parliamentary debate

Every year, the government sends a report to the House on the accessibility of the Netherlands. The House then conducts an outline debate on the progress of the implementation of the UN Convention. This will implement the Dijksma motion 24170-170 (Feb. 2018).

The report consists of several notes:

Progress report unlimited participation 2019Grade overview program unlimited participation 2019Indicators program unlimited participationTogetherSpeelAgree

Only 13% of the municipalities signed the manifesto 'Unlimited participation'. An inclusion plan is being developed at 35% of the municipalities.

In the end, 16 motions were put to the vote. Motions Rejected: 10 Motions Suspended: 2

Make an action plan for accessibility of public space. Make concrete agreements about what accessibility entails as a national basic facility for every carrier, whereby these concrete agreements will apply as new minimum requirements.

Motions passed: 4

All ministries relevant to the UN Handicap Convention will draw up a work agenda on how the treaty should be implemented and will involve the UN Handicap Alliance in this. has been deteriorating for years. Actions must be taken on the SamenSpeelAkorde: this agreement should ensure more accessible playgrounds, so that children with and without disabilities can play together more often. And more people with disabilities must be employed at national level.

According to Minister De Jonge, significant steps forward have been taken. While acknowledging that there is still a lot of work to be done, he points to the progress being made, including in the business community and in particular with SMEs. In his answers, he indicates that the processes of implementation of the UN Convention must be activated even more. He thinks it is too early to tighten up the obligations towards municipalities. The majority of the rejected motions are about tightening up.

The municipality of Bergen op Zoom has launched a roadmap to inclusion policy. Accessible Bergen op Zoom is pleased with this initiative. The municipality focuses in the first instance on the accessibility of the physical domain and of information. Much needs to be improved in these areas. Accessible Bergen op Zoom supports this choice. Since the implementation of the UN Convention will gradually take many years to come, this is a logical start. This approach follows the positive intentions of the debate in the House of Representatives. Accessible Bergen op Zoom urges the Municipal Executive to submit an annual progress report and evaluation and to establish a project plan for the following year.