Mapping disability policies in Europe: Introducing the disability online tool of the commission (DOTCOM)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2006 and came into force in 2008. It establishes a comprehensive framework for the protection and promotion of rights for disabled people and includes 50 Articles, which require parties to adopt its general principles, to take specific actions in relation to specific Articles, and to put in place arrangements for monitoring and reporting on their progress. Both the European Union and its Member States signed the Convention in 2007 and progress towards ratification by all parties is well advanced. Implementation of the Convention requires development of a range of policy instruments at both national and European level. The Disability Online Tool of the Commission (DOTCOM) was developed by the Academic Network of European Disability experts (ANED) in 2011-12, in collaboration with the European Commission and the EU Member States, to map the progress being made on a range of key instruments relevant to implementation of the Convention.