Table of contents:
Introduction
The right of persons with disabilities to live independently in their community is one that is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), more specifically in article 19 of that Convention. In the Arab region, persons with disabilities still face significant barriers that prevent them from fully realizing their right to independent living and inclusion within the community, even though all the countries in the region have either signed or ratified the CRPD. One of the main barriers to the realization of that right is a practice known as institutionalization. This term refers to the often non-consensual stay of persons with disabilities in long-term residential institutions for extended periods of their lives in isolation from society. These conditions typically leave individuals without a pathway that would facilitate their exit from such institutions and ensure their inclusion within the community.
Considering the contrasting nature of this practice to the spirit of the CRPD, there has been a global call and effort to move away from residential institutions and towards alternative community-based systems of support for persons with disabilities and their families. The logic behind such a move towards de-institutionalization is that persons with disabilities attain a greater degree of self-determination, one that is more in line with the CRPD. Persons with disabilities would hence have the freedom to choose where they would like to live and have access to services such as education, health, training and mentoring through community centres. This call for de-institutionalization is one that is part of a bigger paradigm shift that disability activists have been demanding for a long time, the shift from the medical/charity model of disability to a human-rights based social model that acknowledges disability as the CRPD pictures it: “an evolving concept and that results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”.
Despite the importance of independent living and inclusion within the community, there remain large gaps in research and data on this topic. Such research and data are essential for evidence-based policies and programmes to ensure disability inclusion. To address this gap, the “Arab-EU Research Network on Disability”, which was established by ESCWA, the Government of Malta and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, launched a call for papers in March 2022[1] to invite researchers, including those with disabilities, to submit their work. The best eight submissions were selected by a peer-review committee to be presented at a conference on the same topic.
The conference “Transition towards Independent Living within the Community for Persons with Disabilities” was held on 14–15 February 2023 in Beirut, Lebanon. Over 100 delegates from both Arab and European countries were part of this flagship conference, coming from various ministries, national disability councils, universities, research institutions, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and other civil society organizations. The conference sessions offered an opportunity to discuss the findings of these papers, in addition to various presentations on different countries’ experiences in transitioning to independent living and inclusion.
The eight selected submissions fall under four sub-themes: technology and inclusion; independent living for children and students; transition after university and finding work; and approaches to independent living in Europe. The following section provides a snapshot of each paper under these sub-themes.
[1] https://www.unescwa.org/events/transition-towards-independent-living-within-community-call-papers.