By Human Rights Watch
Photographs by Platon
The express train that whizzes from Moscow’s biggest airport to the city center now features video screens that show images of people in wheelchairs going through security and boarding a plane. They are depicted as future participants and guests of the Paralympic Games, which Russia will be hosting in Sochi in conjunction with the 2014 Winter Olympics. Public-service TV spots promise that by 2014 Moscow and Sochi will be ready to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. The government understands that any act of discrimination toward people accessing the games will harm Russia’s image. For now, however, an entire infrastructure needs to be created to guarantee that people with diverse disabilities can participate. In Russia, these people still face a range of obstacles that essentially cut them off society. Public buildings and transportation are mostly inaccessible, especially outside large cities. But the issue is broader than just physical access. Only 2 percent of Russian schools have an inclusive education approach, in which children with and without disabilities attend school together, and pregnant women with disabilities may be encouraged by medical professionals to abort. Russia’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities in May signaled a great moment for the country’s more than 13 million people with disabilities. But those guarantees now need to be translated into real life. It’s time for Russia to make sure that people with disabilities can study, work, travel, go shopping, and come to the Olympic Games—in other words, live a life just like everyone else.
— Tanya Lokshina is senior researcher for Russia at Human Rights Watch.
