December 10th, 2022, Human Rights Day
On disability day, fourmind was born and a week later we would like to present the website of fourmind, again on a very meaningful day for us: the international day of human rights. The website is online in two languages: Dutch and English but can also be translated into the language you wish via the web browser thanks to settings.
Human Rights Day is celebrated every year by the international community and commemorates the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This historic signing forms the basis for many international constitutions and strives for equal treatment and rights for all. This convention contains many essential aspects of human rights, but it is often very broadly defined, so that its application is sometimes not so strictly taken. In this context, the UN CRPD or UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities was adopted in 2006 and signed in 2007. This convention was developed because people with disabilities were not specifically mentioned in the UN Convention on Human Rights.
At fourmind we believe it should be obvious that the human rights support everyone, however, in practice the text appears to cause a lack of clarity in legal practice and actual practice. To change attitudes and approaches in the world on the one hand and to create clarity for legal practice, the UN CRPD came into force.
Meanwhile, 185 countries worldwide have ratified this convention. For example, Belgium signed the treaty on 2 July 2009, and this means that from then on, the country is obliged to respect all articles. In practice, this means that Belgium may bring all legislative texts into line with this. Since March 30th 2021, Belgium has added Article 22 to its Constitution. It states that every person with a disability has the right to full inclusion in society.
This means that the Constitution states that law all public environments must be inclusive for everyone by. Wondering how you can put that into practice? We are happy to help you.
At fourmind, we are currently conducting a fascinating study into the application of the UNCRPD. We currently investigate good examples in Europe. More on that soon, on our growing website 🙂