Some aspects of ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities in the activities of the Council of Europe

The article is devoted to the study and analysis of the acts defining the rights of persons with disabilities, providing for the ways of their guarantee and protection, which were adopted within the Council of Europe. The concept of human rights mechanisms, in particular, in the activities of regional international intergovernmental organisations, is revealed. The author demonstrates the complex multilevel nature of the European system of human rights protection, which includes special regulatory and institutional instruments. Some acts of the so-called ‘soft law’ of the Council of Europe are analysed. It is shown that the first documents of the Council of Europe in the field of the rights of persons with disabilities concerned mainly the economic rights of this category of persons. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of ensuring the required number of jobs, professional retraining and professional assessment of employees who have lost the ability to perform certain types of work. With the further improvement of human rights protection mechanisms, the Council of Europe’s strategy for ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities has also changed. Member states agreed on the importance of expanding the range of freedoms for people with disabilities. This was due to the existence of numerous barriers to access to social services, cultural life of society, diversification of leisure activities, etc. The recommendations that were subsequently adopted included provisions on the absolute prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability in such areas as education, transport, public services, political, social and cultural life of the state. The article also analyses the concept of universal design, which was introduced to ensure that the infrastructure of European countries is accessible so that every person with a disability can receive the necessary social services with minimal interference from third parties. The article examines the issue of protection of persons with disabilities from violence and ill-treatment, whether committed by relatives, healthcare professionals or third parties. The author identifies the categories of persons who are more vulnerable due to the combination of disability with certain other characteristics, such as age, gender, social status, citizenship, etc. The author reveals a new approach of the Council of Europe to ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities, which provides for the elimination of social barriers and their full integration into society.