Member of Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, Ganira Pashayeva spoke on January 26 at the discussions regarding the report of Bernard Marken, the MP from Monaco, on subject “The rights of disabled people and their active participation in the society” at the end of the first working day of the PACE winter session.
Besides joining the Conventions of the CIS and the CE on the disabled people’s rights, Azerbaijan included this issue into the list of its state priorities, the MP stated.
The MP, reminding that there are 432 thousand disabled people in Azerbaijan, emphasized that 15 % of them are children and most of the disabled people had lost their health and become invalids during the last 20 years as a result of tragedies our country had come across.
G.Pashayeva brought into notice the fact that about 300 thousand Azerbaijanis had left their native lands as a result of ethnic cleaning policy carried out by Armenian leadership in 1988. Dozens of people fell ill of different illnesses and became the disabled two years later on January 20, during the massacre committed by the Soviet Army which attempted to suppress the liberation movement; 133 people were killed and 800 Azerbaijanis were wounded and became invalids. She stated that hundreds of Azerbaijanis sent to Chernobyl to do away with the consequences of the accident lost their health; hundreds of young people serving in the Soviet Army became invalids in the battles in Afghanistan.
Touching upon the fact that the disabled people are surrounded with all-round state care in Azerbaijan, the MP stated that a number of state programs had been worked out and put into practice to prevent the people’s disability, provide their rehabilitation, intensify their social protection, improve living conditions, help them get free treatment, make them feel as full member of the society, as well as provide them with suitable work. The law “On prevention of disability, rehabilitation of the disabled people and their social protection” was passed to that end.
Ganira Pashayeva, specially emphasizing the activity of Heydar Aliyev Foundation lead by the First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva over preventing illnesses and disability among children, their integration into the society, attracting blind children to education and taking special care of them, stated that with the close assistance of the Foundation the Center for disabled people had been built, supplied with latest equipment and serious projects regarding the children suffering from diabetes are being fulfilled.
Azerbaijani MP supported the idea regarding the report of member-states connected with “disability action plan” and emphasized the necessity and importance of holding an international conference devoted to this issue in 2010.
The speech of Azerbaijani MP aroused interest.
AzerTAg
