The Council of Europe has just made public the decision taken by the European Committee of Social Rights of 4 November 2003, whereby France was found to have failed to fulfil its educational obligations to persons with autism under the European Social Charter.
This decision, which was analysed by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on 10 March 2004, thus upholds the collective complaint that Autism Europe lodged against France denouncing the non-provision of education to people with autism due to the lack of integration in mainstream education on the one hand and the dramatic shortage of specialised educational institutions on the other hand.
The European Committee of Social Rights’ decision concluding that France fails to meet its obligations to people with autism (article 15, 17 and E) stresses the following points:
– a restrictive definition of autism than that adopted by the World Heath Organisation,
– the proportion of children with autism being educated in either general or specialist schools is much lower than in the case of other children, whether or not disabled, and
– there is a chronic shortage of care and support facilities for autistic adults.
Related links:
– http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/Esc/
– http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/press/News/2004/ResChs(2004).asp
Please find below the complete press release by Autism Europe.