Increased participation: veterans with disabilities unite in the NAIU to protect their rights

War veterans who are returning to civilian life today need assistance and protection, including benefits for treatment, rehabilitation, and employment. Our defenders need access to medical facilities. At the same time, representatives of civil society organizations seek a constructive attitude from local authorities, providing them with proposals for improving the integration of veterans with disabilities into public life. Veterans who are internally displaced persons require special protection, as they live in other regions and need special support from their new communities. 

These and other issues were collected and summarized during the meeting of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine with veterans with disabilities, entitled "Dialogue for the Future." According to the participants of the event, many veterans today are unaware of their rights and do not know how to defend them.

Therefore, the NAPD decided to create a structure that would coordinate the study of issues affecting veterans with disabilities, lobby for the protection of their interests in state and local government bodies, and provide necessary assistance to war veterans themselves. 

"We will focus all our efforts on improving access for people with disabilities, especially war veterans, to rehabilitation and other types of assistance," said Valery Sushkevich, chairman of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities. "Therefore, we are initiating a 'horizontal' principle of uniting veterans, calling on them to join the NAPD, an organization with significant experience in human rights activities aimed at protecting people with disabilities."    

"Today's meeting is the beginning of a great deal of work that we will be doing together," said former military officer Ruslan Topchan, who will coordinate work with veterans and veterans' organizations at the NAPD. 

As noted by the NAPD, one of the main areas of activity of the organization is to involve people with disabilities, including war veterans, in the reconstruction and economic recovery of Ukraine, as well as to integrate these people into civilian life by increasing their participation in decision-making at the central and local levels.

     NAPD Resource Centre::

•      Address: Office 109, 8/5A Reitarska St., Kyiv
•      Прийом за попереднім записом за тел.: +38(044)2796182,  +38(095)9091413   
•      or by email: hubnapd@gmail.com  

This material is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Momentum Wheels for Humanity and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.