A “step victory” for people with disabilities

Published on December 23, 2024 at 6:10 p.m. / Modified on December 23, 2024 at 6:11 p.m.

3 mins. reading

In Switzerland, a fifth of the population lives with a disability, or 1.7 million people. The Federal Council today wants to improve their daily lives, for example facilitating access to housing, employment or auxiliary means (prostheses, hearing aids, etc.). Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider presented this Monday the indirect counter-project that the government will propose to the “Initiative for Inclusion”, while calling for its rejection. Tabled on September 5, the text calls for “legal and de facto equality between disabled people and non-disabled people in all areas of life”. On this occasion, the initiators brought together more than 1000 people on Place Fédérale.

The Federal Council is aware that the expectations on the part of those concerned are high. “If their right to equality and participation in social and economic life is uncontested, it is clear that their inclusion in society is not a reality,” Elisabeth Baume-Schneider admitted to the media. But if she shares the demands of the initiative, the head of the Federal Department of the Interior (DFI) believes that it does not represent the best instrument. “It leaves too much room for interpretation, potentially causing incomprehension, or even legal insecurity, while the counter-project allows a more relevant and faster approach,” noted the Jura socialist, who held several meetings with the associations since the beginning of the summer.

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