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Office of the People's Advocate – co-organizer of the Conference „Rights of persons with disabilities on both sides of Dniester River in view of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”

The conference took place on December 4 current at Radisson Blu Leogrand Hotel on the occasion of the International Day of People with Disabilities in the organization of the Office of the People's Advocate, Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Association „Motivatie”, Alliance of Organizations for the Persons with Disabilities, supported by OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) Moldova andthe Joint Venture (JV) Swedish Development Partner. 
In the message said at the opening of the conference, the People's Advocate for children rights Maia Banarescu noted that the theme of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2018 is „Empowering People with Disabilities, Inclusion and Equality”. The Ombudsman recalled that the emphasis on the empowering of people with disabilities, equality and inclusion is also set in the Sustainable Development Objectives 2030, an ambitious plan of actions that the Republic of Moldova, together with the international community, has committed itself to achieve. And this plan provides for equal, full assurance of the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in social life in all spheres and the creation of a favorable environment by and for people with disabilities. 
Maia Banarescu also pointed out that the National Human Rights Protection Institute of Moldova had in its attention from its founding the issue of respecting the rights of people with disabilities, this being a priority field of activity. 
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CDPD) was ratified by the Republic of Moldova in 2010, including following the recommendations of the Ombudsman, which subsequently constantly monitored its implementation. Maia Banarescu also pointed out that the topic on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was the topic of two international conferences organized by ombudsmen and also of several events at national level in which actively participated persons with disabilities. The problems of people with disabilities are constantly addressed in the annual reports of the ombudsman.
Maia Banarescu also reminded that in 2016 an Expert Council was set up within the Ombudsman Institution to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Present at the event, Svetlana Rusu, head of the Public Policy and Legislation Directorate, and Tatiana Poiana from the Office of the People's Advocate, talked about the integration into the community of people with severe disabilities and the impact of the Social Service „Personal Assistance”. The officials from the Office of the People's Advocate noted that they had even conducted a study on the subject, the results of which were made public one year ago. The Study found that the main problem in developing and maintaining this service is the insufficiency of financial resources in the local budget to cover all the requests.At the same time, it was emphasized that the number of persons with severe disabilities is much higher than the requests and that many of the potential beneficiaries do not address to LPA (Local Public Local Authorities). Among the major causes were the mistrust in the LPA (Local Public Local Authorities), long waiting list and the lack of informing the population about the possibility to call this service. The officials of the OPA (Office of the People's Advocate) also appreciated that this service was included in the minimum package of services financed by the special-purpose transfers from the state budget to the budget of the administrative-territorial units.  
The representatives of the OPA (Office of the People's Advocate) noted that the recommendations of the Ombudsman's Report are largely found in the study presented by the Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which shows the maintenance of the same state of affairs.