International Organizations and Institutions (Portal of Prague)

There are international organizations whose main task is to monitor whether the physically handicapped have the same opportunities as the healthy population, how their human rights are respected, or how the legislation in individual member countries of the European Union responds to their needs. Here are contacts of the most important of those organizations.

The Disability Unit of the Diractorate General EMPL of the European Commision: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg05/soc-prot/disable/index_en.htm (The European Commission is formed by 20 members and 15 member countries of EU. General management for employment and social affairs has a division for disabled persons that monitors whether the handicapped have the same opportunities as the healthy population. This division will speak to our membership in EU in terms of the situation of the disabled persons in the Czech Republic.)

Disabled Peoples´ International: http://www.dpi.org/ (the organization is concerned with the rights of disabled persons)

European Network on Independent Living: http://www.independentliving.org/ (it monitors respecting of human rights of disabled persons in Europe)

World Federation of the Deaf: http://www.wfdnews.org/ (it monitors human and social rights of the deaf and their integration into the society. It strives to strengthen the status of sign languages.)

European Blind Union: http://www.euroblind.org (its aim is to protect and promote the interests of all blind and partially-sighted people in Europe.)

Deafblind International: http://www.deafblindinternational.org/ (it monitors the rights and promotes the interests of deafblind persons in individual countries)

European Parkinson´s Disease Association: http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/groups/epda (it has member organizations in 21 countries, it has adopted the Charter of right for people with Parkinson’s disease)

Autism-Europe: http://www.autismeurope.org/ (it advances the rights of persons with autism. It issued Charter for persons with autism. It is active in 29 European countries.)