3619 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Persons with disabilities have the right to be effectively protected and to positively engage. The law itself shall guarantee the substantive equality of all those within a given jurisdiction. Thus, the recognition that all persons with disabilities are equal under the law means that there should be no laws that allow for specific denial, restriction or limitation of the rights of persons with disabilities, and that disability should be mainstreamed in all legislation and policies."
- "Reasonable accommodation duties are different from accessibility duties. Both aim to guarantee accessibility, but the duty to provide accessibility through universal design or assistive technologies is an ex ante duty, whereas the duty to provide reasonable accommodation is an ex nunc duty."
- "As an ex ante duty, accessibility must be built into systems and processes without regard to the need of a particular person with a disability, for example, to have access to a building, a service or a product, on an equal basis with others. States parties must set accessibility standards that are developed and adopted in consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities, consistent with article 4 (3) of the Convention. The duty of accessibility is a proactive, systemic duty."
- "As an ex nunc duty, reasonable accommodation must be provided from the moment that a person with a disability requires access to non-accessible situations or environments, or wants to exercise his or her rights. (…) It is important to note that the duty to provide reasonable accommodation is not limited to situations in which the person with a disability has asked for an accommodation or in which it could be proved that the alleged duty bearer was actually aware that the person in question had a disability. It should also apply in situations where a potential duty bearer should have realized that the person in question had a disability that might require accommodations to address barriers to exercising rights."
- "The duty to provide reasonable accommodation in accordance with articles 2 and 5 of the Convention can be broken down into two constituent parts. The first part imposes a positive legal obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation which is a modification or adjustment that is necessary and appropriate where it is required in a particular case to ensure that a person with a disability can enjoy or exercise her or his rights. The second part of this duty ensures that those required accommodations do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden on the duty bearer."
- "Because the gradual realization of accessibility in the built environment, public transportation and information and communication services may take time, reasonable accommodation may be used as a means to provide access to an individual in the meantime, as it is an immediate duty."
- "To ensure consistency between articles 5 and 12 of the Convention, States parties should: (a) Reform existing legislation to prohibit discriminatory denial of legal capacity, premised on status-based, functional or outcome-based models. Where appropriate, replace those with models of supported decision-making, taking into account universal adult legal capacity without any form of discrimination."
- "States parties should aim to: (a) Reform laws, policies and regulations that systematically exclude persons with disabilities from voting and/or standing as candidates in elections."
- "States parties should aim to: (…) (b) Ensure that the electoral process is accessible to all persons with disabilities, including before, during and after elections."
- "States parties should aim to: (…) (c) Provide reasonable accommodation to individual persons with disabilities and support measures based on the individual requirements of persons with disabilities to participate in political and public life."
- " States parties should aim to: (...) (d) Support and engage with representative organizations of persons with disabilities in political participation process at the national, regional and international levels, including by consulting with such organizations in matters that concern persons with disabilities directly."
- "Political parties can play an essential role in tackling the lack of rights awareness and encouraging active participation of persons with disabilities. They can contribute to raising awareness of the importance of inclusion and participation of all, without discrimination, in political life."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.2. with regard to legal capacity: 7.2.1. delink the right to vote from legal capacity and full guardianship and, recalling Assembly Resolution 2039 (2015), replace substitute decision-making mechanisms with supported decision-making mechanisms, in respect of their international commitments."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: 7.2. with regard to legal capacity: (...) 7.2.3. make complaints mechanisms concerning the right to vote clear and accessible to all, irrespective of a person’s legal status."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.3 with regard to combating discrimination against and stigmatisation of persons with disabilities: (...) 7.3.2. encourage visibility and participation of persons with disabilities in electoral debates in the media, and the broadcasting of political programmes and debates in accessible formats."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.3 with regard to combating discrimination against and stigmatisation of persons with disabilities: (...) 7.3.3. provide civic education in accessible formats."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.4. with regard to accessibility of polling stations, information and procedures, including electoral campaigns: 7.4.1. ensure physical accessibility of public buildings, including polling stations, national, regional and local parliaments and government buildings, and guarantee that at least one polling station in every election district provides full accessibility."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.4. with regard to accessibility of polling stations, information and procedures, including electoral campaigns: (...) 7.4.2. ensure the provision of information about electoral processes, voting procedures and political programmes in accessible formats, including in easy-to-read and easy-to-understand versions, with sign interpretation when required, subtitles for videos and Braille versions; 7.4.3. provide ballot papers in accessible formats and tactile voting devices for blind people in at least one polling station in every election district."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.4. with regard to accessibility of polling stations, information and procedures, including electoral campaigns: (...) 7.4.4. consider linking State funding of political parties to their compliance with accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (…) 7.6. with regard to active participation in elections: (…) 7.6.3. provide candidates with disabilities with additional financial support to cover the extra costs they might incur for carrying out electoral campaigns."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (…) 7.6. with regard to active participation in elections: (…) 7.6.2. consider the establishment of quotas for the participation of persons with disabilities in parliamentary and local elections, with a view to increasing participation and representation."
- "The Assembly encourages political parties to demonstrate their commitment to making political life more inclusive and representative by producing and disseminating accessible political manifestos and ensuring accessibility of their meeting premises and events. Political parties should promote participation and offer persons with disabilities electable positions on electoral lists."
- "Persons with disabilities should not be considered a homogeneous group. Persons with various types of disabilities have different needs and may require different forms of assistance and support."
- "DPOs [disabled persons organizations] should be closely consulted and actively involved in the development and implementation of legislation and policies."
- "It is not acceptable to remove and/or limit the right to vote or to stand as a candidate on the basis of any type of disability, including intellectual or psychosocial disabilities."
- "Supported decision-making means that a person can receive the necessary assistance to adopt certain decisions in life, including when exercising the right to vote. Such mechanisms should replace the substituted decision-making ones, providing persons with disabilities with the necessary support to exercise their electoral and political rights without undue limitation."
- "Key electoral information should be made available in multiple, accessible formats, which may include Braille, large print, audio, easy-to-understand versions and sign language. This includes information about how to participate in an election, how to lodge complaints and appeals, results and updates from the election administration."
- "Where sanctions are imposed, it is essential that the sanctioned parties have the right to appeal and have recourse to a fair hearing by an impartial tribunal that can provide an effective remedy."
- "To allow for the effective regulation of the use of state resources, legislation should clearly define what use is permitted and what is prohibited."
- "There is an increased understanding in states’ national legislation that any form of gifts to voters, beyond low-value campaign materials, can be considered vote buying."
- "Although a participating State has the flexibility to determine the structure of the legal framework for campaign finance, the primary instruments should be written, as opposed to being based on custom or a collection of administrative policies. Written law provides the benefit of equity, certainty, visibility and transparency. It enhances the consistent application of law and makes the matter subject to judicial interpretation and review, as well as open to recourse by citizens."
- "The rules governing campaign finance legislation should be as clear and precise as possible, including the key terminology. Interpretation of the regulations should not be a matter of subjective opinion."
- "The oversight body’s mandate and areas of responsibility should be clearly delineated to avoid conflicts of interest or overlapping jurisdiction."
- "The legislation should be enacted sufficiently in advance of elections to give voters and all participants in the process – including authorities, contestants and media – enough time to become informed of the rules. The late adoption of campaign finance legislation can undermine trust in the process and reduce the opportunity for contestants and other stakeholders to become familiar with and prepare for implementation of the rules."
- "Campaign finance rules should ensure equality of opportunity for parties and candidates alike. Special measures may be incorporated to encourage more balanced participation of underrepresented groups, such as women, national minorities or persons with disabilities."
- "Campaign finance rules should be adopted in an inclusive manner and be published and made available to the public in a timely and accessible manner."
- "Limitations on contributions can be means to minimize the possibility of corruption or the purchasing of political influence."
- "Regulations may limit the overall monetary contribution an individual or a legal entity may make to a candidate/party (quantitative restrictions). Additionally, regulations may prohibit contributions from certain sources, such as foreign persons or organizations, legal entities, state bodies or public enterprises, or anonymous donations (qualitative restrictions)."
- "Limitations on expenditures may be imposed to ensure equality of opportunities among the various political forces."
- "Limits (on contributions and spending) should be clearly defined in the law and be realistic to ensure that all electoral contestants are able to run an effective campaign, recognizing the cost of modern elections. It is good practice for limits to be indexed against inflation, rather than set as absolute amounts. "
- "When used, direct public campaign financing of political parties and, in some cases, candidates should be provided equitably and based on objective criteria."
- "It is in the interest of political pluralism to condition the provision of direct public financing on attaining a lower threshold of support than the electoral threshold for the allocation of mandates in parliament."
- "State resources should not be diverted or misused for campaign purposes. All state resources used for campaign purposes, such as media, buildings and event venues, must be made available to all electoral contestants on the basis of equal treatment, and disclosed or reported accordingly. "
- "Legislation should regulate in-kind contributions, such as subsidized advertising and printing, office and equipment rental. Good practice is followed if legislation defines how in-kind contributions are valued, for example based on market prices. Additionally, if an individual or legal entity forgives an outstanding debt for goods or services, this should be considered an in-kind contribution, subject to the limitations that apply to contributions and, where applicable, counting towards expenditure limits."
- "Legislation can also regulate whether candidates and parties are entitled to spend their own private funds, and set a limit."
- "The legal framework should clarify the rules governing loans extended to political parties and candidates to finance their campaigns. "
- "It is good practice to permit only bank loans and credit-card debts, and not loans from other corporations or from individuals."
- "It is important that legislation does not unduly prohibit spending and political expression before the official start of the campaign, since the free exchange of ideas, especially political ideas, should always be allowed. However, it is possible to set certain specific limitations, provided that these are reasonable and proportionate to the objective of a fair electoral campaign. This may include prohibitions on leafleting or direct calls to voters that ask them to vote for a specific party before a given date."
- "Third parties should be free to fundraise and express views on political issues as a means of free expression, and their activity should not be unconditionally prohibited. However, it is important that some form of regulation be extended to third parties that are involved in the campaign, to ensure transparency and accountability."
- "States should require parties and candidates to maintain records and report on all direct and in-kind contributions, as well as all campaign expenditures during a campaign period."