This is highlighted in a recent statement on the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ draft bill for a law to strengthen the participation and self-determination of people with disabilities.
Six core demands are set out in the statement, which was published on May 11, 2016 by the German Disability Council, the professional associations for people with disabilities, the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, the German Red Cross, the German Trade Union Confederation and the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to People with Disabilities. The Humanist Association of Germany, together with over 80 other organizations, professional associations and networks, supports the demands of the statement. In line with the right to self-determination, the demands call for the rights of people with disabilities to express their wishes and choices, e.g. when choosing accommodation and care, to be strengthened and not further restricted, for income and assets to no longer be taken into account as before (“Disability must not make you poor”), for benefit cuts and restrictions to be rejected, for benefit procedure law to be improved, for more opportunities for participation and choice in working life to be created and for the rights of those affected not to be indirectly curtailed, e.g. through poor financial and contractual framework conditions.
To read the full statement: www.deutscher-behindertenrat.de
