The EU and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

The EU and Member States parties of the UNCRPD

The UN CRPD recognises that persons with disabilities have the same human rights and fundamental freedoms as everyone else. It also sets out the measures that countries must take to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of these rights.

For the EU, the Convention entered into force on 22 January 2011. All EU Member States have signed and ratified it. This means that both the EU and its Member States are committed, within their respective competences, to promoting, protecting and ensuring the equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities.

In addition, 23 EU Member States are also party to the Optional Protocol of the Convention (since June 2025). The Optional Protocol establishes a mechanism allowing individuals to submit complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when they believe their rights under the Convention have been violated. 

The EU is required to promote, protect and implement the UNCRPD in matters falling within its competences. The European Commission serves as the focal point for the implementation of the Convention at EU level.

The EU’s Enhanced Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities up to 2030 covers all areas of the UN CRPD and complements the 2021-2030 Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Reporting to the United Nations

Parties to the Convention need to periodically inform the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities about the measures taken to implement it. The EU has also reported to the UN:

• EU first report to the UN on the EU's application of the Convention (June 2014)
• EU’s response to UN list of issues of the EU's implementation of the convention (June 2015)
• Dialogue with the UN in Geneva and UN Concluding Observations on the initial report of the EU (October 2015). A summary of the dialogue in an easy-to-read version prepared by Inclusion Europe is available. (August 2015)
• EU Combined second and third report on the EU's application of the Convention (April 2023)
• Dialogue with the UN in Geneva and UN Concluding observations (March/April 2025).

EU Member States must also submit individual implementation reports to the UN for matters falling under their competence.

Disability Platform: European Commission Expert Group

The Commission regularly discusses the implementation of the Convention at EU and Member State level in an expert group called 'Disability Platform' with:

• The European Commission
• Representatives from EU Member States responsible for implementing and monitoring the Convention (focal points)
• Several EU-level NGOs, including disabled people’s organisations (DPOs)
• The European Parliament services and the European Economic and Social Committee services are observers at the Disability Platform

EU framework on the implementation of the UNCRPD

Parties are required to establish a framework, including one or more independent mechanisms to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention.

The EU framework became operational in 2013, based on a proposal by the European Commission that was endorsed by the Council in 2012. It complements national monitoring mechanisms.

The members of the EU framework are:

• European Parliament
• European Ombudsman
• EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
• European Disability Forum (EDF)

The European Commission was a member of the EU framework until late 2015. It withdrew following the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The European Commission continues to coordinate the implementation of the UNCRPD at EU level.