Lack of equality or complete absence thereof
The German Institute for Human Rights observes that people with disabilities in Germany still cannot live on equal terms. It criticizes specific facilities such as special schools and workshops for people with disabilities, which it identifies as obstacles to the equal participation of individuals with disabilities in societal life.
According to an independent analysis by the institute, the federal government, states, and local municipalities are not doing enough to improve this situation. The institute’s recent report, presented in Berlin, reveals that efforts to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) have waned in recent years.
The report particularly criticizes long-standing specialized structures in Germany: over half of all children with disabilities attend special schools, and around 300,000 individuals work in sheltered workshops. Large residential facilities house approximately 160,000 adults. “There is a lot of talk about inclusion, but the implementation is lacking,” laments Leander Palleit, the head of the institute’s monitoring office.
Regulations for the private sector and the healthcare industry are perceived as insufficient
Regulations for the private sector and the healthcare industry are also considered inadequate. Since legal obligations for accessibility apply only to public institutions, approximately only ten percent of medical practices in Germany are wheelchair-accessible, limiting the freedom of choice for medical care, as stated in the report.
In 2009, Germany committed to implementing the UN Convention, which aims to ensure the self-determination and full inclusion of people with disabilities. Corinna Rüffer, the disability policy expert from the Green Party, reminds that eight years ago, the UN Committee urged Germany to transform specialized school and workplace structures in favor of inclusive offerings.
Rüffer urgently calls for renewed momentum to achieve inclusion. She emphasizes that special schools often mark the beginning of an “exclusion chain”: a significant portion of young individuals leave these schools without recognized qualifications and end up in sheltered workshops, with no prospects of independently earning their livelihood.
According to the DIMR report, only one percent of those employed in workshops transition to regular employment contracts
The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) is an independent institution funded by the Bundestag. It is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Germany.
Ulla Schmidt, the Federal Chairperson of Lebenshilfe and former Minister of Health, emphasizes that people with disabilities in Germany still do not have the same opportunities as those without disabilities. She calls on the federal government to take the recommendations of the UN committee seriously and implement them.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, approximately 7.8 million severely disabled individuals were living in Germany at the end of 2021, representing 9.4 percent of the population. These are individuals with a disability level above 50, holding a severely disabled ID card. Only a small proportion are disabled from birth, while the majority of severe disabilities result from illnesses.