On 25 June 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Ştefan, a quadriplegic teenager, on a case he and his mother brought against Romania for denial of the right to education. For years Ştefan Stoian was carried on his mother’s back so he could attend his class on a second-floor classroom. On several occasions Ştefan was refused support by the school to access the bathroom, leaving him soiled and a target to bullying.
On ruling against Ştefan, the court showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the right of inclusive education and non-discrimination, in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
- The Court blames Ştefan’s mother rather that recognising the duty of Romania to ensure the right to education for all students.
- The Court does not understand the difference between accessibility and reasonable accommodation, for instance qualifying “architectural accessibility of the school buildings” as reasonable accommodation.
- The Court considers that minimum efforts by the state is sufficient to comply with the right to education, even when they do not address the needs of the student.
- The Court did not consider Romania’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Finally, the Court did not recognise the importance of the case and allocated it to a Committee that does not allow for appeal.
For the above mentioned reasons, ENUSP joined the letter started by EDF and together with other undersigned organizations urges the European Court of Human Rights to comply with the most recent international human rights laws, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which guarantees the right of every person with disabilities to education.
See the original post on the website of EDF here.