Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired the regular session of the National Commission dealing with the issues of persons with disabilities.

Welcoming the attendees, the Prime Minister reminded that December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and added that today's session is also being held taking that fact into account. "I would like to emphasize that we reached certain agreements during the previous meeting and, it seems, their implementation is underway. In particular, I remember that we agreed to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and this has already taken place in the National Assembly.

I want to say the following. We have no lack or shortage of political will in terms of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. And I would like to emphasize that according to my personal perception and the approach of our government in general, we do not consider the issue in the logic of charity, because it’s a matter of full development and use of the potential of people in our country. And in this sense, I don't know how good or bad it sounds, my and our government’s attitudes are not different, because it is about developing the human potential in our country and creating proper conditions to invest it in the development of our country.

There are also practical steps that we will take in the near future. In particular, you are aware that we are currently carrying out reforms in the Armed Forces and a number of other services. I noticed, for example, that many services have certain limitations to involve people in the service. I have instructed to keep in mind and take into account that there are obviously positions and jobs in the Armed Forces, the Police, the National Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in which there is no logic to apply restrictions.

Therefore, I hope that we will have some changes in this regard in the near future. For example, in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we have initiated structural solutions so that to enable people to work, those who can fully work in the field, for example, in the Crisis Management Center. The same is true now in modern conditions, there is an opportunity in all fields, and we need to change our view to the issue and start the opposite.

Our goal of reforms in the field of general education is that we contribute to the full development and discovery of the child's potential just from pre-school education. And our policies should not in any way differentiate children with disabilities from children without disabilities in this regard. All children need a special approach, because one is more mischievous, the other less. Our understanding of the issue fits within this framework.

Of course, there are many issues, starting from infrastructural to socio-psychological. There is also a need to bring changes in public psychology. But this is also not a question that we should hope to solve in a week. On the other hand, we have no right to stop for a second on this way. And I hope that we will be able to have dynamics and move forward with that dynamic," said Nikol Pashinyan.

Moving on to the agenda issues, the participants of the session discussed the planned steps and actions after the ratification of Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The participants of the session welcomed the ratification of the protocol and noted that this process had dragged on for more than 12 years.

In the session, reference was also made to the provision of necessary infrastructure for persons with disabilities, in particular, the progress of the works being carried out in the direction of ensuring accessibility in multi-apartment buildings and institutions of public importance.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the government will continue to implement consistent steps in this direction and gave concrete instructions to the officials in charge.