President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said they have a very good record in the field of social services and said: “We will fulfill our responsibilities with the spirit of full dedication.” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Barrier-Free Türkiye Century World Disability Day Meeting at the AK Party Congress Center.
Stating that employment of disabled citizens has increased more than 15 times since 2002, reaching 83 thousand people, Erdoğan said, “We have been doing whatever we can with social policies and services. We will continue to work selflessly.” he said.
Highlights of President Erdoğan's statement are as follows:
“I send greetings to all our disabled people, who never leave room for despair on their life journey and look to the future with confidence.
As a state, our top priority is to address the issues of citizens with disabilities. Our fundamental responsibility is to continuously expand the cognitive base and effectively implement the principle of accessibility in all areas of life.
“WE HAVE A VERY GOOD REPORT CARD”
As both the government and the AK Party, we have a very good record on disability policies in the social services sector. We support our findings and research in this area with the regulatory reforms we implement. We strongly protect the rights of our brothers and sisters with disabilities.
We may have mistakes, shortcomings and shortcomings without realizing it. We will continue to work until there is not a single disabled brother left whose broken heart has not been healed, whose heart has not been forgiven, whose heart has not been gifted, and whose heart has not been given the necessary opportunities.
Somehow we will fulfill our responsibility in the field of social service. Whatever we do, we do it sincerely. We will continue to serve the elderly, those in need, relatives of fallen soldiers and veterans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. People are always at the center of our thinking. The most fundamental characteristic that distinguishes us from the rest of the world is that we have a civilization centered on compassion.
We have been doing whatever we can with social policies and services. We will continue to work conscientiously.
When we received the nation's trust in 2002, the participation of disabled citizens in public life was limited. We protested this order and rebuilt the system.
In 2005, we began a new era with the enactment of the disability law. With the constitutional amendment made in 2010, we explicitly banned discrimination and the constitution guaranteed the rights of people with disabilities.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT INCREASES
Over the past 10 years, more than 10 million of our citizens have benefited from trains without paying any fees. We have issued 3 thousand 992 certificates of access to public buildings, open spaces and public transport. This year, we declared National Accessibility Day, the final day of Disability Week.
For us, the education and employment of disabled citizens is of great importance and priority. In 2002, only 5 thousand people with disabilities were employed in the public sector. This number increased more than 15 times and reached 83 thousand.
While in 2002 only 5 thousand people benefited from home care services, today 520 thousand people benefit from this service.
We set our sustainability goals with the 2030 Zero Barriers Vision Document. Preparation for our second action plan for 2026-2028 has begun. May our new action plan bring good luck, especially to our brothers and sisters with disabilities.
