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Belgium

ANED Contact

The information contained on this page was compiled in April 2009 by our country team.

Contact:
Jef Breda
University of Antwerp - Information Research Unit on Welfare and the Welfare state
E-mail: jef.breda@ua.ac.be

The full text can be downloaded here.

Policy and enforcement bodies

The key national bodies with responsibility for disability law and policy implementation include:

There is a Secretary of State for People with Disabilities but most disability policy falls within the separate jurisdictions of the Flemish Community, the Walloon Region, the French Community, Commission of the Brussels-Capital Region and the German-speaking Community.

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National law and strategy

Belgium has ratified the United Nations Convention and the Optional Protocol.

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Social protection

Key features of the national system include (including adapted items from the MISSOC database December 2008):

Disability benefits

Disability benefits fall under the responsibility of the Federal Service for Social Security. The objective of Social Assistance is to ensure that everyone has the right to a basic level of income.

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Facts and figures

Data on population indicate that:

The population of Belgium is 10.666.866 (January 1, 2008). The age structure is 22,99% between 0-19 years, 59,95% between 20-64 years, and 17,06% 65 years and older. The average age is 39,8 years.

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Academic networks and resources

Culture and Disability International Network (CADIN)

Organisations of disabled people

The national organisation representing disabled people at the European level (European Disability Forum) is:

Belgian Disability Forum asbl (BDF)
Finance Tower
Bd. du Jardin Botanique 50, bte 150
1000 Bruxelles
bdf@minsoc.fed.be
Tél.:+32 (0)2 509 83 58

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Additional information

Useful sources of more detailed information about the situation of disabled people, and the policies and support available, include:

R. Kennes, ed. (2001). Inclusief beleid voor personen met een handicap. Voorbeelden uit de beleidspraktijk. Leuven: Acco.

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Go to the European Commission - Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities This initiative is financed by the EC Programme Progress. But the views expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect the official views of the EU institutions.
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