Human Rights report highlights Discrimination against People with Disabilities

The latest report of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee once again highlights the serious situation in Bulgaria regarding the lack of rights for People with Disabilities in Bulgaria. This follows recent criticism on this issue from the European Parliament that called for it to be given a priority in Bulgaria’s preparation for EU membership.

The BHC summary of the situation says:

"Although 2003 was the European Year of People with Disabilities, discrimination against them continued. The most serious problem was of individuals placed in institutions run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). Many of these places are warehouses for people located in far-off locations with no meaningful activities and adequate medical and other care.

BHC visits to these institutions during the year revealed also lack of adequate medical care and abuses with placement under guardianship by relatives and institution directors alike. During the year, the routine practice to place residents under guardianship on the basis of a 1999 letter from the MLSP continued. No changes were made in the legal framework regulating the means of physical restraint. As a result, this practice of illegal seclusion continued in some institutions.

People with physical disabilities were faced with the serious problem of inaccessible architectural environment. The inability to use public transport, to go to work or school, inaccessible pavements and lifts, etc., dooms them to isolation and causes them severe emotional trauma. The larger part of disabled people could not vote at the local elections because of the inaccessibility of voting sections. Thirty lawsuits were filed in 2003 in connection with inaccessible architectural environment."

Full text of the report in Bulgarian.

Summary of the report in English.

The full text of the report in English will be available on the BHC website on April 5, 2004.