Filenews 4 September 2023
About 5,000 of our fellow human beings who use wheelchairs in their movements feel complete frustration about the violation of the law, mainly by building owners (from restaurants to hotels) that does not allow them to access them, but also the impunity that favours the perpetuation of the current situation.
Precisely because it seems that the indifference of those involved has exceeded all limits, wheelchair users demand that the issuance of an extrajudicial order be legislated to those entrepreneurs who do not ensure access to those with mobility problems and place the Parliament before its responsibilities.
The president of the Cyprus Paraplegic Organisation, Dimitris Lambrianides, told "F" that although since 1999 not only new buildings but also existing ones that change use had to have access for disabled people, in many cases this is not the case, resulting in paraplegics being excluded.
According to him, according to the Roads and Buildings Law and in particular Regulation 61H, access and safe use of buildings must be ensured by all persons, including persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.
The Cyprus Paraplegic Organisation sent a letter to the chairman and members of the parliamentary committee on Internal Affairs requesting the adoption of legislation providing for "an extrajudicial fine for violations of the legislation on wheelchair accessibility for persons with disabilities in buildings".
As explained in the letter, signed by the president of the Paraplegic Organization, its members "are often at risk in their effort to participate in life, like all people, because local authorities do not ensure the proper implementation of the provisions of the relevant legislation on accessibility to buildings."
Asked about this by "F", he said that it is not a figure of speech that paraplegics are at risk and added that such issues do not see the light of publicity, because people who happened to be in danger did not follow up, because, among other things, a procedure is required that causes them further suffering.
As mentioned in the relevant letter, paraplegics often do not have access to public buildings at all because basic provisions such as the existence of a ramp at the entrance were not implemented at all.
It is also indicated that the inability of local authorities to implement the relevant legislation was also noted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in its report on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention in our country "Concluding observations on the initial report of Cyprus 12 April 2017".
The letter states that the biggest problem for people with physical disabilities is that they face access to the environment and safe movement and access to life opportunities. The main cause, according to the letter, is the labyrinthine procedures for legal prosecution of the offender that last for years and that is why many offenders do not care. Paraplegics consider this aspect a major weakness of the legal system and suggest that extrajudicial punishment will significantly help solve the problem and ensure that everyone complies with the provisions of the law.
Breaking the law – Suggestions ignored
As mentioned, when discussing the revision of the legislation on accessibility, the organization had proposed the implementation of an extrajudicial fine for violations of the law in order to act as a tool for local authorities with immediate effect to force violators to comply but, unfortunately, this provision was not included in Regulation 61HA of the Roads and Buildings Law nor in the law itself.
The paraplegics demand that the above issue be discussed as soon as possible in Parliament, since the lax application of the law allows the violation of their fundamental human rights and often puts them at risk.
Regarding the amount of extrajudicial proceedings, the Paraplegic Organization suggests that it should be high when it concerns violations of the legislation on accessibility to buildings. They believe that it will be a good tool for combating such illegalities.
Finally, the letter notes that the same request was sent to the previous parliamentary committee on Internal Affairs on 29/5/2018 without any response.
Mr. Lambrianidis said that especially lately the accessibility problem has been more intense with hotels, which in their majority do not have a final approval certificate. Even some of those that advertise that they provide access to people with mobility problems, are often found to be somehow misleading, since for example the wheelchair, due to the dimensions of the toilet door, does not fit to pass. The same applies to restaurants, shops and so on. Asked about this, he said that in one case a complaint was filed against a store but until the case is brought to justice and the trial begins, This particular business was closed, so he was never tried. "This is one of the reasons that leads us to ask for the amendment of the legislation to provide for the issuance of a tall extrajudicial case by the local authorities," said Mr. Labrianidis.
