On 27 September 2018, civil society representatives had a meeting with Arthur Kesoyan, the Head of the Department of Disabled and Elderly Persons of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and other employees, in the scope of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project funded by the European Union.
The following persons participated in the meeting: Anush Aslanyan, the President of the “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities” NGO for the Disabled, Naira Arakelyan, the President of the “Armavir Development Centre” NGO and a member of the Inter-Regional Coalition for Dealing with Problems of Children with Disabilities, Project Lawyer-Expert Lusine Nalbandyan and Project Assistant Haykuhi Alaverdyan.
At first, the main objectives and 9 target sectors of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project (justice, human rights, public finance management, business, education, the social sector: social inclusion of children with disabilities, agriculture, economy, energy) were presented at the meeting. The activities carried out in their scope were briefly outlined, in addition to active cooperation with CSO sector participants and other sectoral issues.
Later, Anush Aslanyan said that the “Human Rights: Monitoring and Publicity” project is implemented in the scope of a grant received from the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project. One of its objectives is to carry out monitoring and improve a public policy to identify and minimise/solve accessibility problems in institutions rendering public services.
Anush Aslanyan noted that it is extremely important to first of all make the public institutions serving citizens accessible. Emphasising multi-apartment buildings, she deemed important the introduction of means ensuring accessibility for persons with movement problems. As foreseen, the project should be implemented in around 15 multi-apartment buildings. In Anush Aslanyan’s words, a person with movement disabilities must be able to enter public institutions, multi-apartment buildings, that is, it is all about ensuring the respective opportunities. Ensuring accessibility does not only imply ramps in buildings, it is also about handles, props, tables, and other necessary gear.
Naira Arakelyan spoke about the problems of children with special needs arising from the introduction of inclusive education. The social component was also discussed.
Ministry employees suggested their help in terms of providing information on the number of persons with movement problems in the Lori marz. CSO representatives also mentioned their concern about the working hours of the Vanadzor medical and social expertise center(09:00-11:00). Arthur Kesoyan said that the problem would be solved. He also added that the area of medical and social expertise was going through radical and global changes at the time. A number of changes were foreseen for facilitating citizens’ connection with medical and social expertise centers.
When speaking about financial support, Arthur Kesoyan said that funding depended on the state budget. He highlighted in his speech: “In 2015, 450 wheelchairs were given to those who’d applied to receive ones. This year, an unprecedented growth took place as CSOs worked actively, and citizens were generally aware. As a result, 100 wheelchairs are to be added until December, in addition to 240 hearing equipment pieces. Of course, we try to give these away for free.”
We can state that the present CSOs reached mutual cooperation agreements with the ministry representatives during this meeting.
