- Published: 03.12.2019.
PM for including disabled persons in society as much as possible
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday, on the occasion of International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD), that his government's goal was for the 511,000 disabled persons in Croatia to be as included in society as possible.
"We, as the state, make it possible for them at various levels to be fully equal and try to make their everyday life easier," Plenkovic said at a ceremony marking IDPWD, which this year is dedicated to the right of disabled persons to digital access.
Croatia has adopted a law under which all state bodies have to make their websites accessible to disabled persons by 23 September 2020.
Plenkovic said it was a joint step towards building Croatian society as inclusive, humane and socially aware. "The European Union directive also obliges us" to make Internet content available to all, he added.
Representatives of the disabled requested the adoption of a law on compensation to the disabled because of their higher costs of living, special legal status for their organisations, the establishment of an early intervention commission and better physical access to state institutions.
Plenkovic said the inclusion of disabled persons in everyday life should not be only in the focus of state institutions but the public in general.
According to the Croatian Institute of Public Health's registry of persons with disabilities, 12% of Croatia's population is disabled, 60% of whom are men.
Plenkovic underlined efforts to improve occupational rehabilitation and expert evaluation, and the HRK 2.3 million in aid to adapt the workplace for disabled persons.
Text: Hina