There are an estimated number of 650 million persons with disabilities in the world and more than 170,000 persons officially certified as disabled in Moldova. Persons with disabilities are confronted with regular discrimination and barriers in an educational, employment and social context. This situation of disadvantage increases for disabled people and their families the risk to be socially excluded, to face financial and “societal” poverty, as well as isolation. Persons with disabilities suffer from discrimination based on society's prejudice and ignorance. In addition, they often do not enjoy the same opportunities as other people, because of the lack of access to essential services.
International human rights law determines that every person has: the right of equality before law; the right to nondiscrimination; the right to equal opportunity; the right to independent living; the right to full integration; the right to security. Persons with disabilities are entitled to exercise their civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights on an equal basis with others. Policy regarding disabilities should be dominated by the notion of "equalization of opportunities", which means that society must congregate its resources in such a way that every person, including persons with disabilities, has an equal opportunity to participate in society.
On 13 December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its Optional Protocol which entered into force on 20 May 2008.
On July 9 2010, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova ratified the UNCRPD. It has also adopted a Strategy on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Currently a Law on social inclusion of persons with disabilities is pending adoption by the Parliament of Moldova.
Countries that join in the UNCRPD engage themselves to develop and carry out policies, laws and administrative measures for securing the rights recognized in the Convention and abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination.
The Convention requires monitoring at both the national and international level. Nationally, the Convention requires States, in accordance with their legal and administrative systems, to maintain, strengthen, designate or establish a framework to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention.
Each State party to the Convention must submit to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities an initial comprehensive report on measures taken to implement the Convention. Each State must submit its initial report within two years after the Convention enters into force for that State. The initial report should: establish the constitutional, legal and administrative framework for the implementation of the Convention; explain the policies and programmes adopted to implement each of the Convention’s provisions; identify any progress made in the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities as a result of the ratification and implementation of the Convention.
UNDP will engage with the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family to support the social inclusion of persons with disabilities by implementing the UNCRPD and providing support for the elaboration of the initial comprehensive report on measures taken to implement the Convention. |
Republic of Moldova 
