300,000 citizens with disabilities living in DPR/LPR – President’s Commissioner Sushkevych

Almost 300,000 persons with disabilities have stayed in the militant-controlled territories of Ukraine.

Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Valery Sushkevych said this at the parliamentary hearings relating to IDPs.

He also reminded that 71,085 internally displaced persons with disabilities (over 4% of the total number of IDPs) had been registered as of February 11, 2016.

“These people have lost virtually all the rights guaranteed by the UN Convention and the Constitution of Ukraine. In August 2015, Ukraine submitted the report on the rights of persons with disabilities to the UN. The leading UN experts asked the representatives of the Government of Ukraine: ‘Does Ukraine realize that the persons with disabilities are the most vulnerable group amid the military actions? The state should secure the rights of these people!’ Nearly six months had passed since that moment, and the situation deteriorated even more,” Human Rights Information Center correspondent quoted President’s Commissioner as saying.

Valery Sushkevych condemns the practice in Ukraine when the injuries of the victims of the armed hostilities are not recognized claiming that the disability was received as a common disease.

“The European standards provide for compensation. You cannot treat the persons with disabilities in such a way,” Valery Sushkevych said.

The President’s Commissioner is outraged by the fact that the Government has not yet elaborated any mechanisms to provide the IDPs with disabilities with housing.

“The President has repeatedly drawn attention to this flagrant issue. It refers to both IDPs with disabilities and those who have stayed in the militant-controlled territories. The Government and the local authorities must finally tackle the problem,” he said.

According to him, the persons with disabilities in Ukraine are extremely poor.

“I am grateful to the Pension Fund and the Social Policy Ministry for payment of pensions and state aid. However, the payments have been devalued three-fold in recent years. The funds do not secure even a tenth of their vital needs and do not cover the expenses caused by the loss of health. In addition, they are deprived of travel privileges. Can you imagine that the persons with disabilities pay pension tax!” Valery Sushkevych said.

“A person with a disability, who has lost everything, cannot get medical aid. I know that nowadays the IDPs with disabilities face a terrible choice – to starve or to be treated,” he added.

The President’s Commissioner notes that the state does not register the persons with disabilities.

 “The state is implementing a terrible motto: ‘No statistics means no problem.’ The UN has registered over 20,000 civilians suffered from injuries. We need the Ukrainian State Register of Civilian Victims in ATO Area. We and the international community need it to register the crimes of the aggressor and to secure the rights of the Ukrainian citizens with disabilities,” Valery Sushkevych said.

As a reminder, the number of registered IDPs in Ukraine exceeded 1 million 704 thousand people as of February 1.