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Inclusion: Political Participation of People with Disabilities in Germany

Term: 03/2016 to 05/2016

Management and coordination of the commission to provide an expert opinion: AP Dr phil. Hendrik Trescher,

Associates/Partners/Contributors: Teresa Hauck, MA

Financing: German Institute for Human Rights (GIHR)

Description of the commission to provide an expert opinion:

 To what extent do people with disabilities participate in political life in Germany?  This was the central question posed by the project, which was conducted on behalf of the German Institute for Human Rights (GIHR).   The objective was to find out whether people with disabilities participate in political life in Germany and, if so, to what extent.  Also of interest was the extent of their participation and what might limit it.  Central here was a) the level of access to information, i.e. the question of whether people with disabilities have equal opportunities to inform themselves about politics and social life.  Furthermore, on a second level b) the question was examined as to what extent people with disabilities actually exercise their active right to vote and where barriers can still be identified in this respect.  On a third level, furthermore, c) the extent to which people with disabilities exercise their right to stand for election was also addressed.  Once again, the objective was to identify potential barriers here.  Finally, various political and legal courses of action were discussed in order to facilitate more political participation for people with disabilities. The expert report was incorporated into the independent report on the implementation of OSCE commitments on human rights and democracy, which was prepared by the German Institute for Human Rights (GIHR) on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office.