Inclusion initiative submitted to the Federal Chancellery
Published: Thursday, Sep 5th 2024, 16:00
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The sponsors of the inclusion initiative submitted 108,000 collected signatures to the Federal Chancellery in Bern on Thursday. The initiative calls for equal rights for people with and without disabilities in all areas of life.
To enable people in wheelchairs to hand over the paraphernalia, a temporary ramp to the rear entrance of the Federal Palace was erected on the Federal Terrace, as the initiative's sponsors announced on Thursday. The signatures were submitted to the Federal Chancellery at 3.45 pm.
According to the initiators, around 1.7 million people with disabilities live in Switzerland. They experience numerous forms of discrimination in their everyday lives, be it in housing, at work or on public transport. The initiative calls on the federal government and cantons to take binding measures for legal and actual equality.
Free choice of place of residence and assistance services
Among other things, the free choice of place of residence and form of housing should be guaranteed. Currently, many support allowances are tied to institutions and it is not easy to change canton of residence. This is a "massive restriction" of basic rights, the report continued.
The initiative also calls for more assistance services. For example, a person with a speech impediment cannot afford the verbal assistance they need to work. Similarly, deaf people who want to get involved in politics do not receive the sign language interpretation they need. These services should be provided within the framework of proportionality.
Paid for no signature
The inclusion initiative was launched by the Association for an Inclusive Switzerland, together with disability and human rights organizations. The Federal Chancellery will check the signatures to determine whether the initiative is successful. A total of 100,000 valid signatures are required.
At the beginning of the week, Tamedia newspapers revealed that commercial companies had probably cheated when collecting signatures for popular initiatives. It's all about forged signatures.
The association supporting the inclusion initiative stated that no commercial companies had been commissioned to collect signatures. In addition, following a review, the association concluded that there were no recognizable signs of irregularities in the collection.
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