Advancing the Rights of Children and Adults with Disabilities: The Charter of Principles and Commitments

Keystone is committed to advancing the rights of children and adults with disabilities. Through innovation and best practices, we are supporting community-based systems of care and advocating changes in public policy.

As service providers, advocates, and change agents, we ensure the political process recognizes the rights of people with disabilities throughout civil society. Recently, Keystone Moldova developed a charter detailing a series of commitments to promote the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.

This Charter of Principles and Commitments (Charter) builds on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which the Republic of Moldova signed in 2007 and ratified in 2010. By ratifying the CRPD, Moldova committed itself to developing and implementing policies and laws to secure the rights and social inclusion of people with disabilities, including legal equality and full participation in the community.

Although great progress has been made on a national level, barriers to social inclusion still exist. The Charter highlights a series of commitments through 2018 to address these inequalities. These commitments include

• developing legislation to ensure the legal rights of persons with disabilities;
• developing a legal framework to support persons with disabilities in decision-making;
• ensuring accessibility and reasonable accommodation in the physical environment;
• increasing the amount of financial resources allocated to social services that promote inclusion and independent living;
• continuing to reform the residential care system and diversifying community social services;
• implementing inclusive education according to the provision of the Education Code and the Education Strategy 2020;
• promoting inclusive employment, including existing legal provisions related to the employment of people with disabilities; and
• ensuring people with disabilities have equal access to adequate health care.

You can read the full Charter here. It was presented to and signed by fifty-one civil society organizations in Moldova, as well as six political parties. The Charter was supported by the East Europe Foundation, which is providing support for the Central Election Commission to develop and promote regulations on access for people with disabilities in electoral processes.

There is much work to accomplish before barriers to inclusion are truly dismantled. Nevertheless, the pace of reform continues to increase, and we move closer to an inclusive world.

Join me in supporting reforms like the Charter of Principles and Commitments in Moldova, as we continue to make the world a better place for everyone. A simple way to support these reforms is by making a donation to further Keystone’s work in Moldova. Another way to support us is to follow Keystone Moldova on Facebook to stay up to date on the tremendous work that we are doing and share it with your friends and colleagues. Whatever you choose, your support and involvement are greatly appreciated.

Charlie Hooker
President and CEO, Keystone Human Services International