Focus on the UN CRPD

Switzerland underwent its first state review under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2022, eight years after ratifying the Convention.

The results were “less than flattering”¹, as experts noted (Zurich Observer, 17 May 2025: “UN CRPD: Switzerland Under Pressure”). The Federal Bureau for the Equality of Persons with Disabilities (EBGB) described the review as a call for Switzerland to continue its efforts to implement the Convention:

“On April 13, 2022, the Committee published its concluding observations, marking the end of Switzerland’s first reporting cycle. The document contains over 80 recommendations for action and is a call for Switzerland to continue its efforts to implement the UN CRPD.” (EBGB)

By submitting its shadow report, Inclusion Handicap (IH)—the Swiss national umbrella of disability organizations—greatly increased the precision and impact of this first review. Their report, presented alongside the government’s own, drew a much sharper picture. As Inclusion Handicap stated in March 2022:

“Switzerland will be reviewed for the first time on its implementation of the CRPD. While official Switzerland claims to largely fulfill the Convention, our shadow report to the UN Committee makes it clear: Switzerland has by no means met the requirements. Participation, free choice, and inclusion for persons with disabilities are not guaranteed.” (IH)

Reflecting on the process in May 2025, the Zurich Observer concluded:

“Given the situation, we at the Zurich Observer expect the next review article to be titled: ‘UN CRPD: Switzerland Still Under Pressure’…”

UN CRPD and the Reality on the Ground

The gap between Switzerland’s self-image and the outside perspective – from the UN and from Inclusion Handicap – could hardly be greater. The pressure is mounting, and so are the challenges ahead for real implementation.

Warnings are useful – but independent scrutiny is better. With our focus on the UN CRPD we take a close look at how Switzerland is implementing the Convention. Not in official reports or on the upper floors of government offices, but at the grassroots. In the many publicly funded institutions of the so-called “second labour market”², the broader social services sector³, and within the Swiss disability insurance system. Let’s take a real look – at what happens on the ground.

This is where our focus on the UN CRPD begins.

2 October 2025

Footnotes

1. “Not exactly flattering” is putting it mildly: 80 recommendations are a clear sign that Switzerland’s shortcomings are not merely a matter of detail, but structural. We will take a closer look at all 80 points.
   
2. The emphasis on the secondary labour market is one of the issues particularly highlighted by the CRPD: people should not be kept in separate systems, but should have equal access to the primary labour market. In Switzerland, however, the secondary labour market is heavily promoted and institutionalized — with fine words, but little real permeability. Here too, we examine the dynamics, the underlying factors, and the responsibilities involved.
   
3. aka “social industry”: a fitting term for the system spanning care, administration, and funding. Many profit from the status quo and have no genuine interest in real inclusion. Let’s name them.