May 5 is the International Day for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 1992, according to the decision of the UN General Assembly.
İn our country, protection of the rights of persons with disabilities is one of the major directions of social policy. President Ilham Aliyev's special attention and care to the field of social protection, vulnerable groups, and the social security of disabled people, their medical and social rehabilitation and their integration into the society have been strengthened year by year.
Azerbaijan joined the UN Convention "On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" in 2006, and the obligations arising from the Convention are successfully fulfilled in our country. The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" adopted on May 31, 2018 defines the foundations of state policy regarding persons with disabilities and the duties of the state in the field of protection of their rights. The law requires the elimination of risks that cause disability, all forms of discrimination based on the sign of disability, the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, the creation of conditions for their full participation in the life of society and their social integration, the active involvement of persons with disabilities in the decision-making process regarding strategies and programs related to them. regulates the full and equal implementation of their rights and freedoms, the relations arising in the field of protection of their honor and dignity.
Persons with disabilities are provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population with a labor pension or monthly social allowance due to disability, as well as with a monthly allowance for persons under the age of 18 who have been determined to be disabled. In connection with the war, in connection with the events of January 20, 1990, in connection with the performance of military service duties, persons with disabilities related to military service at the Chernobyl NPP are provided with the monthly pension of the President in addition to the pension or monthly social allowance. Also, the President's monthly stipend is given to persons with disabilities due to 81-100 percent impairment of body functions, as well as to those who take care of disabled children.
Social payments, including social payments aimed at persons with disabilities, are regularly increased in Azerbaijan. Especially in the last 5 years, serious progress has been made in this direction. 4 social reform packages were implemented, and the minimum pension increased by 2.5 times, the average monthly pension by 2 times, and social benefits and pension payments increased by 5 times during this period. The housing program for the families of martyrs and people with war-related disabilities has expanded 5 times since the 44-day Patriotic War ended with our Victory. In the post-war period, 4,660 apartments and private houses were given, 160 this year, and 13,460 apartments and private houses in the last period. According to the order of the head of state, at least 1500 apartments and private houses will be provided in 2023. Also, 324 passenger cars, and more than 7,500 in the previous period, were presented to people with war-related disabilities in the post-war period.
As a crucial direction of the large-scale social reforms of the last 5 years, the rehabilitation infrastructure of our country was built in accordance with modern requirements - 12 rehabilitation and social service institutions were put into use after major repairs and reconstruction, and the Gabala Children's Rehabilitation Center was opened. In the near future, the Children's Rehabilitation Center will be opened in Shamkir. As part of the expansion of the rehabilitation infrastructure for children with disabilities in the regions of our republic, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population plans to establish Children's Rehabilitation Centers in Agjabedi and Guba. The performed works allowed to increase the capacity of rehabilitation centers and the annual number of persons provided with rehabilitation services many times.
The modern rehabilitation infrastructure created in recent years is also an important potential for providing effective, high-quality medical and social rehabilitation services to the heroes of our Victory, our soldiers wounded in the war. After the second Karabakh war, rehabilitation services were provided to 2,722 people with war-related disabilities in the rehabilitation institutions of the Ministry, and 1,913 people with war-related disabilities were provided with 35,500 rehabilitation facilities. Since December 2020, the program of providing people with war-related disabilities with high-tech last-generation prostheses has been started, and 411 soldiers who were injured and had their lower and upper limbs amputated in the First and Second Karabakh War were provided with 428 high-tech last-generation prostheses.
The DOST Inclusive Development and Creativity Center, which was opened in October 2021 with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva, is the largest inclusive creativity and development space in the South Caucasus for the first time, covering a wide range of activities. This Center, which was created on the initiative of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, has an important role in revealing and developing the creative potential, talents, and other skills of people with disabilities and other sensitive groups, presenting them to society, and their social integration. The center consists of an auditorium for 121 people, various professional-creative rooms and studios, a library, administrative rooms, a canteen and so on. In addition to trainings for beneficiaries, complex rehabilitation works are also carried out. In order to reveal the talents and abilities of people with disabilities and introduce them to the society, exhibitions of their creative examples are organized.
At the same time, as a continuation of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation's socially significant projects, Regional Information Centers were established in 3 regions of our country (Nakhchivan, Ganja, Yevlax) to create opportunities for people with disabilities to use ICT. Books published in Braille are presented to people with disabilities, as well as cinema halls where films are shown for people with speech and hearing disabilities, and a room for mind-developing computer games in these centers.
Creation of employment and self-employment opportunities for persons with disabilities is one of the main directions of active employment measures. Citizens in need of social protection and having difficulty finding work, including persons with disabilities, are assigned quota places in enterprises and are provided with jobs in those places. Vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, are prioritized in the implementation of the self-employment program, the "Employment Support Project" implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population with the financial support of the World Bank, which aims to support the access of 22 thousand people to small business, and other employment measures. Recently, 6 vocational training courses were organized for about 100 people in cooperation with the Public Union of Entrepreneurs Organization with Disabilities of the State Employment Agency subordinated to the Ministry. At the same time, under the joint project with the United Nations Development Program, works are being carried out to establish small businesses for people with disabilities.
Generally, the social protection, rehabilitation and active integration of people with disabilities into society, providing them with social services, vocational and labor rehabilitation, expansion of the Paralympic movement, etc., show that the rights of people with disabilities are reliably ensured in our country, and that they are surrounded by comprehensive care.
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