Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-02-Speech-2-302"
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"en.20030902.11.2-302"2
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"Mr President, I should like to congratulate Mr Bushill-Matthews. Tonight he has made his best speech ever in the House. It would appear that we have had some influence on him.
We all recognise that there are millions upon millions of people in the European Union and around the world who suffer indignities every day of their lives because we have failed, not only to pass legislation, but to change society's attitude to them. We constantly obstruct their path towards enjoying a full human existence. There are six hundred million disabled people across the world, 80% of whom are in the developing world. It is clear, as the Commissioner said, that we need to address this in our development and aid policies.
It is clear that a voluntary approach to guarantee rights for people with disabilities is not working. We need legally-based rights, as this report points out, at an international level. We need a convention to do that.
We are here as representatives of states, all of which have failed to implement a directive that they freely entered into not more than two years ago. They have all failed to implement the framework directive. Therefore we have to accept our own responsibility for that. It is a matter of regret for me that in my own country we have a proposed disability bill, intended to implement the framework directive, which refuses to accept a rights-based approach for people with disabilities. I simply cannot understand how, after all the years of experience, this continues to be the case.
I listened with care to the Commissioner when she gave her reasons as to why she has not brought forward a draft directive under Article 13 of the EC Treaty. I have no doubts at all that she is committed to providing legally-based rights for people with disabilities, but her argument on not bringing forward a new draft directive is wrong. By bringing forward a new draft directive greater pressure would be brought to bear on Member States and people in this House to ensure that what is there already will be implemented. If we sit back and allow Member States to stall on the current directive, by not putting pressure on them through a new directive, we would be making a grave mistake.
What mandate, if any, has the Council given the Commission to negotiate on behalf of the European Union in relation to the United Nations Convention on People with Disabilities?"@en1
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