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AGE Platform Europe and its members launched their Manifesto for the EU elections during an event held at the European Parliament on 5th November, demanding an Age-Friendly European Union.

National Healthcare System (NHS) in the UK issued a report which calls for wide changes in the complaints procedures in the UK. The key health organisations will be controlling its implementation the following year, making sure it will bring expected changes in the way the NHS is handling the objections nowadays.

On 16 October 2013, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted Recommendation CM/Rec(2013)2 on ensuring full inclusion of children and young persons with disabilities into society. Inclusion Europe welcomes the Recommendation which brings the attention of the European governments towards better implementation of the rights of children and young people with disabilities.

Easy Read Online Limited launched a website called Dobson’s Choice which enables people with intellectual disabilities and reading difficulties to browse information online. More than 1000 websites could be retrieved at Dobson’s Choice, providing people with accessible, interesting and relevant information.

Inclusion Ireland, Irish Autism Action and Down Syndrome Ireland called on government to start making people with a disability a priority.

German Institute for Human Rights (DIFM) made its website available in ‘easy to read’. This initiative gives an opportunity to people with intellectual disabilities to retrieve a lot of information about the human rights issues and follow the work of the institute.

On 25th of October Inclusion Europe organised a Strategic Policy Seminar for the members of its network in Brussels. In monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a key challenge recognised by Inclusion Europe’s members is the identification of evidence concerning state’s progress on disability policies and their impact on people with disabilities. Legal capacity, community living and participation of people with intellectual disabilities were repeatedly highlighted as priorities of our advocacy agenda.

The European Court for Human Rights ordered to UK government to pay legal costs and compensation to a woman with Down’s syndrome which was detained in hospital against her will. Following the judgement, the United Kingdom must ensure that special procedural safeguards are put in place to protect a right to liberty guaranteed by Article 5 (4) of the European Convention of Human Rights for all detainees, also for the ones who are not in a position to exercise these rights independently.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a report on the situation of equality in Member States, expressing its opinion on the implementation of European directives on racial equality and equality in employment. Even though these directives brought a progress in equality implementation across the EU, discrimination remains a part of daily reality for many Europeans. FRA highlighted various factors which are still to be improved to achieve equality.

Special Olympics is an international organisation that supports the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in society through participation in sports. Since 1968 they organised numerous trainings and athletic competitions every year to encourage children and young people/adults with intellectual disabilities to experience the joy of sports and develop friendships and mutual understanding with others in non-formal environment. Their programmes ‘Young Athletes’ and ‘Unified Sport’ gave opportunity to many children and adults in Eurasia Region to actively develop their physical abilities.