The National Assembly has always worked and will continue to work in close cooperation with NGOs, social partners and institutions on the integration of people with disabilities, said Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva at the round table on “Policies for children and adults with disabilities in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. The event was initiated by the nationally represented organisations of and for people with disabilities and held under the auspices of the Speaker of Parliament.

The role of social dialogue is fundamental to us, because it is an essential component in the development of social policies in Bulgaria, said Tsveta Karayancheva. As always, and in the future, the nationally represented organisations of and for people with disabilities as well as the whole civil society will have our support, we will work together towards creating conditions for their full participation in public life, she added.

The Speaker of Parliament said that ensuring the rights of people with disabilities are respected was one of the main priorities of the Governance programme for 2017-2021 of the Bulgarian government and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Tsveta Karayancheva also said that the activities and measures in the government’s programme demonstrated a consistent and systematic policy in this area. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will work towards developing a new law on the rights of people with disabilities in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, aiming at a change in the public attitude in this area, added the Speaker of Parliament.

Chair of the Committee on Labour, Social and Demographic Policy Hassan Ademov said that every decision should be adopted with the highest level of agreement. Committee Deputy Chair Svetlana Angelova mentioned that we needed working solutions, not just empty ones.

The event was attended by MPs, representatives of public institutions, the NGO sector and experts. They discussed issues related to employment, qualification and retraining of people with disabilities, healthcare, medication policy, access to rehabilitation and support for families with children with disabilities, provision of technical aids, access to social services, support for people with intellectual and mental disabilities, etc.