Tina Farni: We need to establish cooperation between specialists in post-Soviet countries

According to the head of Russian branch of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, we should do it in order to expand accessibility and benefit from the principles of the Convention of the rights of the disabled.

Within the frames of the initiative “Improvement of the quality of work on protection of legal rights of persons with disabilities” the Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities interviewed Tina Farni, the head of Russian branch of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLF).

- Tina, tell us please about the RLS foundation’s work in different countries. What place does the topic of protection of the rights of persons with disabilities take in this cooperation?

- We cooperate with organizations in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan on different topics concerning persons with disabilities. We work with them on accessibility expansion and universal design. Not long ago we have started to cooperate with Russian organization “White cane” in Ekaterinburg. These specialists held round table “Inclusion – society – art”. Together with a deputy of Duma Oleg Smolin we held the research of the Russian legislation concerning the rights of persons with disabilities and in particular on application of the main principles of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Experience of cooperation with Belarusian Office for the rights of persons with disabilities is new and rather interesting for us. Together we had realized the initiative “Improvement of the quality of work on protection of legal rights of persons with disabilities” which had a significant educational component of the protection of the rights of people with disabilities through trade unions. It turns out that on the whole we are interested in persons with disabilities and topically there is a kind of “potpourri”.

- Are you satisfied with the results of the initiative which had been realized together with Belarusian colleagues?

- Yes, I am very impressed with the interim results and especially from the point of view of interdisciplinary part. I think that we have managed to set up close and productive cooperation between public legal organizations, trade unions and working in this sphere lawyers and experts. We really understood that employees with disabilities or employees who got occupational injuries are the target audience we have to work with.

According to participants’ comments I think the information was received by addressees. And what is very important – people are ready to share the knowledge, experience and to systematize the information. This is a wonderful example – the creation of a manual “Trade unions and disability: first steps” I am holding in my hands.

I’ve mentioned that in spite of a large number of problems, specialists working with this topic are inspired and are optimistically looking into the future. 

- How do you see the continuation of this activity?

- We have accomplished the workload set by the project. At the same time we see many vectors for the future work: spreading the knowledge, holding educational trainings for other unions (lawyers and legal inspectors of REP union took part in this project) and also holding trainings in other regions. But sometimes you just have to give people some information to help them to start working with it and to develop the topic. Only after it is done we shall see if they need some extra project load.

- Are you planning to continue your cooperation with the Office?

- I am sure that we will continue to cooperate with the Office because the Office has a lot of different ideas and suggestions.

I think that strengthening of contacts between specialists working in the sphere of protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and the organization of experience and experts exchange will be a good continuation of the cooperation. Post-soviet countries are developing the same ways that is why it will be useful to share experience with each other on such topics as inclusion, accessible public environment and so on. The countries usually are facing the similar issues.