We publish a letter from the NAIU regarding the draft Action Plan for Post-War Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine, which was sent to Office. President of Ukraine, National happy
to restore Ukraine from the consequences of the war, Cabinet. Ministers of Ukraine
The All-Ukrainian Public Association "National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine" (hereinafter referred to as the NAPDU) unites more than a hundred organizations of people with disabilities and has been working in Ukraine since the first days of the war to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including by participating in the development of draft government decisions.
The NIAU has reviewed the draft Action Plan for the Post-War Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine, a list of proposals for priority reforms and strategic initiatives, draft regulations, the adoption and implementation of which are necessary for the effective work and recovery of Ukraine in the war and post-war periods, developed by the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 266 of April 21, 2022, and reports.
First of all, it should be noted that the representative of the NIAU - Pavlo Zhdan - was included in the working group "Social Protection" and took part in submitting proposals to the relevant section, representing the interests of the NIAU members.
At the same time, we are concerned that virtually all of the suggestions and comments provided by the NAIU have not been taken into account.
Recognizing the importance and necessity of an inclusive approach to reforms and plans for the post-war reconstruction of our country, taking into account the interests and needs of all population groups, the NAPD considers it necessary to emphasize that the strategic initiatives presented in the proposed version mostly do not take into account the needs of persons with disabilities and are sometimes declarative. Taking into account the fact that the number of people with disabilities will increase in post-war Ukraine, consideration of the needs of this group of citizens is relevant and extremely necessary.
The relevant draft Action Plan is too large in size and complex in style, containing more than 3,000 pages of text with many different tables, making it difficult to use and inaccessible to people with disabilities, in particular.
Four chapters of the draft Action Plan are over 300 pages long, eight chapters are between 100 and 200 pages long, while the Social Protection chapter is one of the smallest, consisting of 32 pages, which is surprising given the scale of poverty, the country's aging population, and the difficult life circumstances faced by most Ukrainian citizens during the war.
The section "Social Protection" provides:
- acceptof the Social Code of Ukraine. It should be noted that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has tried to develop and approve it twice before, but both attempts were unsuccessful and had a negative public response, as they each time proposed to reduce and cancel a number of existing benefits and guarantees;
- acceptance ofthe law on universal. social. help.. It should be noted that the introduction of such assistance is most likely aimed at canceling some payments or depriving certain socially vulnerable categories of the population of the right to a number of payments or significantly reducing their amount. Thus, it is assumed that the law on universal social assistance will suffer the same negative fate as the Social Code of Ukraine;
- Adoption of the law on compulsory savingsand supplemental pension benefits. It should be noted that, given the military situation and inflation, as well as the bankruptcy of most non-state pension funds, the issue of preserving the relevant savings and the existence of instruments is extremely acute,
with the help of which such savings should work;
- use of the terms "low-income persons", "persons with disabilities" and others understand alongside зі the phrase "persons in difficult life circumstances" as equivalent. We note that "low income" and "disability" are among the factors that cause difficult life circumstances.
Please note that rehabilitation services are mentioned in passing in the goals and subsections on social services. In addition rehabilitation services are not social services, and auxiliary aids are not mentioned at all. As a result, it is unclear whether we are actually talking about social or rehabilitation services;
whether rehabilitation services and auxiliary means of rehabilitation will fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Policy in the near future;
- completion of the development of a free training base with training courses that will be adapted and take into account current professions and skills in the labor market and the specifics of the educational process for persons with disabilities, and the development of free distance and training programs on access to professions that, according to the analysis, are accessible to persons with disabilities in the regions where these persons can, in particular, conclude remote work agreements. It should be emphasized that the state constantly declares a course towards inclusion, and therefore every service should be accessible to all citizens without exception, including persons with disabilities. In addition, as practice shows, for the entire independence of Ukraine specified training has never been essential impact on growth numbers employed persons with disabilities;
- Adoption of a law on amendments to certain laws of Ukraine on ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities to work (most likely, this will be draft law No. 5344-3) and conducting an information campaign on the involvement of persons with disabilities in the public sector (enterprises and public administration) as a guideline for private businesses to improve their corporate social responsibility programs. However, it should be noted that without proper education, medical care, rehabilitation and accessibility, it is unlikely that the situation with employment of persons with disabilities will be significantly improved;
- tracking only three indicators related to employment of persons with disabilities (the number of persons with disabilities who: a) started their own business; b) were employed in social enterprises; c) were employed in subsidized jobs) shows that persons with disabilities should rely only on themselves. At the same time, it should be noted that since Ukraine's independence, the state has failed to introduce reliable and accurate statistics on the employment of persons with disabilities;
- designation of the Ministry of Social Policy as the main agency responsible for the implementation of projects "General analysis of the accessibility of public facilities (open to the public) for people with disabilities and low mobility groups" і "Updating the policy on the development of social integration and participation of people with disabilities in society and implementing the updated policy on employment of people with disabilities", which include measures to determine and increase the level of physical accessibility of transport, housing, buildings open to the public, housing rehabilitation, removal of architectural and communication barriers, etc. is a significant mistake that repeats the failed situation when the Ministry of Social Policy was only dealing with the issues of people with disabilities, and other authorities formed and implemented policies in their respective areas without taking into account the rights and needs of this category of people!
The NAIU is concerned that with the above tasks and measures of the Section "Social Protection" impossible will to achieve the declaredoh meth in itи - Creating a new model of social policy in UkraineThe state will implement a social policy that will comply with the principles and standards of EU social policy, improve the quality of human life, counteract demographic changes, strengthen the level of social protection, contribute to poverty reduction, enhance social cohesion, help overcome discrimination in all its forms, and meet the financial capabilities of the state.
Please note that in other sections of the draft Action Plan, the situation with regard to the needs of persons with disabilities is even worse:
- The section "Restoration and Development of Infrastructure" mainly refers only to the construction of barrier-free regional airports (approximately 5-7) and the adaptation of railway infrastructure. The draft Action Plan does not define what will happen to barrier-free access to other modes of transport and to transport itself. In addition, this section does not contain measures to improve the regulatory framework on relevant issues, taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities;
- The section on "Construction, Urban Development, Modernization of Cities and Regions of Ukraine" refers several times to the construction, modernization, and restoration of damaged public service facilities and services with barrier-free access, but it does not specify how the relevant measures will be implemented. In addition, this section does not contain measures to improve the regulatory framework on relevant issues, taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities.
This is especially acute against the backdrop of two barrier-free projects, the implementation of which is entrusted to the Ministry of Social Policy in the Social Protection section;
- the Digitalization section provides for the adoption of a law and a government resolution that will determine the mandatory requirements of the DSTU EN 301 549:2022 standard (which takes into account the needs of persons with disabilities) when creating (modernizing) information systems owned by state bodies, local governments, utilities, institutions and enterprises with a state share in the authorized capital exceeding 50 percent. The draft Action Plan does not specify when non-state information systems should become available;
- the section "Education and Science" does not systematize measures and tasks for the development of inclusive education, compared to the existing problems in education;
- The section "Youth and Sports" has two goals "Comprehensive restoration and development of sports infrastructure, including Olympic Paralympic and Deaflympic training bases, taking into account the requirements for barrier-free accessibility and accessibility for people with disabilities and other low-mobility groups" and "Implementation of the Presidential Programs "25 Sports Magnets" and "Reconstruction of 18 Sports Boarding Schools and 100 Children's and Youth Sports Schools", taking into account the requirements for barrier-free accessibility and accessibility of persons with disabilities and other low-mobility groups to each individual facility". We hope that everything will be implemented taking into account the barrier-free accessibility of each facility for people with disabilities and other low-mobility groups;
- in the section "Culture and Information Policy", the implementation of tasks on "Creation of an optimal network of educational institutions/centers of modern culture in Ukraine and abroad, taking into account safety requirements and barrier-free standards and principles" and "Creating conditions for employment of people with disabilities in the cultural sector" is set for 2032, which in itself is an unjustified delay in creating accessibility in the cultural sector;
- The Healthcare section contains dozens of costly measures and tasks dedicated to the development of rehabilitation care and its integration into all levels of medical and rehabilitation care, as well as a task to exclude sanatorium treatment and unproven rehabilitation from Ukrainian legislation and budget programs by replacing them with rehabilitation care under the Medical Guarantees Program. This is especially acute against the background of continuous optimization of expenditures, which was seen throughout the section "Social Protection";
- in the section "Protection of children's rights and return of children temporarily displaced abroad" there are no tasks and activities for children with disabilities, except for the implementation of a project to develop an early intervention service for children under 3 years of age inclusive;
- in the section "Human Rights," it is proposed to introduce universal design of only official websites, taking into account the needs of people with disabilities, either by 2026 or 2032 (two dates are specified). The draft Action Plan does not specify when unofficial websites should become accessible.
All other sections of the draft Action Plan mostly do not provide for anything significant regarding persons with disabilities.
The NAPD fully supports the ideology of the need to create conditions for the integration of persons with disabilities into society and to facilitate their employment, but given the continuous rise in the cost of all goods and services, we believe that all this should take place without depriving Ukrainian citizens of their existing benefits, privileges and guarantees.
Based on the above, the NAPR states that the draft Action Plan contains virtually no measures and tasks that could significantly improve the situation with the rights of persons with disabilities, and therefore, if the draft Action Plan is not finalized, this category of citizens should not expect significant assistance from the state to promote their inclusion in society on an equal footing with others, ensure their social protection and quality services in various fields.
Finally, we would like to inform you that the NAPD, while working in the working group on the draft Action Plan, provided proposals aimed at ensuring that the rights of people with disabilities are taken into account on an equal footing with others, which we propose to take into account again!
ГSecretary General Victoria Nazarenko
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