FOR THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND OTHER PRIVILEGED CATEGORIES OF UKRAINIAN CITIZENS!
The government's draft Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Travel Benefits and Some Other Benefits» (Reg. No. 5651 of 11.06.2021) has been registered on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
According to the explanatory note to the draft law, the purpose of the act is to regulate the issue of granting travel privileges and some other benefits to certain categories of citizens in cash by delegating to local governments the authority to determine the procedure for granting and the amount of monetary compensation.
Despite the remarks and categorical negative position regarding the introduction of relevant amendments to the current legislation of Ukraine by this draft law, provided by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPD) to the developer of the draft act (the Ministry of Social Policy) during the preparation and approval process, the said draft law was registered without taking into account the opinion of the general public of people with disabilities and other privileged categories of persons during the discussion from all regions of Ukraine.
The NIAU noted that:
According to many public associations and organizations of people with disabilities, the proposed draft law contradicts Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which human rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the state and cannot be abolished. When adopting new laws or amending existing laws no narrowing of the content and scope is allowed existing rights and freedoms.
Also, in accordance with Article 38.1 The Law of Ukraine «On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine» narrowing the content and scope the rights of persons with disabilities to preferential transportation not allowed.
Concerns have been expressed that the granting of the right to a legally enshrined benefit will directly depend on the decision of local councils and will put privileged categories, including persons with disabilities, in unequal conditions, as different regions of Ukraine have different financial capacities.
They also pointed out the danger of putting pressure on local governments to make appropriate decisions in order to shift the budgetary burden to them to compensate for the relevant benefits. These are. may lead to a reduction or complete abolition of these benefits in case of deterioration of the financial situation in the respective territorial community after such a decision is made. As a result, dissatisfaction among privileged categories of the population, including persons with disabilities.
At the same time, we note that the initiative to monetize the travel privilege
in the proposed version is not supported by the majority of civil society organizations from all regions of Ukraine.
In our opinion, monetary compensation for fares must be provided only at the request of the person entitled to benefits, if it is provided for by applicable law, in clearly defined amounts and terms in accordance with sustainable indicators with the impossibility of limiting such rights.
Please note that most people with disabilities in Ukraine live below the poverty line, receiving a meager pension that is not enough even for food, medicine, and hygiene products.
The proposed draft law does not provide for an increase in the established level of social protection for people with disabilities, but rather proposes to limit it, as there are many social and financial risks.
Instead of simplifying the mechanisms for granting benefits and expanding other social guarantees for persons with disabilities provided for by the current legislation of Ukraine, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is part of the national legislation, some obstacles and barriers are being invented that limit the rights of privileged categories of citizens, including persons with disabilities, to preferential travel, since today This benefit is guaranteed by the state throughout Ukraine.
We would like to draw the attention of the heads of public associations of persons with disabilities to the need for a dialogue with the MPs of Ukraine who will vote for the draft law.
The NAIU will send a letter to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights.
The text of the draft law can be found at the following link link:
http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=72201
