Validity and ENIL will be hosting a three-day hybrid conference in Brussels from June 20 to 22 to focus attention on the experiences of people with disabilities in justice systems across Europe and the need for a more humane approach to justice which respects the dignity of all adults and children with disabilities.

The event brings together work that Validity and its partners have undertaken over the past two and a half years of two EU co-funded projects,Child-Friendly Justice and Voices for Justice, and include an additional day for a Deinstitutionalisation and Justice seminar in the European Parliament. The event will:

• Reflect on the urgency for de-institutionalisation, the justice implications and discuss existing practices within Europe which could support the acceleration of de-institutionalisation processes;
• Highlight the shortcomings of the EU Victims’ Rights Directive for both children, and adults with disabilities;
• Recommend changes to legislation and policy at the EU and national levels that would better respect the rights of people with disabilities as established in the UN CRPD, UN CRC and UN CEDAW;
• Introduce practical tools which can be used by (criminal justice) professionals, victim support services and people with disabilities to support and improve participation in the justice system;
• Provide an opportunity to children, and adults with disabilities, to have a say in the reforms proposed and to engage directly with (criminal justice) professionals and EU and national policy makers
  
  The registration is open and the detailed agendas are available on the Zoom events platform. You can also find a summary of the events on our website. The conference will take place in a hybrid format, ISL and captioning will be provided, and the venues are all accessible. Please do pass this information on to your networks and anyone you think might be interested.

And please register for the Humanising Justice conference taking place in Brussels next week!