Today, on May 26, the Government has endorsed a resolution developed by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, which approves the Procedure for monitoring and assessing the degree of accessibility of physical facilities and services for people with disabilities and other low-mobility groups.

"Impartial monitoring of the real state of affairs is one of the important elements in removing physical barriers in our country. The Procedure approved by the Government will help to determine shortcomings in the process of building a barrier-free environment, to assess the degree of accessibility of certain facilities. This is of paramount importance because it is about creating a barrier-free space in our regions for everyone, including people with disabilities, the elderly, parents with prams," said Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksii Chernyshov.

According to the decree, the degree of a barrier-free environment will be monitored on annual basis. The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development will determine the types of objects to be assessed by June 1 and will post this information on the official website of the Ministry.

Structural subdivisions on urban planning and architecture of regional, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, local bodies on urban planning and architecture, and facility managers will conduct surveys and assess the degree of accessibility. Members of the public may be involved in assessing the degree of accessibility.

Based on the monitoring results, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development will form a rating of regional, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations.

It should be noted that in May, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development will start developing an Action Plan to implement the National Barrier-Free Strategy. The development of the draft Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy for the creation of barrier-free environment in Ukraine for 2021-2022 is coordinated by the Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksii Chernyshov.  

The expert consortium, formed by the Economic Recovery Center, ISAD Yednannia and the NGO "Barrier-free Environment", provides analytical and technical support to the interagency working group under the Cabinet of Ministers to develop an Action Plan to implement the National Barrier-Free Strategy.

Background

The national strategy for the creation of barrier-free space in Ukraine was developed on the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska and in pursuance of the Decree of the President of Ukraine of December 3, 2020, "On ensuring the creation of barrier-free environment in Ukraine."