People with disabilities: right despite savings package in danger!

People with disabilities: right despite savings package in danger!

On May 19, 2025, this year's NGO forum took place of the Endancle Office, in which the topic "Human Rights First-despite savings package" was discussed. Moderated by Volksanwalt Bernhard Achitz, around 80 representatives of NGOs took part in the event. The focus was on the rights of women and people with disabilities. Ursula Naue from the University of Vienna emphasized that savings packages exacerbated the already tense financial situation for people with disabilities and criticized alms policy, which does not do justice to real participation. There is no pressure mechanisms for enforcing the obligations from the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities, which has been subject to Austria since its ratification, but does not meet sufficiently, says Naue.

Angela Wegscheider from the Johannes Kepler University of Linz pointed out that the austerity measures had led to an increase in poverty and a decrease in the rights of people with disabilities since 2008. In her opinion, it is crucial that budget decisions should not only meet financial but also compliant criteria. In the discussions, Fiona Fiedler from the NEOS called for an inclusive education system and social security protection for people with disabilities. Verena Nussbaum from the SPÖ spoke about planned improvements in the health sector, while Ralph Schallmeiner exhorted more cooperation between the government and opposition parties to achieve positive changes.

obligations and challenges of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities

Austria is obliged to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities through the UN Disabled Rights Convention (UN-BRK). The Convention aims to guarantee access to fundamental rights and freedoms for over a billion people, such as BMAS reports. Important aspects of the UN-BRK include access to education, the world of work and to cultural life, which concretize all participants in order to ensure equal opportunities.

The convention also stipulates that women and girls with disabilities require special protection because they are often discriminated against several times. In addition, promoting individual autonomy and independence is crucial for the quality of life of people with disabilities. The contract demands that all countries implement measures to prevent discrimination based on disabilities and to include people with disabilities in decision -making processes.

poverty and accessibility as central topics

A central problem addressed during the forum is the continuing poverty, from which many people suffer from disabilities. In addition to the need for an inclusive education system, barriers in society should also be eliminated in order to enable people with disabilities to access health and other areas of life. This is accompanied by the knowledge that the social handling of disabilities creates barriers that restrict the rights of individuals, as on [Disabled Rights Convention.info] (https://www.behiftenrechtsrechtsrechtsrechtskonvention.info/ueber-Eben-ueber--rechte-von-menschen-minhen-mit- 3101/).

It can be seen that despite the international framework and legal obligations, the actual implementation in Austria does not yet make the desired progress. The dialogue between the political actors and representatives of civil society remains essential to put the rights of people with disabilities into practice.