The commitments undertaken by Moldova in the field of disability for 2014-2017 through the Association Agreement with the European Union were partially fulfilled. 32% of the measures were completed, 20% are being implemented, while 48% are overdue. The findings belong to the Center for Legal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities.

Ion Cibotarica, the Center’s advocacy and public policy programs director, in a news conference at IPN said the authorities focused only on a part of the assumed commitments, such as the adjustment of the legislation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, deinstitutionalization and ensuring of the right to legal capacity. It is estimated that the unfulfilled and partially fulfilled measures will be put into practice by the end of this year. There will be adopted a human rights action plan and made changes to the labor legislation to ensure the employment of persons with disabilities.

The accomplishments of 2014-2017 included the approval of regulations concerning the development of community services for persons with disabilities and sign language interpretation services, concerning the functioning of early intervention services and improvement of the mechanism for providing social assistance. The institution of the national torture prevention mechanism was an important step, according to Ion Cibotarica.

He added that the adoption of the plan for erecting new buddings for courts of law and renovating the existing ones taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities was another accomplishment. There were also approved regulations to ensure the accessibility of the emergency service “112” for persons with disabilities, especially with hearing ones.

The representative of the Center for Legal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities also said that attention should be devoted to the way in which the implemented measures are taken into account in the future so as to ensure the observance of the rights of persons with disabilities.