Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
Disabled Peoples' International - DPI

Switzerland

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997

ASKIO, Switzerland
Compare with the following Country Report(s): the Swiss Government, ILSMH

General policy

The officially recognized disability policy is expressed in law, in guidelines adopted by the government, in policy adopted by political parties and in policy adopted by NGO's. The emphasis in this policy - in descending scale - is on rehabilitation, individual support, prevention, accessibility measures and anti-discrimination law.

Since the adoption of the Rules, the government has conveyed the message of full participation, through the social insurance system. The Government, however, states that it has not done anything to convey the message of full participation.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected through general legislation. The institutional mechanism adopted to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is the "Tribunal fédéral des assurances". Non-judicial mechanisms include: an Ombudsman and a governmental body (administrative).

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to education, employment and the right to privacy. According to the Government, general legislation also applies with respect to the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, political rights, access to court-of-law and property rights. The following benefits are guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities: health and medical care, training, rehabilitation and counselling and financial security. According to the Government even the benefit of independent living is guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities.

Accessibility

In certain Cantons there are rules to ensure accessibility of the built environment which establish standards requiring that public places and the outdoor environment are made accessible. According to the Government, there are laws and regulations, in all the Cantons, requiring that public places, the outdoor environment, public transportation and housing are made accessible. Accessibility in the built environment is observed by local authorities. According to the Government, accessibility is also observed by the constructor. The following measures have been promoted by the government in order to facilitate accessibility in the built environment: levelling of pavements, marking parking areas, installing automatic doors, lifts and accessible toilets, ensuring access to public places, providing financial support for accessibility measures in housing, installing special lighting and using contrast colours for visually impaired and providing specially adapted motor vehicles. Special transport includes subsidized transport by the state, available for medical treatment, education, work and for recreational purpose. The most difficult obstacles, when building accessible environments, are attitudinal factors, economic/budgetary factors, lack of planning and design capacity and lack of knowledge, research and information. According to the Government, there is only one obstacle, when building accessible environments: economic/budgetary factors. There is a disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers. The Government states that there is no such component.

Sign language for deaf people is recognized as the official language of deaf people. According to the Government, sign language has no officially recognized status. There are government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. The following services are provided in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and others: literature in Braille/tape, news magazines on tape/Braille, sign language interpretation being available for any purpose and easy readers for persons with mental disabilities. According to the Government, easy readers for persons with mental disabilities are not provided.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is no national umbrella organization. Organizations of persons with disabilities are often consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. Consultations occur at the national level. The government financially supports existing or new organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in government, legislatures, judicial authorities, political parties, but to a great extent in NGO's. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of services and measures concerning the lives of persons with disabilities, contribute to public awareness and provide services. According to the Government, organizations also promote/organise income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

There is a national co-ordinating committee. According to the Government, there is no national co-ordinating committee. The committee includes representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities and of other NGO's. The government expects the co-ordinating committee to participate in policy development and to perform other tasks. The establishment of the co-ordinating committee has led to a better dialogue in the disability field, but not to improved co-ordination of measures/programmes, improved legislation, improved integration of responsibility, more accurate planning, more effective use of resources or improved promotion of public awareness.

The adoption of the Rules has not led to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy.

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