PRESIDENT ATTENDS HOPE & POSSIBILITY – ULAANBAATAR 2018 MARATHON
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga attended and delivered remarks at the opening ceremony of a marathon that aims to develop disabled athletes in the National Park today.
The marathon has been held for the last three years, engaging 3,000 runners and 950 volunteers overall with the monetary and non-monetary support of over 150 individuals and organizations.
This year, the marathon was held in 3 km, 5 km, 10 km, 21 km, and 42 km distances. According to the organizers, the registration fees, donations, and the total income of the marathon will be fully spent on developing disabled athletes, ensuring their opportunities to participate in international competitions, and the capacity building of disabled children through sports.
During the opening ceremony, President Battulga said, “Good morning to all of the participants of the Hope & Possibility marathon. There is hope and possibility for everybody. How you use that hope and possibility is defined by your sincerity. I wish good luck to the runners of this marathon, which is being held for the fourth time.”
Moreover, Human Development and Social Policy Advisor to the President D.Uuriintuya delivered remarks. She said:
“A very good day to all of you!
Since taking office, the President of Mongolia has been working on certain issues concerning the disabled citizens.
One of them was the discussion themed Implementation and Challenges of the Law on the Rights of the Disabled, held in connection with the World Disabled Day last year.
As a result of the discussion, an instructional decree of the President has been issued on September 4th and sent to the Cabinet. The decree includes provisions directed at resolving social protection issues of the disabled citizens. For instance, the Article No. 111 of the Law on Labor which deals with the employment of disabled and dwarf people isn’t still complied with, therefore, the decree containing three provisions on compliance with the law has been forwarded.
First, the decree comprises a provision on implementation of the Article 111 of the Labor on Law by government organizations and entities. The second provision is about revising the Cabinet Resolution on the mandatory employment of 1 disabled person per 25 employees by an organization and deposit of payment in case of non-compliance. In particular, non-compliant organizations in Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan Cities will have to make a payment in the amount equal to the average salary of their employees, and organizations in the other provinces the amount equaling 60 percent of the average salary of their employees. The third provision instructs that a National Committee be set up under the recently established Agency for the Disabled, and a Procedure be adopted and realized regarding the Committee’s collection, management, and monitoring of the above-mentioned payment. The National Committee shall ensure equal representation of non-government organizations of the disabled community.
With implementation of this decree, the payment must be dedicated to activities that aim to ensure social protection for the disabled. It is my pleasure to inform you about the issuance of the decree which will resolve the issues of over 103 thousand disabled people. I wish success to your competition.”
