Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-06-03

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Labour Minister: Social inclusion for people with disabilities

[01] Labour Minister: Social inclusion for people with disabilities

Charalambous, who was addressing an event of the Multiple Sclerosis Society in the coastal city of Limassol on Sunday, said that "we recognise our obligation for a society with no discriminations for people with disabilities and we are committed to taking all necessary measures within our power and in view of current economic circumstances to promote the social inclusion of all people with disabilities regardless of their degree of disability".

Fighting discrimination in the work place, promoting social and professional inclusion for all people with disabilities, making society in general aware of the difficulties people with mobility problems are faced with and achieving accessibility in all areas of their lives are in the ministry's immediate goals, she added.

Charalambous referred to legislation passed on 2009, which provides for a 10% quota in public sector jobs for people with disabilities, pointing out that it was a significant step towards the social and professional inclusion of people with disabilities.

"The results we had in the last two years are very encouraging when one takes into consideration the difficult current economic circumstances of our country", she noted.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was also recently ratified by the House of Representatives in Cyprus is also a practical tool which points out measures, projects and actions that can be developed in addition to the ones already in place, she said.

Charalambous further spoke of the European Strategy on Disabilities 2010 � 2020, which in combination with the national action plans leads to further measures and programmes aiming to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.

Finally, she expressed her optimism that scientific efforts to find the right method of curing multiple sclerosis will soon come to fruition.

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