This publication forms part of the European Community Support research project, which
aims to create better conditions for the social inclusion of persons with impairments in four
cities (Amersfoort, Maastricht, Budapest and Tallinn).
The aim of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted
by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006, is to try to enforce the
philosophy of social inclusion in practice so that persons with impairments can participate in
the community on an equal footing. Hungary and Estonia ratified the Convention on 20 July
2007 and 30 May 2012 respectively. The Netherlands supports the principles and the
fundamental human rights that the Convention sets out. The current Dutch government has
announced that it intends to ratify the Convention before 1 July 2015. In November 2012,
however, the Dutch House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion by Arie Slob et
al. asking for a ratification act to be submitted to the Council of State for its
recommendations no later than 2013. Despite the fact that the Netherlands has not yet
ratified the Convention, various amendments in line with the aim of the UN Convention have
been made to legislation and regulations in the Netherlands in recent years. These are
trickling down to the policies of local authorities and institutions, where changes are being
set in motion towards a more inclusive society (see inter alia VNG 2010).