�Select ALL� e-Accessibility Assessment Report for South Eastern Europe
But there are significant differences in the vigour with which governments pursue the agenda for people with disabilities, and the dominant approach even among NGOs varies from a traditional charity-based ethos to the rights-based approach that is espoused by the UNCRPD.
3.3 National policies and strategies for people with disabilities All e-SEE Initiative members have adopted national strategies to address the situation of people with disabilities, in the following years: Albania 2005; Bosnia and Herzegovina 2009; Croatia 2007; Kosovo 2009; Macedonia 2010; Moldova 2010; Montenegro 2008; Romania 2005; Serbia 2006. Usually these are based on explicit government policy. All are informed by and aspire to be in compliance with international standards in this area, as contained for instance in the 2006 Council of 29 Europe Action Plan and the UNCRPD. However, countries vary hugely in terms of the resources dedicated to their implementation, the level of political commitment and priority given to them, and the extent to which people with disabilities and their organizations were consulted in the preparation and are involved in their implementation. Progress, with some exceptions in specific areas, tends to vary from slow to very slow, as indicated at least by reports by national ombudsman offices, the European Commission Progress Report and other sources. (A number of countries have an ombudsman with responsibility for people with disability, either dedicated, as in Croatia, or as part of a wider responsibility for human rights as in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.). All countries seem to face problems of insufficient resources dedicated to tackling issues such as employment (allowances, employer subsidies, and workplace adaptation), training and education, and to adapting transport, building and other areas. Most have introduced minimum quotas for employing people with disabilities in the private sector in a gradated way, with the smallest employers being exempt. There is also a system of fines, or sometimes a choice of making a payment, for non-compliant employers. Some, though not all, also have quotas in the public sector for employing people with disabilities. Most also have established a special fund into which the fines and payments are placed – though an issue in a few countries is that the proceeds of the fund are not always or entirely dedicated to improving the employment situation of those with disabilities and may be redirected towards the general budget. Finally, there seems to be a widespread problem in enacting laws related to employment, exacerbated by the low level of compliance or enforcement.
29 See https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=Rec%282006%295&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&Site=CM&BackColorInternet=9999CC&BackColorIntranet=FFBB55&BackColorLogged=FFAC75
37