Ombudswoman says decision makers don't count on persons with disabilities

Zagreb - How much do decision makers really count on persons with disabilities, Ombudswoman for Persons with Disabilities Anka Slonjšak wondered on Wednesday while presenting a report on her work in 2018 in the parliament.

Slonjšak warned that system changes made in 2018 based on legislative changes were "accomplished thanks to pressure" but lacked real focus on end-users or solutions aimed at building a sustainable and fair system in the long run.

Slonjšak said that 1,951 people with disabilities contacted her in 2018, ten percent more than in the previous years, with complaints regarding social care, employment, pension insurance, accessibility, mobility, etc.

The largest number of complaints was filed in Zagreb while the least were filed in Lika-Senj and Virovitica-Podravina counties, she said.

Slonjšak said that last year her office forwarded more than 100 legislative proposals and gave 61 opinions to state institutions, of which, about one-third were accepted.

"Considering the complaints and information we obtained through regular work last year, minimum progress has been made with regard to the rights of disabled persons and children with learning disabilities," Slonjšak said.

As for the number of ministries that hired persons with disabilities last year, Slonjšak said that she did not have exact data.

Some ministries have not been adapted adequately to persons with disabilities and there are also problems regarding the education of persons with disabilities, she told Mirando Mrsić of the Democrats, who said that only three of 20 ministries had met the obligatory quota for the employment of persons with disabilities.

Around 66% of persons with disabilities do not have any qualifications or have only primary school education, 25% have secondary school qualifications, and only 3.3% have a university degree, said Slonjšak, adding that 240,000 persons with disabilities were of working age while at the end of 2018 10,836 were working.

Author: Hina