The Cypriot Confederation of Disabled Organizations (KYSOA) calls for the immediate amendment or replacement of the Minimum Guaranteed Income Legislation with provisions and procedures that respect citizens with disabilities and constitute a real network for the protection of these rights and those of their families.
"Additionally, the catalytic intervention of the Parliamentary Committee on Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance is requested from the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security and Welfare, respectively, in order to take immediate and effective measures to put an end to unjustified irregularities. the examination of citizens' applications and, consequently, the long-term withholding of social benefits, sponsorships and allowances that rightfully belong to citizens with disabilities, so as not to jeopardize the standard of living and the very life of these individuals and their families "and increasingly lead to poverty, social exclusion and impoverishment," the statement added.
It is also reported that citizens with disabilities experience racism, prejudice and indifference from the state and are faced with serious social, cognitive and structural barriers that cause painful delays in the process of examining their applications for social benefits, allowances and financial assistance absolutely necessary for their living ".
The above, according to the organization, "is mainly due to the incompatibility of the Minimum Guaranteed Income Legislation with the International Human Rights Conventions, the indifference and organizational deficiencies that are observed as well as the accessibility deficits that cause stereotypes, stereotypes and bureaucracy and the time-consuming procedures followed by those in charge and, above all, the provocative tolerance and hypocrisy of the political leaders of the relevant government agencies about the unbearable situation that has prevailed in recent years on disability issues.
As a result, says KYSOA, "many people with disabilities with very low incomes and no property, the poorest of the poorest citizens in our country, in addition to their permanent exclusion from the community and the insult to their dignity on a permanent basis "They live for months or even years without any income, with disastrous consequences for their standard of living and the gradual destruction of their present and future and that of their family."
The movement of people with disabilities considers that the time has come for citizens with disabilities to be freed from the anachronistic policies and practices of the Minimum Guaranteed Income that blatantly violate human rights and their fundamental freedoms, the statement said.
Source: KYPE