The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is the first ever human rights treaty to which the European Union (EU) became a party in its capacity as a supranational organisation. The UNCRPD intends to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities. It aims to eliminate barriers and discrimination, ensuring that disabled people can participate fully in society.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention by the States parties. The CRPD recently reviewed the EU’s implementation of the Convention in March 2025. The resulting recommendations are officially termed ‘Concluding Observations’. In its Concluding Observations, adopted on 18 March, the CRPD has endorsed Autism-Europe’s demands to strengthen actions for the rights of autistic people in the European Union. Indeed, several
of the recommendations echo directly our alternative report submitted to the United Nations at the beginning of the year to inform the review from the perspective of autistic people and their families.
This report examines the recommendations made by the CRPD, specifically those that are relevant for autistic people. We also highlighted how they align with our alternative report. This way we can see how our advocacy efforts so far have worked and get an overview of how we can use this key document going forward to advocate for autism rights at the EU level and beyond.