Toiletless Trains
Introduction to the UN Convention in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
On the 13th of September 2006, the United Nations adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This legally binding international human rights treaty aims to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities.
The UNCRPD introduces a human rights based approach to disability. Instead of seeking to create new rights for persons with disabilities, the UNCRPD elaborates and clarifies existing human rights obligations within the disability context. Core themes of the Convention are individual autonomy, and full and effective participation and inclusion in society. The Convention also contains innovative provisions on the rights of women and children with disabilities. Unfortunately however, the legal standards do not always reflect the situation of persons with disabilities in real life.
The Netherlands is one of the three remaining EU member states, which have yet to ratify the UNCRPD. The European Union itself has been a party to the Convention since January 2011. However, the Dutch government has signed the Convention, and agreed to its ratification before the end of the year. By signing the Convention, the government may no longer pass new laws or regulations, which will negatively affect the human rights situation of persons with disabilities.
“Toiletless Trains”
The public transportation system in The Netherlands should be accessible to all. However, now that some trains no longer have toilets aboard, they have become inaccessible to a certain group of people. For some persons with specific disabilities, as well as elderly people, it is essential to be able to access a toilet during the journey.
Toilets have disappeared from short distance trains in the context of austerity. By cutting back on public transport expenses, a new range of short-distance trains has been ordered without toilets aboard. These decisions have been made without taking notice of their effects on the mobility of persons with disabilities and the accessibility of public transport.
Following criticism in the Dutch media in 2010, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment announced that all trains ordered from 2015 onwards should include toilets aboard, and all remaining short-distance trains should have reintroduced toilets before 2021. Despite the significant time frame envisioned for these adjustments, the national rail service (NS) is addressing the issues of mobility for persons with disabilities. Next to this, regional providers are willing to comply with the requested changes, however some of these need authorization for this from the Provincial government.
The direct result of this is that some regional providers have not yet agreed to reinstall toilets in short-distance trains. This could possibly amount to a violation of the UNCRPD.
Accessibility & Mobility
There are two specific provisions of the UNCRPD of relevance when discussing the rights of persons with disabilities in relation to the “toiletless trains”. Firstly, article 9, which obliges State Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure persons with disabilities equal access to transportation. Additionally, Article 20 concerns the rights to personal mobility. State Parties should guarantee the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities by facilitating their personal mobility. Access to transportation is key to independence and full community participation for persons with disabilities; it also works to ensure their inherent dignity on an equal basis with others.
The Public Interest Litigation Project (PILP) of the NJCM is exploring legal avenues to address this problem.