The event was organised by Fight For Right, an organisation of people with disabilities, and the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, with the support of international partner organisations. Representatives of the authorities, international partners and civil society discussed how to include the rights of people with disabilities in all stages of European integration and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Espreso was the information partner for the event.
On 3 December, at the opening of the event, Yulia Sachuk, head of Fight For Right, said: “Despite the war, we, people with disabilities, continue to fight for freedom and dignity. In 2021, Fight For Right and the RPR Coalition held this conference for the first time so that people with disabilities could talk about what hurts them. Over the past four years, we have managed to achieve a lot and attract various partners. The fifth conference is a big event for each and every one of us and for the entire community.”
How can the inclusion of the rights of people with disabilities in all stages of European integration be made more effective?
Olga Lymar, Executive Director of the RPR Coalition, noted: “EU accession is impossible without fulfilling the requirements for reforms concerning the rights of persons with disabilities. We often talk about this in the context of more popular reforms, such as judicial or anti-corruption reforms, but we try to emphasize that, in fact, accession to the European Union is first and foremost about the dignity and rights of our citizens.”
For her part, Lyudmila Fursova, advocacy manager at Fight For Right, is convinced that the state needs to involve organizations of people with disabilities at the stage of developing decisions, not at the stage of presenting them. “We can really provide more effective solutions because we have the knowledge and experience. We are carrying out deinstitutionalisation not for the European Union, or for the UN, or for anyone else, but for our people. We now have the opportunity to carry out deinstitutionalisation and release about 40,000 institutionalised people, restoring their right to independent living,” the expert noted.
Martin Mülek, Head of the Team for Good Governance and Fundamental Rights at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood (DG ENEST) of the European Commission, emphasized the importance of representing the Ukrainian community of persons with disabilities in European integration processes and added: “We are fully aware that Ukraine is in a very difficult situation due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. But we are optimistic about the work done in recent years and the progress made in addressing current issues, in particular the work to raise legislative standards in the context of EU integration.”
Is the state ready to listen to the community of people with disabilities? According to Inna Solodka, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine, yes, and a lot depends on the public: “We are involving the active public so that the public can help us and point out the problems that exist. We are 100% sure that we are moving in the right direction. We are studying the experience, looking at what supported housing should be like, what long-term care should be like, how social services should be provided. The relevant standards have been adopted.”
Oleksandr Ilkov, Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said that the government is currently finalizing a national program to adapt Ukrainian legislation to European Union law: “In fact, all provisions of EU law concerning the rights of persons with disabilities will become part of the relevant national program with specific deadlines and designated responsible executors for these projects.”
The start of the implementation of the strategy for the reintegration of adult boarding schools in 2025 is considered a great victory and a real breakthrough by Olena Temchenko, an expert at the Ukrainian Human Rights Initiatives NGO. For decades, people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual or mental disorders, were doomed to a lifetime of isolated living within the walls of boarding schools. And now, the main challenge facing Ukraine is not just closing these institutions by 2034, but also creating alternative services in communities at the same time. The war has exacerbated the problem, as institutions often become the only refuge for IDPs, creating the risk of a new wave of institutionalization.
The conference also discussed the inclusion of veterans in community life, their rehabilitation, and social services after returning to civilian life.
Ruslan Prykhodko, Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, noted: “Our Constitution states that the key value for our state is the individual, their rights, and freedoms. And our task is to make veteran-centrism, as we say, not just a nice presentation in the city of Kyiv, but an objective reality in the community. This is a big and complex job. We are now laying down in legislation absolutely everything that would sever any ties with the remnants of the Soviet model.”
Tetyana Lomakina, advisor to the President of Ukraine on accessibility issues, Kateryna Pryimak, veteran, chairwoman of the Women’s Veteran Movement NGO, Dmytro Lufer, consultant to the Ministry of Health, expert of the REHAB4U project, and Masy Nayem, veteran, lawyer, and co-founder of the Principle Human Rights Center for Military Personnel.
The event concluded with a press briefing entitled “5 victories and failures of 2025 in the field of human rights for people with disabilities.” More than 200 respondents noted that in 2025, the voices of people with disabilities were heard louder. Organizations of persons with disabilities were increasingly involved in government working groups, humanitarian clusters, international events, and discussions, which was one of the important victories of 2025. Thanks to the activity of the public sector, the interests of persons with disabilities began to be taken into account more in policy-making and implementation processes.
A striking result of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was the “Lights for Rights” visibility campaign on Independence Square, which brought together participants from all over Ukraine.
The conference was organized by Fight For Right and the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition in partnership with Mercy Corps, with financial support from the UK government and support from the International Renaissance Foundation and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Source: Espreso
