The European Committee of Social Rights has released its decision on the admissibility and merits of the complaint made in Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) v Belgium in 2014, in which the Committee concluded that the Flemish Community of Belgium was in violation of the European Social Charter.
MDAC (now called Validity) lodged a complaint with the Committee alleging that the Flemish Community of Belgium was denying disabled children access to mainstream education, particularly children with intellectual disabilities, and failing to provide the necessary accommodation to ensure such inclusion. They argued that there had been a breach of Article 15§1 of the Charter on the right of person with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community; and Article 17§§1 and 2 on the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection.
MDAC stressed that out of 46,901 children with disabilities educated in special schools, only 100 places are secured for their inclusion in mainstream education, claiming this to be exclusionary. The introduction of the M-Decree, a government decree which aimed to ensure greater inclusion in mainstream education for children with disabilities, was criticised by MDAC as being discriminatory as it only applied to ‘‘pupils who are able to follow the common curriculum through the application of appropriate measures’’ such as those with physical or sensory disabilities and not children with more profound intellectual and learning disabilities.
The Belgian Government asserted that various measures had been adopted to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to education, contesting that in the Flemish Community the right to education of children and young people with disabilities was guaranteed. It was claimed that less than 0.1% of children with disabilities did not receive some form of access to education. But this referred to children so severely disabled that they could not attend any form of school, and no challenge was set forward denying the specific allegations made by MDAC.
The Committee ruled that the complaint was admissible, and concluded unanimously that there was a violation of Article 15§1 of the Charter on the grounds that the right to inclusive education for children with intellectual disabilities was not effectively guaranteed in the Flemish Community of Belgium.
There was a second violation of Article 15§1 of the Charter due to the lack of effective remedies against refusal of enrolment in mainstream schooling for children with intellectual disabilities. There was also a violation of Article 17§2 of the Charter on the ground that the accessibility criteria to an inclusive education were not fulfilled.
Click here for the full judgement.
Click here for Validity’s press release.