The persons with disabilities continue to be discriminated in Moldova, while the authorities ignore the problems faced by them, says a report compiled by the Center for Human Rights of Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the report, the number of disabled persons has increased during the last few years. The accessibility to social infrastructure, the national legal framework, the habitual environment and the public transport are the main problems that must be dealt with, considers Svetlana Rusu, adviser of the ombudsman for persons with disabilities. The state must take measures to ensure these persons’ access to transport, information and communication technologies and other services to which the general public have access. “The free access to the physical environment is one of the essential factors that guarantee the rights and fundamental freedoms of the persons with special needs,” Svetlana Rusu said at the presentation of the report. The trolleybuses, buses and minibuses in Moldova do not have the infrastructure needed by these persons who receive by only 400 lei a year for trips by public units of transport. “This is a very low sum because the traveling expenses are much larger,” Svetlana Rusu said. After monitoring 308 local public administrations, it was established that only 143 of them have adapted the infrastructure for use by disabled people. The observance of these persons’ right to vote is another problem highlighted in the report. “Their right to vote is limited mainly because they are unable to travel to the polling place,” the adviser said. There are mobile ballot boxes for persons who cannot move, but the authorities should print special ballots in Braille for the blind people. The Center for Human Rights of Moldova recommends the authorities to set up a national commission that will deal with the problems confronting the disabled, implement the international practices in the field, buy adapted units of transport and examine how the public institutions and services are adapted to the needs of the disabled.