Disability group says hard-won rights need defending

Rights and living conditions for people with disabilities have improved significantly in Iceland, but those gains now need defending, the National Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities told mbl.is as it marked its 50th anniversary.

“Over half a century, an extraordinary amount has been achieved in the fight for rights and a better position for our people,” said Guðmundur Ármann Pétursson, the association’s chairman. He said people with intellectual disabilities and related conditions now have far better quality of life, but warned of a clear setback linked to changing attitudes and efforts to cut costs.

The association celebrated its anniversary last weekend at Sjáland in Garðabær, with people connected to its past and present work gathering for the occasion. Guðmundur Ármann said the anniversary was a time both to celebrate and to look ahead.

Since its founding, the association has worked to secure equal rights for people with disabilities in housing, education and public services. It has contributed to legislation and legal protections, supported the development of housing that allows people to live independently, and backed public information efforts that it says have helped change attitudes.

Guðmundur Ármann said Iceland had moved away from placing people with intellectual disabilities in large institutions such as Kópavogshælið. The focus is now on independent living, while young people attend school with their peers and have a right to appropriate support.

But he said some municipalities want to build apartment blocks for people with disabilities because they consider them more cost-effective. Efficiency, he argued, can be achieved without compromising human rights. He also said inclusive education must remain the main priority, while recognising the important work done by special schools such as Arnarskóli, Þorláksskóli and Klettaskóli. Separating one group from the rest of society, he said, is always dangerous.

Municipalities took over responsibility for disability services from the state in 2011. Guðmundur Ármann said this had brought services closer to people, but some municipalities were too small to provide them adequately and regional municipal associations had more disadvantages than advantages. He said financial arrangements between the state and municipalities remained unresolved, despite 16 years having passed since the transfer.

He added that substantial state funds were available to develop housing for people with disabilities, but municipalities were holding back because they said they had not been provided with the money needed to deliver services.