In Ukraine, discussion of draft law No. 8084 is ongoing, which proposes to update the rules for the activities and state registration of public organizations, one of the key changes of which is the abolition of the «all-Ukrainian status» for public associations of people with disabilities. Ihor Bevkh, legal advisor and analyst of the League of the Strong Public Union, joined the discussion of this bill on the air of Suspilne.News and explained what will change if the «all-Ukrainian» status for public associations is abolished.
The «All-Ukrainian»status allows organizations to be representatives of persons with disabilities at the national level and is guaranteed by the fact that it is formally confirmed by the presence of centers in the regions of Ukraine. However, in reality, this does not guarantee the representativeness of all persons with disabilities, because we have organizations that can represent the interests of persons with other, unique needs, so it is probably not appropriate for such organizations to exist as «all-Ukrainian», that is, to have branches throughout the country, but at the same time they have narrowly focused expertise that can be taken into account for policy planning both at the national and regional levels.»
The «League of the Strong» supports the provisions of Bill No. 8084, as it believes that the current approach is formal and outdated and contradicts the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which requires the participation of all organizations, regardless of their size or geographical reach, notes Ihor Bevkh. After all, now the «all-Ukrainian» status provides access to consultations at the national level. At the same time, the status does not require confirmation of real activity, does not take into account the number of people with disabilities in the organization, and does not evaluate expertise or experience, explains Ihor.As a result, an organization that has branches «on paper» and is considered representative can participate in decision-making processes, while effective organizations without a large number of branches are excluded from them. To prevent such problems from arising, the public association proposes to move away from the formal status and introduce clear inclusive procedures, according to which the voices of different organizations with different expertise will be taken into account when developing programs at different levels. Igor Bevkh is convinced that thanks to such changes, more effective organizations will be able to join the decision-making processes. Accordingly, the state will receive a wider and more accurate range of expertise. As a result, decisions will better take into account the real needs of people with disabilities.
Civil society organizations and initiatives can join the position and support the joint statement by filling out the form: https://forms.gle/Wm9JG2GEpVxnDPDi9
It should be noted that 21 organizations have already joined the statement. Among them: Kharkiv Regional Foundation «Public Alternative», NGO «See with the Heart», NGO «Social Synergy», NGO «Active Rehabilitation Group», NGO «Family for People with Disabilities», CF «Unforgettable», Human Rights Information Center, NGO «Autism-Zhytomyr», NGO «Inclusive Studios», CF «Patients of Ukraine» and others.