OREANDA-NEWS. On 25 August 2009 was announced, that UNDP country office launches presentation of the National Human Development Report 2009 "From Exclusion to Equality: Realising the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" in Ust-Kamenogorsk. This year’s strategic document concerns the status and prospects regarding the resolution of one of the long-lasting and troubling issues our society has; how to create the conditions for adequate realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan there are 466,300 persons with disabilities of all categories in Kazakhstan, or about 3% of the entire population. One third of this number are people of productive age, and 10% are children. Unfortunately, in a great number of countries worldwide including Kazakhstan there are multiple infrastructural, physical, legal, communicational, psychological and other barriers standing in the way of the complete realisation of the rights of disabled persons.

The choice of the theme for this year's National Human Development Report has been influenced by the global changes occurring worldwide which are concerned with the attitudes towards disability issues and disabled people. The beneficial position is being gradually replaced by a new concept founded on human rights. 'One rarely encounters a person in a wheel chair, a blind person, or someone who has Down's syndrome in the open or outside of their residence. It is not the case that there are fewer of these persons in Kazakhstan than in other countries, but that the social infrastructure and the public mentality in general are established for healthy people only', says Mr. Haoliang Xu, UN Resident Co-ordinator/UNDP Resident Representative.

In December 2008 by signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol Kazakhstan has demonstrated its serious intentions to introduce important reforms in the system of human rights in the domain of disabilities, which will reflect the principles of dignity and full involvement, equality and accessibility. It is aimed at the realisation of human rights and social inclusion issues for all disabled persons.

UNDP?s Human Development Report is designed to attract attention to the problems that disabled persons and their families have, bring changes to secure their dignity, their rights and well-being, and will lay a foundation for profound legal changes in the way that disabled persons are perceived and the problems they encounter. The event was attended by representatives of state authorities, maslikhats, non-government organizations, practicing specialists, scientists and social activists.

The Human Development Report is published with the technical assistance of the British Embassy in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.