We, the organisations representing people with disabilities and their interests, in order to promote equality before the law, equal treatment and independent living in Hungary and to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), propose the following to the Government of Hungary:

With regard to Article 12 of CRPD:

Restrictions on the legal capacity of people with disabilities should be removed from the domestic legal system as soon as possible so that the supported decision-making system can take over the representation of the interests of the persons concerned.

The conflict of values between the progressive human rights approach of the CRPD and the protective approach of Hungarian judges, professionals and parents must be resolved, and solutions must be developed that enable conflict resolution.

This requires ongoing accredited specialised trainings for decision-makers, law enforcement officials, courts, health and social care professionals, especially guardians and supporters. Knowledge of the various disabilities and our state of health is not only a medical issue, but in order to be socially inclusive and to respect human dignity in individual matters, decision-makers must have complex knowledge of disability.

Strengthening the advocacy capacity of people with disabilities by describing their abilities, their knowledge, in particular the regulations related to the capacity to act and the operation of supported decision making.

We propose a general suffrage without examining accountability. In exercising voting rights, by guaranteeing accessibility and accessibility in the exercise of the right to vote, reasonable accommodation in individual situations can ensure equality for people with disabilities.

With regard to Article 19 of CRPD:

A barrier-free environment and equal access to services are necessary prerequisites for independent living and equality before the law, so we recommend that the content review, significant expansion and capacity building of services supporting independent living be reviewed. We recommend significant support for the accessibility of public service systems (education, health, social services, public administration, culture, transport, etc.). We recommend that the accessibility of EU and domestic sources be strictly monitored from the outset.

With regard to Article 5 of CRPD:

For persons unable to sign, we recommend the amendment of private and notarial regulations, the development of the practical application of other solutions like non-electronic signature methods, and supported decision-making. We also ask for reasonable accommodation to be provided in individual situations in order to avoid discrimination.

Together with MEOSZ, the Declaration is supported by the following organisations:

Autisták Országos Szövetsége [National Association of Autists], Rejtett Kincsek Down Egyesület [Hidden Treasures Down Association], TASZ [Hungarian Civil Liberties Union], Mozgásjavító Óvoda, Általános Iskola, Gimnázium, Kollégium és Egységes Gyógypedagógiai Módszertani Intézmény [Mozgasjavito Kindergarten, Elementary and Specialized Secondary School, Unified Special Education Methodology Centre and Students’ Residence], Csillagház Általános Iskola és Egységes Gyógypedagógiai Módszertani Intézmény [Csillagház elementary school and Special Education Methodology Institute]

Anyone who agrees with the Declaration, can sign it by 31 December 2020.

To digitally sign the statement below, you must provide an existing email address that will be treated confidentially in accordance with applicable law.

As the next step of the project, starting from January 2021, we will organize 2-2, a total of six online webinars on legal capacity and equality before the law, equality and the signing of legal declarations, and independent living. The thematic advocacy meetings are planned to be attended by governmental and professional organizations as planned. The purpose of the thematic advocacy meetings is to gather the arguments for the change in the legislation and to acquaint the stakeholders with the advocacy work. To this end, anyone can register as an audience for the first webinar of each topic, and the second meeting will include a narrower discussion on the steps to change legislation and practices. We provide detailed information about the dates of the webinars. We look forward to your participation and comments!