UN Body Finds Italy In Violation Of Caregiver's Rights In 5-Year Dispute

UN Body Finds Italy in Violation of Caregiver's Rights in 5-Year Dispute

A committee at the UN human rights office concluded on Wednesday that Italy had violated the rights of a woman caring for her disabled daughter and partner by denying her personal support

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2022) A committee at the UN human rights office concluded on Wednesday that Italy had violated the rights of a woman caring for her disabled daughter and partner by denying her personal support.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said in its conclusions on the case spanning five years that Italy was to ensure that the entire family had access to adequate assistance.

Maria Bellini, who is in her 60s, argued that the vacuum in the Italian legal system had left her a "victim of impoverishment" because she was not liable to a pension or any other form of compensation. She said she was exposed to discrimination by association to her disabled family members in the labor market and to gender discrimination, as most family caregivers are women.

"This case is a breakthrough because the Committee recognized the violation of a family caregiver's right to social support, in addition to the rights of persons with disabilities," Markus Schefer, the committee's rapporteur on communications, said.

Bellini has been the only caregiver of her quadriplegic daughter, in her 30s, and her partner, in his 60s, who was suffering from severe mobility problems for the past 15 years as a result of a brain hemorrhage and a coma. She lost her job in 2017 after she was no longer allowed to work from home.

The committee said Italy needed to close legal loopholes and expand social protection programs to prevent similar violations in the future, and increase budget support to people with disabilities and their caregivers.