Poland ratified the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities in 2012. The official government documents state that it was fully implemented and that no active policy is required in this field. But everyday practice of organisations protecting the rights of persons with disabilities show that provisions of the convention are not implemented. The relatively good regulations do not translate into good practice. It is necessary to "socially" show the shortcomings of the system and increase the grassroot pressure on decision-makers. However, low social awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and the lack of mechanisms to demand their observance from public institutions create barriers for the process.
The aim of the project was to encourage decision-makers and public administration representatives to take action to implement the Convention in practice and to develop among persons with disabilities a mechanism for requiring public institutions to observe their rights.
An Internet page was created enabling persons with disabilities to report cases of breaking their rights and to start interventions by themselves http://www.monitoringobywatelski.firr.org.pl. Several dozens of decision-makers and public institution representatives were supplied with information on discrepancies between everyday practice of public institutions and the provisions of the Convention. 400 cases of violations were exposed, where persons with disabilities, supported by lawyers and specialists in accessibility, initiated effective interventions. A base containing 26 samples of intervention letters and good practices was created and made available to other persons. Conclusions from interventions and recommendations were put into a report that was forwarded to representatives of public administration and organisations helping persons with disabilities. A Congress and 5 regional meetings were organised to promote the idea of self-advocacy. The activities were widely promoted in media through 600 institutions and organisations in Poland.
The partners of the project, representing two large groups of persons with disabilities, having extensive watchdog experience, supported the project by building a system to report violations, supporting interventions, developing the final report and animating the interested circles - counselling and encouraging persons with disabilities to actively participate in public life based on the provisions of the Convention.