Examination of Metropolitan Municipalities' Public Services for Persons with Disabilities within the Framework of the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

Disability, which is the loss or restriction of individuals' physical, mental, cognitive or emotional abilities to various degrees, is a phenomenon that is not only congenital, but can also occur later due to various reasons and affects all segments of society. With regard to the rights of persons with disabilities, which has taken its place globally as a human rights issue today, the Law on Persons with Disabilities was accepted in 2005 and it was adopted as a basic policy that persons with disabilities should have equal rights and freedoms with other individuals, ensure their effective participation in social life and take measures to prevent disability. This plan includes activities to ensure that public services to meet the needs of persons with disabilities are provided by all public institutions and organizations and non-governmental organizations with strong coordination. In this study, the public services provided by municipalities, which are one of the nearest public administrations providing services to citizens, for disabled people are analyzed. The aim of the study is to examine the services of local governments for disabled people within the framework of the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is the implementation tool of the 2030 Disability-Free Vision Document. For this purpose, the 8 policy areas identified in the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as “Inclusive and Accessible Society”, “Protection of Rights and Justice”, “Health and Well-being”, “Inclusive Education”, “Economic Security”, “Independent Living”, “Disasters and Humanitarian Emergencies” and “Implementation and Monitoring” are analyzed through the annual reports of municipalities. While the study was limited to 30 metropolitan municipalities, since the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities covers the years 2023-2025, the activity reports of the municipalities for 2023 and 2024 were based on. In the study, document analysis method was used through the activity reports of metropolitan municipalities. As a result of the study, while evaluating the public services provided by metropolitan municipalities for persons with disabilities within the framework of the National Action Plan, the extent to which the municipalities are ready forhis action plan and the readiness of public services for persons with disabilities according to the determined policy areas were evaluated. In this context, recommendations have been made for the realization of future public services and policies, taking into account the current situation.