Senator Lyazzat Kaltayeva met with Uzra Zey, Under Secretary of State of the United States of America, as part of a delegation of Kazakhstani parliamentarians. The meeting discussed cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States in various fields, including the expansion of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Lyazzat Kaltaeva told about the measures taken by the Kazakhstani government to create equal opportunities for people with disabilities and protection of their rights. According to the deputy, in the field of protection of disabled people's rights, our state pays special attention to solving the issues of creating a barrier-free environment, development of inclusive education, social welfare and implementation of the electoral rights of persons with disabilities.
"The civil society raised and solved the issues of accessibility of polling stations, access to information and the electoral process for persons with visual, hearing and mobility impairments. The issue of implementation of passive suffrage and introduction of such norm of temporary positive discrimination as quota in representative bodies of power for persons with disabilities was especially important. In December 2021 such a norm appeared in the legislation of Kazakhstan, but I want to say that since 2016 the number of deputies from among persons with disabilities at the local level is growing," said the senator.
Lyazzat Kaltayeva also focused on issues related to the exchange of experience between the U.S. and Kazakhstan in terms of creating favorable living conditions for people with disabilities. The senator noted that the exchange of best practices is a very effective tool for the development of society.
"Issues of access to information, especially in the field of digital technology, are relevant for people with visual, hearing and speech impairments. The Covid-19 pandemic around the world especially revealed the problems in obtaining relevant and timely information and obtaining public services for such categories of people. Separately I would like to highlight the issue of access to information for persons with intellectual disabilities in Easy-to-Read format, which is becoming widespread in the world and in our country. Expert support in this area would also be very helpful," said the Senator.
The deputy also focused on the issues of entrepreneurship support for persons with disabilities and further development of an inclusive business model in our country
(Senate Press Service, 74-72-27)
