A round table meeting on the topic “Current problems of persons with disabilities and ways to solve them” took place today in the Senate.
The meeting was attended by deputies of the Senate and maslikhats, leadership and representatives of the Ministries and akimats of the regions, international organizations, the expert community and public organizations.
Speaker of the Senate Maulen Ashimbaev, welcoming the participants of the round table, noted the importance of providing comprehensive support to citizens with disabilities. He emphasized that a Just Kazakhstan is, first of all, an inclusive society. In this regard, the Chairman of the Chamber said that an Inclusion Council has been formed in the Senate, whose members will develop relevant proposals and ways to implement them.
“The creation of the Council for Inclusion in the Senate is aimed at promoting the formation of a full-fledged inclusive environment in Kazakhstan. I am confident that within the framework of the Council’s activities, high-quality, effective legislative proposals will be developed. The creation of a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities and their social protection is a priority task of the state. On behalf of the Head of State, the Social Code was adopted, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified, and the National Plan to ensure the rights and improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities until 2025 is being implemented. It is important to move away from the paradigm of charitable and medical approaches to solving disability problems. It is important to build an effective system for protecting the rights of people with disabilities, their adaptation in society and socialization, employment, and the realization of their potential. All this will improve the quality of life of citizens with disabilities,” Maulen Ashimbaev emphasized in his speech.
Maulen Ashimbaev focused separately on the problems of disability among children and outlined the key tasks to improve the quality of medical services and improve the environmental situation in the country. Two more important areas that the Speaker of the Senate focused on were employment and socialization of citizens, including unlocking the potential of children with special needs.
The initiatives and proposals expressed during the meeting should give impetus to the development of the Law “On the Protection of the Rights of People with Disabilities.” During the meeting, it was noted that it is now important for the expert community to analyze the issue of the possible creation of a separate structure that would coordinate the activities of government agencies and promote the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. In addition, the potential of the initiative to maintain a rating of the responsibility of akims for the implementation of measures to protect the rights of persons with disabilities was noted, and a proposal was voiced to create an independent monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities.
(Press service of the Senate, 74-72-27. Courtesy of N. Baybulin)
