Where Switzerland can cut a slice of New Zealand

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Where does Switzerland stand in terms of disability policy? Markus Schefer (58) starts with the positive: when it comes to public transport, Switzerland ranks relatively well internationally, says the well-known law professor and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities. But the reason for this is our generally high level of public transportation expansion. However, the SBB is lagging behind in the expansion of barrier-free stations.

Just like Switzerland in general in terms of disability policy. “You’re nowhere near as far as you should be,” says Schefer. Switzerland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2014. But there is a problem with the implementation.

Pioneer New Zealand

This Friday, 44 people with disabilities must ensure that this changes. You are coming to the Disability Session at the Federal Palace at the invitation of the President of the National Council, Martin Candinas (42). 44 people make up 22 percent of the National Council – exactly the percentage that disabled people make up in relation to the total population.

A country that is way ahead of Switzerland is New Zealand. In 2006 a law was passed there that prohibits housing people with disabilities in homes. Since then, all homes for people with disabilities have been closed and replaced by facilities with a maximum of five residents. This should facilitate integration into society.

Compare with pitfalls

Markus Schefer would also like to see such an arrangement for Switzerland. He also holds the cantons responsible. “Such problems must be solved in close cooperation with citizens and society. It is also important that more comes from the cantons,” he says.

However, Schefer points out that it is very difficult to compare the implementation of the Handicap Convention in different countries. On the one hand because definitions and laws differ from country to country. On the other hand, because policies for people with disabilities are often not implemented at the highest level of government. How great the differences are is apparent from the interaction with extended deputies.

Large cantonal differences

This refers to the complete incapacity for work of a person as a result of a physical or mental disability. This means that the person is denied a large part of his personal rights and that a person of trust decides practically everything.

While in German-speaking Switzerland in certain cantons no one is placed on extended assistance, in French-speaking Switzerland this is still the norm. Of the approximately 14,000 people who received extensive assistance throughout Switzerland, 9,827 lived in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Valais, Vaud, Fribourg and Ticino. This corresponds to about 70 percent of all deputies, even though French-speaking Switzerland only accounts for a third of the Swiss population.

Source:Blick