Uzicea, Uzice Center for Child Rights and Ethno park Terzic yard started a project „Closer Together”.

This is a example of positive praxis in our community as grammar school initiated such project.This project is financed from Uzice City budget within the Reform of social policy for improvement the status of persons with disability.

The aim of the project is better social integration of children with physical and intelectual impairment, higher sensibility of their peers, parents and teachers. Target group is consisted of all school pupils. More intensive work is planned with pupils with disability and their parents, their classmates and their parents.

It is planned to form Team for child integration, workshops (ceramic, drama and puppets) Photo club, Friend’s club, Counselling for parents, psychomotoric exercises and skills.

All further news will be on www.ossevojno.edu.rs,  www.osi-uzice.rs  and www.graduzice.org . 

Tijana Petrovic  

National Assembly of Republic of Serbia ratified UN Convention on Rights of PWDs and Optional Protocol on Friday, 29^th of May 2009 at 7.03 p.m. In this way Serbia became 52th state that ratified Convention and 31st that ratified Optional Protocol.

Convention UN does not create new rights for persons with disability but define mechanisms for their equal participation in general in civil, political, economical, social and cultural rights.

This is historical day as UN Convention is the first international legally obligatory document on rights of persons with disability. Ratifying Convention and Protocol Serbia, as a state, obliged itself to provide full realisation of all human rights and basic freedoms and provide consultations and active participation of persons with disability in this process. 

For the first time in Germany, a lawsuit deals with the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, which was ratified in Germany in March 09. The plaintiff is a woman who has lived independently with personal assistance for all her life. The Hanseatic city Hamburg (one of the German federal states) has now denied her the budget for her personal assistance and instead only wants to pay for nursing home occupancy costs. The legal basis is a law that denies ambulant treatment in case the placement of the disabled person into a nursing home is “agreeable“ and “appropriate“ and in case the ambulant treatment costs a considerable amount more.  The plaintiff says that this means a violation of article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons. Article 19 guarantees independent living and community living. It states that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement.

The Hanseatic city Hamburg says that the Convention is not a superior law. Additionally, personal assistance was not needed in this case to avoid segregation because, after all, the nursing home was an appropriate home. The plaintiff’s legal representative states that confinement to a nursing home against the will of a person is a wrongful deprivation of the person’s freedom.

Belgrade celebrated Europe Day and the Day of Victory in II World War on 9^th of May 2009 in Knez Mihajlova street from 12 a.m. until 6 p.m. Office for European Integration in Belgrade organised presentation of nongovernmental sector, educational institutions, health institutions and EU member states who have their diplomatic offices in Serbia.Beside few high schools, Health centres and Embassies there are five non governmental organisations in Knez Mihajlova street: Civic Initiatives, Group 484, European Movement, Belgrade Open School and Centre for Independent Living Serbia.A lot of materials were distributed and there were meetings and conversations with interested citizens and politicians.

APRIL – 2009

139 signatories to the Convention

82 signatories to the Optional Protocol

51 ratifications of the Convention

30 ratifications of the Optional Protocol 

STOP PRESS: Sudan Ratifies Convention

Women’s rights 

Women with disabilities face barriers and discrimination in society, even more than men with disabilities. The European Disability Forum made gender issues a priority to reach specific objectives and change the lives of more than 25,000 women with disabilities in Europe. Disabilitiy Voice spoke with Gunta Anca, member of the committee and representing EDF in the Board of Directors of the European Women Lobby.

 Disability Voice: What is EDF doing to improve the life of women with disabilities?

Gunta Anca: One of our current concerns is to increase the maternity leave for women with disabilities but we also have to highlight complex and more vulnerable situation for our group and a lack of protection such as adoption and fostering of children with disabilities. Therefore, striving towards equal rights and opportunities for women with disabilities has been a priority for the European Disability Forum since many years already. Women created their own committee, supporting EDF in all its work on gender equality. Our Women’s committee allows EDF to work towards mainstreaming disability within gender equality policies and measures, as well as mainstreaming gender equality within disability policies. Furthermore, our active involvement in the European Women’s Lobby also help us to support EDF work. 

DV: What would be the right duration of leave?

GA: The Commission just proposed to increase the minimum number of weeks for maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks. In addition to that, EDF suggests that Member States shall take necessary measures to ensure that additional leave is granted in case of , for example, the birth of a child with a disability. The duration of the additional leave should be proportionate and allow the special needs of the mother and/or the child to be accommodated. In practice EDF is asking for a continuous period of maternity of at least 24 weeks allocated before and after the birth. 

DV: Why would women with disabilities need longer time to accommodate?

GA: Sometimes, maternity occurs in more complex environments, as in the case of adoptions and fostering of children with disabilities and that of mothers with disabilities. Neither of these circumstances is covered or proposed in the EU, and they should be considered as difficult situation in the same way as the ones derived from multiple births, premature childbirth, children hospitalised at birth. In all these cases mother and children also are going to need more time to get used and adapt themselves into the new situation in order to achieve a good development of family life. Most of the time, maternity brings women with disability to a situation of particular dependency of third parties to carry out daily living activities and, therefore to take care of their children: they often find themselves in a disadvantaged position due to the fact that they lack an adequate provision of resources. Moreover, existing social services like family planning or pre natal classes are not always as accessible as for the rest of the population for different reasons such as prejudices non-accessible public premises and lack of information. Both situations result in the need for women with disability to take longer time to accommodate and adapt to this new situation.As the European Union population is ageing, every effort should be made to challenge the birth rate and build a society attractive to families. It is one of the greatest tasks of the maternity leave directive proposed by the European Commission in 2008. This directive, discussed in 2008, also ensures equal treatment for every future mother regardless in which country she lives in, and whether she has a disability or not. Important condition of the Directive is to be as flexible as possible, because only in such a way, it can provide the best support for every family, including those with children and parents with disabilities.  

Ian Sample, The Guardian, 20 April 2009

A group of genes that cause learning disabilities in boys has been discovered in a survey of families known to have a history of mental impairment.

Scientists linked nine genes to poor brain development in young men after analysing the genetic makeup of more than 200 families. The findings could help in the development of screening programmes for couples that are at risk of passing on faulty genes to their children.

All of the abnormal genes found in the study were on the X chromosome, which boys always inherit from their mothers. Girls inherit two copies of the X chromosome, one from each parent.

Poor brain development causes learning disabilities in 2% to 3% of the population, but the problem is more prevalent in males. In women, a faulty gene on one X chromosome is counteracted by a healthy copy.

The team recruited 208 families for the study. The families were chosen because they had at least two related males who were affected by learning disorders.In the majority of cases, the men who took part in the study showed no other signs of developmental problems apart from their learning disability, according to a report in Nature Genetics.

Men who carry the faulty genes can only pass them on through their X chromosome to their daughters. These girls are unlikely to be affected themselves, but will be carriers and so at risk of passing them on to their own children.

“Although there is no obvious cure for these conditions, knowing more about the genes involved will lead to better screening and much more informed counselling,” said Patrick Tarpey, a geneticist and lead author on the study.

Vita Europe reports: On March 5th, 2009 Polish president did not sign theamendment to the electoral law that was to enable people with severe and moderatedisabilities and people over 75 to vote through a plenipotentiary – another personappointed by them. It means that many Polish citizens will not be able to vote inEuropean Parliament elections in June 2009.

The president sent the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal, arguing that it violates thePolish constitutional principle that says that elections should be direct. He alsoclaimed that the changes could provoke many abuses.The works on the amendment had been started many months ago, with high level ofparticipation of NGOs acting for the benefit of people with disabilities andinvolvement of the Ombudsman. They, as well as the people with disabilities and theelderly and many other people do not agree with the presidential decision.

Today is celebration of International Day of persons with Autism, introduced 18 of December 2007 by Resolution of UN General Assembly.

Today in Europe live about 5 million persons with autism or 0,6 per cents of general population.

Forum of youth with disability – www.forum-osi.org  –  in partnership with DPOs: Association helping persons with Autism Kragujevac, Association of para and quadriplegics from Sumadija, Youth club for PWDs, Association for diabetic patients, Association for celiakia, Association of parents of persons with intelectual disability EGAL, Association of kidney disease patients from Sumadija, Association of students with disability and local institutions: Red Cross, National Employment Burreau, Center for Social Work signed on 13 of March Memorandum of cooperation and understanding which should resulted with establishing the Coucil for persons with disability in Kragujevac. 

Cooperation of signed parties will be targeted to better quality of life of PWDs through different projects and realisation their rights. The aim is creation more human conditions of life in Kragujevac and preserving other permanent values connected to inclusion of PWDs and in everyday life. This Council will also work on solving direct problems or PWDs in Kragujevac. 

Organisations, members of Council consider this action extremely important and recognised in local institutions and authorities. 

For all additional information you can contact office Forum of youth with disability at: 034 330 547.

Reproductive health is very important for every woman. Women’s  Health Center in Uzice has got special hydraulic stool for gynecological needs for women with disability. Now they are able to control their health.

Ministry of Health Republic of Serbia provide money for this stool in amount of 1.200.000 dinars and Uzice Health Center 200.000 dinars.  

According to Head of Women’s Health Center, MD Daniela Knezevic, number of women with disability who were able to do the health control was very small. This hydraulic stool is made to adapt to patient’s needs, specially to the needs of wheelchair users. Medical controls could be everyday as from now and future plans are to conncet women with disability from all around Uzice are, said doctor Knezevic. Initiative for this  was started a year and a half ago within the project  „My right to be healthy“ implemented by organisation „…out of the circle“ and in cooperation with Association of Dystrophics of Zlatibor county. 

Due to architectural barriers there wil be a movable ramp and according to promises of Health Center Manager, Mr. Darko Marinkovic, this problem will be permanently solved in future.

On Tuesday, 24th February 2009 at 19.23 Italian Parliament ratified the UN International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.