Future society is an inclusive one providing equal opportunities for disabled, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine

Kyiv, 4 December 2007 - The National Assembly of Disabled People of Ukraine initiated the round table discussion "UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People and the Council of Europe Plan on people with physical disabilities: national implementation - from policy to practice". Led by Head of the Assembly Valeriy Shushkevich, the participants discussed the best world and European knowledge and practices on addressing challenges of disabled people as well as issued a series of recommendations and further actions to be taken in Ukraine.
 
The key speakers of the event were  UN Resident Coordinator Francis O'Donnell, Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary-General in Ukraine Oke Peterson, National Correspondent of the International Labour Organization Vasyl Kostrytsya, as well as over 60 representatives of associations of disabled people and media.
 
Welcoming the audience, UN Resident Coordinator stated "For the Government of Ukraine it is critical to use the political momentum for further reforms, and the worst thing to do is to exclude the biggest minority in the world and in Ukraine - people with disabilities". He emphasized that Ukraine deprives its own resources without involving disabled people with  talants and capabilities from the participation in political and economic processes in country.   "We wish you every success in fulfilling your potential and we, at the United Nations, support you", said Mr. O'Donnell at the conclusion.
 
Mr. Oke Peterson told about the experience of the Council of Europe in addressing problems of disabled people and Ukraine's important role in absorbing best practices and knowledge from other European countries. And Mr. Vasyl Kostrytsya mentioned the progress of the last several years in Ukraine and suggested a number of recommendations for the national plan of action on people with disabilities in Ukraine.
 
UN Convention on Rights of Disabled People in English, Russian, Ukrainian: www.un.org.ua/en/disabilities/
 
Information on UN works on rights of people with disabilities: www.un.org/disabilities .
 
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More information: Ms. Veronika Vashchenko, UN Communications Officer, +38.044.253.9363, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it