Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Breaking Barriers: The Disability Rights Movement in Russia

When I first crossed the doorstep of an American high school as a 17-year-old new immigrant from Russia, my jaw dropped, kids in wheelchairs were playing tag in the wide hall, a cute teen-age couple was communicating animatedly in what appeared to be sign language; a blind boy was walking next to a classmate laughing at some kind of a joke. I turned to my American cousin and asked in still rudimentary English, “Immigrants here sent to special school for persons with disabilities?”

He stared at me unc saomprehending, not realizing that in my 10 years of Moscow schooling I never had classmates with disabilities. In fact, until I went to the United States in the early 90’s I hadn’t seen many people with disabilities. Back home they were next to invisible, confined to special institutions or their homes, as the concept of an inclusive society didn’t exist.

Certainly, over the last 20 years, conditions for people with disabilities in Russia have improved. In Moscow and other large cities, you can actually see ramps – well, at least in the city center  – or come across traffic lights equipped with a sound signal for people who are blind, or even find a few accessible kindergartens and schools. However, people with disabilities are largely cut off from society and have very limited choices.

So, Russia’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in May signaled a great moment for the country’s more than 13 million citizens with disabilities. In practical terms, this long-awaited ratification means that Russia must now translate the guarantees in the convention into domestic legal reform and overcome the pervasive discrimination against people with disabilities. That is far from an easy task.

People with disabilities in Russia face a range of barriers that limit their participation in society. Public buildings and transportation are often inaccessible. People with mental disabilities are often forcibly confined to institutions for long periods of time. Pregnant women who have disabilities are coerced by medical professionals to have an abortion. Parents who give birth to a child with Down syndrome are still encouraged to give up their baby.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, only 2 percent of Russian schools have an inclusive education approach, in which children with and without disabilities attend school together. The government pledges to expand inclusive education to 50 percent of schools by 2015. But reaching that goal will require a comprehensive plan to improve school infrastructure, train teachers, and – last, but definitely not least – educate parents and the community as to why this is important and beneficial for society as a whole.

“So many things need to be done and you just cannot accomplish it all in one day,” said Denise Roza, an American who has lived almost half her life in Russia and runs the country’s leading disability capacity-building and advocacy organization, Perspektiva (Perspective).

“In addition to changing legislation and introducing all different kinds of concrete, tangible measures, one has to work on changing people’s attitudes. If I were given the power to do this one thing right away, I’d go for accessibility – make streets, offices, transportation, shops, cafes, schools, universities, entertainment centers, apartment buildings, all kinds of facilities and services accessible for people with disabilities. Not only will it release people from the confinement of their homes or institutions, but they will also become visible and the climate in society will gradually change. Others will eventually start viewing and treating people with disabilities as their neighbors, classmates, colleagues, just like other people in their community.”

A champion for the rights of parents with disabilities, Natalia Prisetskaya, recalled that when Russia  signed the Disability Rights Convention  [OK AS IS] back in the autumn of 2008, she was in fact suing a local air-carrier for refusing to let her on a plane. Earlier that year, Natalia had gone through registration and security in one of Moscow’s airports and was ready to board when the airline’s representatives told her that passengers in wheelchairs could not travel unaccompanied. “They just said, ‘You’re disabled, you can’t fly!’ ” Prisetskaya recalled. “This was open discrimination.”

With support from Perspektiva she successfully fought the airline in court and secured extensive media coverage. Natalia thinks that the publicity they managed to raise for her case might have actually pushed Russia toward signing the convention that year. Signing was the first important step in the right direction but it took over four years for Russia to proceed with ratification of this international treaty, undertaking specific obligations to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities. It will also take Russia some time to introduce all the necessary changes to its laws and practices.

The Olympics in Sochi in 2014 will certainly be a major test, as Russia will host a large number of people with disabilities as guests of the winter games and then as guests and participants of the subsequent Paralympics. “The entire infrastructure needs to be prepared, but if there are some acts of discrimination, that will really hurt Russia’s image. Well and frankly, why should people have to endure so much degradation?” said Prisetskaya, the woman who proved to her country that she can fly big time, wheelchair or not.

It is now up to Russia – its government but also its citizens and advocacy groups like Perspektiva – to make sure that its millions of people with disabilities don’t have to fight legal battles to travel, study, work, go shopping, play sports, go out with friends– in other words, live a life just like anyone else.

Tanya Lokshina is a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and deputy director of its Moscow office. She writes a column for the Russian current affairs website Polit.ru. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Lokshina headed the prominent Moscow-based human rights think-tank Demos.

Source: Human Rights Watch, GAATES

Sochi 2014 Departs for London to Preapre for Russia's First Paralympic Games

A Sochi 2014 team, composed of Organizing Committee’s employees, volunteers and representatives of organizations involved in the Sochi 2014 preparations, has traveled to London to gain experience of how to stage the Paralympic Games.

Sochi 2014 logoIn total, a team of over 100 will visit the capital of Great Britain to build a unique knowledge of how best to stage the world’s greatest sporting event featuring Paralympic athletes.

The preparation for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games has already led to a growth in the attention of Paralympic topics in Russian society. Russian channels “Russia 2″ and “Sport 1″ will be airing programmes during the London 2012 Paralympic Games that explain the Paralympic competitions throughout the entire period of the Games.

With Russia hosting the Paralympic Winter Games for the very first time in just over 18 months, the experience that the organizers will bring to Russia after London 2012 will be highly valuable. The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 7th to March 16th and is already a catalyst for positive change in the region, with the construction of a barrier-free environment and the drive to fully integrate people with disabilities into society.

The Sochi 2014 participants traveling to the Paralympic Games under the “IPC Observer” Program have a range of observing and learning planned, including working visits to all the key venues and seminars on areas such as Games Management, the Organization of Client Services at the Games, Brand Management and Protection, Operation of the venues and Paralympic Villages, Ceremonies, Communications and Press Operations, Legacy and Sustainability.

A number of Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee employees will also be working for the London 2012 Organizing Committee through an internship as a part of the International Paralympic Committee team. The internship in the London Organizing Committee will last between 2 to 5 months, including both the preparation and the direct staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the important Post-Games period.

A total of 24 Sochi 2014 volunteers will also participate in the Paralympic Games, joining the team of organizers. All the volunteers were selected by the organizers of the Games in London and undertook training for the Games at a specially organized training seminar, which the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee staged in cooperation with representatives of the London 2012 team. After they return to Russia, the volunteers will pass their invaluable experience to their colleagues who will travel to the Games in 2014.

The legacy of the Paralympic Games in Sochi is already being seen in the city. The barrier-free environment is already taking shape across Sochi. Of the 1,800 venues that should receive an accessibility certificate by 2014, over 500 have already been recognized at this standard. Everything that is being constructed for the Games – transport, roads, sports venues and public infrastructure – is being developed while taking into account the needs of people with a disability. An accessible city model is being created in Sochi which is set to become a new standard for the whole country.

In 2008, Russia signed a UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities, which was ratified in May 2012. In Russia, the Convention will be a framework to protect the rights of people with a disability and ensure they do not face discrimination, making it possible to significantly improve the lives of over 13 million people with disabilities in Russia.

Source: Sochi2014, GAATES