Brussels, April 2, 2025 – As we mark World Autism Awareness Day, Autism-Europe is pleased to announce that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recently issued concluding observations that match our demands to realise the rights of autistic people in the European Union. This is in line with the alternative report we submitted to the UN earlier this year, and can be seen as a strong endorsement of Autism-Europe’s call for the voices of autistic people and their families to be heard and acted upon – the goal of our ‘Not invisible’ campaign.
The CRPD Committee has highlighted the recent European Parliament Resolution on Harmonising the Rights of Autistic Persons, adopted in 2023, and calls on the EU to:
- Adopt new concrete actions to address the needs of autistic individuals in the second phase of the European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
- Improve access to disability assessment for autistic people;
- Combat poverty and social exclusion experienced by autistic people;
- Promote compulsory training of professionals on autism and fostering quality support services, notably to enable autistic people to live independently;
- Enhance access to employment, including for people with intensive support needs;
- Abolish forced treatment for autistic people, such as in psychiatric hospitals;
- Abolish guardianship and promote legal capacity through supported decision-making;
- Address structural inequalities and intersectional discrimination experienced by autistic people.
These concluding observations are the result of a crucial process conducted by the UN to assess how the EU is implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a review of the positive and the negative aspects of the EU’s commitment to disability rights. These recommendations tell the EU exactly where and how they need to improve and take further action.
Autism-Europe remains committed to advocating for these essential changes and will continue to work closely with the European Union and all relevant stakeholders to promote their implementation.
Read the full recommendations here and stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis.