According to the UN, public policies on disability are still too marked by a “medical” approach which confines the people concerned to specialized homes, estimated the United Nations Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
These independent experts, responsible for monitoring the application by States of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (which entered into force in France in 2010), issued these conclusions after three sessions of hearings with government officials, organized in August.
The UN Committee is surprised that associations representing people with disabilities are at the same time managers of specialized institutions financed by the public authorities: according to it, this leads to "conflicts of interest" and constitutes an "obstacle" for concerned can "move from medical-institutional care to an independent life".
The association APF France handicap, itself manager of many places of life, reacted to this report by stressing that it shared many conclusions, in particular on the slow progress in terms of accessibility of infrastructures.
The government "shares the committee's desire to change society's view of disability" and "remove prejudices", reacted for its part the Secretary of State in charge of the file Sophie Cluzel.
Regarding the criticisms of the too large place left to specialized institutions, she stressed that France had "undertaken a change", for greater "school inclusion" and a "transformation of the medico-social offer".
"Of the 12 million people with disabilities in France, 100.000 adults are housed in establishments", observed Ms. Cluzel, stressing that "between any establishment and any home", she aimed to develop "alternative habitats ".
The UN experts also criticize the methods of granting the Disabled Adult Allowance (AAH), which according to them should not depend on the spouse's income, because this goes against "autonomy". disabled women. A vision shared by the APF, which is precisely organizing a day of mobilization on this theme on Thursday.
Experts also call on France to modify the "Elan" law of 2018, which reduced from 100% to 20%, in new real estate programs, the share of housing accessible to people with reduced mobility.
On this point, the government defended itself by emphasizing that all new housing should be "upgradeable", for example by being equipped with a "walk-in" shower, and that elevators were compulsory in new buildings from two floors.