2016_Paralympics_Parade_of_Nations_Luxembourg

People with disability in Luxembourg have some legal protections from

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

and their needs can be provided through various government policies. Students with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

have a fairly good rate of completing school compared to peers without a disability.

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

signed onto the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument, international human rights multilateral treaty, treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with Disabil ...

on March 30, 2007. Much of the country is accessible, however, there are no legal provisions for

reasonable accommodation A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, or em ...

Demographics

People with disabilities living in

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

in Luxembourg has increased since 2010. However, the rate of poverty was lower than in other

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an countries at 2 percent in 2011. In 2011, the

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

rate for people with disabilities in the country was at 21 points. People with severe disabilities had a 39 percent unemployment rate in the country.

Policy

Luxembourg has largely used a

medical model of disability The medical model of disability, or medical model, is based in a biomedical perception of disability. This model links a disability diagnosis to an individual's physical body. The model supposes that a disability may reduce the individual's qu ...

in its policies and legislation regarding people with disabilities. Starting in 1989, the government decided to centralize agencies and policies for people with disabilities and put it together in the Ministry of Family Affairs, Integration and for the Greater Region. Luxembourg's 2012 national plan contained measures to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Luxembourg's Employment Code specifies that businesses with more than 25 employees must hire a certain percentage of people with disabilities. People with severe disabilities and children are able to access a disability allowance. The allowance for children, ''Allocation supplémentaire pour enfant handicapé'', is provided when a child's mental or physical capacity is reduced by 50 percent. Adult residents of Luxembourg that are at least 30 percent disabled and unable to work can be recognized as a disabled worker and receive ''Revenu pour personne gravement handicapée''. Individuals who require a caregiver can receive ''Assurance dépendance.''

German Sign Language German Sign Language (, DGS) is the sign language of the deaf community in Germany, Luxembourg and in the German-speaking community of Belgium. It is unclear how many use German Sign Language as their main language; Gallaudet University estimate ...

was recognized as an

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

in May 2017.

Non-governmental organizations

Info-Handicap was created in April 1993 when 16 different disability organizations came together to work with the government. The organization grew to include 55 member groups over time.

Legislation

Luxembourg signed onto the

on March 30, 2007. Law No. 169 on the rights of persons with disabilities was passed on July 28, 2011. Under

European Union directives European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other We ...

, the country is prevented from firing a worker based on their disability status. The two relevant directives are 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC.

Education

In Luxembourg, students with a disability are generally slightly less likely to complete various levels of education than people without a disability.

Special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

classes are also available for migrant children and children living in poverty who may have "language-related deprivations."

Refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s also receive special education as needed.

Accessibility

As of 2017, there were no legal rights to

in Luxembourg. Rollibus, a door-to-door taxi bus, is available in the city of Luxembourg for individuals who use

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

s. Most city streets and rail stations are equipped for people with disabilities.

Bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es are also able to accommodate people with disabilities and

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead people who are blind or visually impaired around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green c ...

s ride buses for free. Parking spaces for people with disabilities are clearly marked and people using the spots must display their credentials with a European Union blue badge.

Cultural attitudes

According to a 2019 report from the Centre for Equal Treatment (''Centre pour l'égalité de traitement'' CET), the most common type of

in the country is against people with disabilities. In 2019, it was found that 25 percent of discrimination cases were due to discrimination against people with disabilities. Large companies have been found to not keep up with the Employment Code which specifies that any business with more than 25 employees must hire a certain number of people with disabilities.

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Culture of Luxembourg