The Council of Europe's Committee of Social Rights recognises that in terms of social protection, the French state does not do enough for families affected by disability which contributes to their discrimination and precariousness. This statement is the result of a collective complaint filed by Unapei, APF France handicap, Unafam and FNATH.
Paths2Include aims to find new solutions to overcome barriers to the inclusion of persons in vulnerable situations in the labour market. It will provide new gender-sensitive and comparative data on effective employment policies to foster inclusive labour markets. The project will tackle the dimension of discrimination based on gender, racial or ethnic origin, civil and family status, care responsibilities, disability and health, age and sexual orientation, in three labour market processes - recruitment, career trajectories and work exit.
This European expert meeting co-hosted with UNAF Spain will provide an overview of the social rights of families, identify any gaps in eligibility or family policy designs, and consider what adaptations of social protection systems and EU policies are needed.
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) along with 50+ other civil society organisations have written an open letter to European Commission President and European Parliament President condemning attacks on anti-racist civil society organizations in Europe. The letter highlights the importance of protecting and supporting anti-racist efforts and organisations, especially in the midst of rising hate speech and racism in society.
In March 2023, the European Parliament passed the resolution on Minimum Income ensuring active inclusion and approved the Pay Transparency directive. COFACE Families Europe welcomes both initiatives as they both promote non-discrimination and address the gender pay gap.
The European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) published the final report of its Fifth European Summit which is an annual event attended by EU officials, member states ministers and education stakeholders. The report summarises the main topics discussed at this high-level event which focuses on key trends in education and training.
As well as collecting data on families via different expert meetings (see the different meeting reports available on the website), COFACE actively builds bridges with research institutions through formal partnerships under Horizon Europe, and by advising different European research projects on work-life balance, the impact of digital transformations on children, early childhood education and care, long-term care and more. COFACE also supports academic institutions to build new research projects on social rights.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights belong as much to persons with disabilities as to everyone else. Yet lack of knowledge and information often create barriers to access. Women and girls with disabilities also have a clearly higher risk of facing human rights violations such as forced sterilization or denied access to contraception.
Around one in 10 children and young people worldwide have a disability, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Children with disabilities are 51% more likely to feel unhappy and 41% more likely to feel discriminated against than children without disabilities. We believe that representing all children through inclusive toys is hugely powerful.
