EU Liaison Office
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© IDDC
CBM's Madhizhagan Mohan speaking during the discussion on disability and the Millennium Development Goals in June 2010 at the European Parliament in Brussels
The European Union (EU) is an important actor, politically and financially, in the field of development. CBM established an EU Liaison Office (CBM EU LO) in Brussels in 2003 with a mandate to ensure that persons with disabilities are fully included in EU development policies and programmes.
Representing CBM at an EU level
The mission of CBM EU LO is to be a key partner at the EU level to ensure that European Commission (EC) Development Assistance plays a central role in improving the lives of persons with disabilities globally.
To achieve this:
To achieve this:
- EC policies and programmes must explicitly include the rights of persons with disabilities
- Relevant EC staff should be aware of the need, and have the capacity, to include persons with disabilities
What EU LO does - in more detail
CBM's European Union Liaison Office promotes the rights of persons with disabilities in the policies and programmes of the EU. It does this by:
- Identifying future initiatives at an early stage
- Aiming to be at the forefront of first policy drafts, offering concrete proposals of how the text should be changed, in order to address disability
- Lobbying, using existing alliances with like-minded organisations to advocate together for the inclusion of the proposed changes in the final draft
How EU LO works
- Awareness raising: Often there is a lack of awareness amongst development stakeholders on disability and development issues. CBM works to make our Brussels partners aware of the situation of persons with disabilities around the world, and of the benefits to all people of making development inclusive. Read these examples of CBM EU LO in action.
- Capacity building: Once stakeholders are aware of the importance of including persons with disabilities, the next step is working out how to do it. CBMs EU LO works together with our partners to respond to requests for know-how, and to build capacity for inclusive development.
- Networking and alliances:
- CBM is an active member of CONCORD, the European Confederation for Relief and Development.
- CBM is also highly active with IDDC Partners across the EU to coordinate our efforts in advocacy towards the EU.
- Lobbying: We actively research upcoming development policies - in particular those related to poverty reduction, human rights, health and education - and we work with partners to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are included.
Contact CBM EU LO
Lars Bosselmann - Advocacy Manager
Address - CBM, Third Floor, Rue Montoyer 39, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Email -
Tel +32 (0) 2 256 9001
Fax +32 (0) 2 256 9000
