Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop stated that the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covers a wide area such as employment, accessibility, education, health, participation in political life, and protection of rights. Şentop said: “This plan includes 107 action fields and 275 activities for 31 goals, prepared with strong coordination, multilateral cooperation and the participation of civil society organizations.”

At the Accessibility Fair and Awareness Summit, hosted by the Ministry of Family and Social Services under the auspices of the Presidency, with the participation of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop, the Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık, the Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, the first National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covering the years 2023-2025 was announced. In his speech at the program held at the Istanbul Expo Center, Şentop said that this event, which is the only fair in its field in Türkiye and the 6th largest in the world, aims to raise awareness about persons with disabilities and strengthen cooperation and solidarity among institutions.

Expressing that the services of the state are delivered to each individual without marginalizing or excluding anyone, Şentop said: “In the past 20 years, we have almost come a long way in solving the problems of persons with disabilities in our country, as in every other field. Not only did we break the distorted prejudices against persons with disabilities, we also took steps to bring them into life. We have put forward a new and original paradigm in this field by blending our deep-rooted generous state' tradition with today's social state understanding. While expanding our state's umbrella of compassion, we acted with a rights-based understanding rather than aid, grace or benevolence.”

Noting that they first established a strong legal infrastructure regarding persons with disabilities, Şentop reminded that they had enacted the Turkish Disability Act in the country in 2005.

Şentop stated that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was also accepted in 2009, and that with the Constitutional amendment, they guaranteed the positive discrimination to be made to persons with disabilities with the strongest legal text, and that they also completely cleared the legislation of hurtful expressions such as disabled, crippled and invalid.

Şentop explaining that they have implemented many arrangements in a wide range such as education, rehabilitation, employment, social assistance, home care, entrepreneurship, sports and cultural activities, health and accessibility, said that thanks to all these efforts, they have increased the number of public care and rehabilitation centres in the country from 21 to 104, and that currently 33 thousand people are provided with residential care services in 403 public-private care centres.

"The number of persons with disabilities working in the public sector has increased to 66 thousand"

Şentop stated that 562 thousand 365 citizens were paid monthly within the scope of home care allowance that started in 2007 and said, "In 149 umut evi for persons with disabilities who cannot be cared for with their families, 654 of our citizens continue to receive service. Our 130 Barrier-Free Day Centres throughout Türkiye, with at least one centre in each province, continue their work."

Şentop stated that a separate and central examination was introduced for the employment of persons with disabilities in 2012, breaking new ground in the world, and that the number of persons with disabilities working in the public sector has increased by more than 12 times and reached 66 thousand.

Şentop reminding that the support amount of the insurance premium was increased from 50 percent to 100 percent for employers employing persons with disabilities who are not liable or who are more than quota in order to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities people in the private sector said that students with disabilities who attend public and private education institutions are offered free transportation to their schools.

Expressing that Türkiye has reached an exemplary position in the field of social policies as a result of all these investments and legal regulations, Şentop said that these are not enough and that they constantly improve themselves and their policies.

"The Second Autism Action Plan will be implemented in April"

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Şentop stated that the issue of children with autism has come to the fore both in Türkiye and in the world and said:

“In our Autism Action Plan, important decisions were taken to raise awareness about autism and to establish institutional and academic infrastructure. In this direction, specialized Day Centres were opened in 6 provinces for persons with autism. However, it has been observed that new needs have emerged in this regard, especially in the last period. In the light of our previous experiences and requests from our families, new steps will be taken in the issue of autism. The Second Autism Action Plan, which will produce more effective services and increase social acceptance and awareness, will be implemented in April.

Emphasizing that they attach great importance to protecting the family, which is the keystone of society, in the face of increasing attacks and threats, Şentop continued his words as follows:

“In many countries in Europe, important discussions are continuing on this issue and important steps are being taken. Türkiye should lead the way in this regard as well. For this purpose, the constitutional amendment proposal, of which preparations were completed, was discussed with all political parties with a group in the parliament. I believe that the proposal will come to the parliamentary agenda after the budget calendar is over. I believe that this proposal, which expands and guarantees rights and freedoms in the context of freedom of belief as well as strengthening the family institution, will be adopted with a strong consensus."

"The preparations of the National Action Plan were carried out under the chairmanship of our President"

Şentop stated that in the last 20 years, the service bar of the state has been constantly raised, and that Türkiye has been brought to where it is today through the continuous development of policies and said:

“The framework of the 2030 Barrier-Free Vision Document, which was shared with the public by our President last year, was determined by the vision of the Century of Türkiye. The preparations of the National Action Plan, which is the implementation tool of the Vision Document for the years 2023-2025, were carried out sensitively under the presidency of our President.

The National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covers a wide area such as employment, accessibility, education, health, participation in political life, protection of rights. This plan includes 107 action fields and 275 activities aimed at 31 goals, prepared with strong coordination, multilateral cooperation and the participation of civil society organizations. The National Action Plan has been prepared in a way that will enable public institutions and organizations to address the issue of disability with a rights-based approach in all processes related to their policies, programs and services.”

Şentop stated that they acted with a two-way approach, which envisages the necessary measures and regulations for the needs of persons with disabilities, which differ depending on the variety and level of their situation.

Emphasizing that no one should have any doubt that all activities in this plan will be implemented by considering the participation of persons with disabilities through effective coordination and multilateral cooperation, Şentop explained that the Monitoring and Evaluation Board on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been further strengthened in line with the spirit of the new management system.

Şentop stated that the board will be responsible for the realization, monitoring and reporting of activities under the coordination of the Ministry.

"Positive discrimination against persons with disabilities was constitutionally guaranteed in 2010"

Minister Derya Yanık stated that the fair is one of the best indicators of the fact that the principle of "Let people live so that the state can live", which has also become a state motto and frequently underlined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is also prominent in services for persons with disabilities.

Indicating that the work carried out in the field of disability in Türkiye has come a long way in the last 20 years, especially in providing mentality transformation, Yanık said: " In this period, innovations that cannot be accepted compared to the old Türkiye were made under many different topics, such as education, health, participation in social life, transportation, legal regulations, and employment. Most importantly, it has been tried to create a climate where persons with disabilities can use their potential in the development of our country.”

Reminding that the first and pioneering legal regulations and practices to prevent all kinds of disability-based discrimination in Türkiye were implemented in 2005, Yanık noted that with this law and its sub-regulations, a law for persons with disabilities was created for the first time in Türkiye with a legislation of 1500 articles.

Minister Yanık continued her words as follows:

“Türkiye is one of the first countries to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 under the chairmanship of our President. Positive discrimination against persons with disabilities was constitutionally guaranteed in 2010. We continue our efforts to diversify and expand inclusive services in a way that takes into account the needs of persons with disabilities. We develop our social policies and our social services, which we develop in accordance with these policies, with a rights-based perspective. We determine who needs what, and we carry out the necessary guidance and work to meet that need. Today, we have transformed this understanding into a nationwide mobilization under the name of national household visits. We have activated our system to identify and follow up on all households with persons with disabilities, older persons, children or women in need of support.

Indicating that 1533 persons with disabilities receive service from 130 day care centres in Türkiye, Yanık stated that they are increasing the number of day care centres day by day.

"Since January, we have made payment of 16 billion 54 million lira for home care allowance"

Stating that their basic approach is family-oriented in the works for persons with disabilities, Minister Yanık continued her words as follows:

“In this context, with the home care allowance we started in 2006, we have made a total of 16 billion 54 million lira payment for home care allowance for 562 thousand 365 persons with disabilities since January 2022. We will continue to support persons with disabilities to receive care with their families and to integrate them into society without leaving their environment. Considering the sudden evolving needs of our families caring for relatives with disabilities at home, we host persons with disabilities free of charge at our ministry's residential care centres up to 30 days a year. Accessibility is another topic we attach importance to, so that persons with disabilities can participate fully and effectively in life and realize their right to act independently. In this direction, public buildings, open areas such as pavements, pedestrian crossings, parks, information and communication systems related to public transportation vehicles should be made accessible.”

Stating that the Monitoring and Evaluation Board on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was strengthened and restructured by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has started its work, Minister Yanık said that the Board will find solutions to the problems of persons with disabilities at the highest level and implement these solutions under the effective coordination of the Ministry and in close cooperation of all parties.

Indicating that the Century of Türkiye will be the name of the new steps they will take by expressing, "Together and with the society at all ages and in all situations," Yanık said: "Our families will continue to look to the future with hope in peace and security. For this reason, last year, our President announced what we would do until 2030 in the field of disability with the Barrier-Free Vision Document. Today, we will announce the first National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covering the years 2023-2025, in a way that will implement our Barrier-Free Vision Document."

Here to access the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities....