Capability and Responsibility: True Prospects for People with Disabilities (2010 – 2012)

The main objective of the project is to provide the necessary background information and support and advocate for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The specific goals are to raise the awareness on the necessity of ratification of the UN Convention among the Parliament, the Bulgarian government and civil society, especially people with disabilities and their organizations in order to mobilize them to take further steps for ratification, to raise awareness on the new approach of art. 12 of the Convention and to outline the necessary changes to be made in the current Bulgarian legislation in order to incorporate art. 12 of the Convention.

 

The main project activities are:
• Meetings with leading Bulgarian NGOs of/for people with disabilities and with representatives of ministries and other state bodies in order to explain the benefits of ratifying the Convention;
• Preparation of promotional materials;
• Review of the Bulgarian legislation from the point of view of art. 12 of the Convention;
• Organization of a conference;
• Training for key government officials on the basic requirements of art. 12 of the Convention as well as some of the results of the legal review;
• Formation of a working group that will outline the steps the Bulgarian state has to take with regard to the ratification of the Convention and its future implementation and to discuss the proposed legislative amendments;
• Study visit for representatives of the main stakeholders;
• Preparation of a comparative legal analysis on the ratification of the Convention in other European countries;
• Drafting an action plan and proposals for legislative amendments;
• Advocacy campaign in order to promote the need to ratify the Convention throughout the project.

 

Source of funding:
Open Society Institute – New York