Η International Day of Persons with Disabilities (International Day of Persons with Disabilities) is celebrated every year on 3 December and was established by the UN General Assembly with the adoption of the Programme of Action on Disability in December 1992.
The choice of this date is linked to the adoption by the international organisation on 3 December 1982 of the Programme of Action for Persons with Disabilities, which led to the signing of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007 (Cyprus ratified it in 2011 and Greece in 2012).
The Day is an opportunity for governments, organisations and societies to focus attention on the rights and potential of people with disabilities.
According to UN figures, around 1 billion people around the world suffer from some form of disability, 80% of whom live in developing countries.
More than 168 countries have now signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (disabled persons), which came into force a decade ago. A new analysis by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health explores how far the Convention has been implemented in the ten years since its adoption.
Among other findings, it states that:
Only one in four countries (24%) have constitutions that explicitly prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities or guarantee equal rights for them.
Only 28% of countries constitutionally protect the right to education of children with disabilities, with the result that these children often face significant barriers to their education, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Only 12% of countries have special schools for people with disabilities and often these institutions are limited to specific disabilities.
Only 18% countries constitutionally protect the right to work for people with disabilities, with the result that unemployment is increased for these people. However, the situation is gradually improving in the workplace, as the trend towards non-discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace is growing internationally.
Only 26% of countries have a constitution that explicitly guarantees the right to health of people with disabilities. Only 11% of countries provide for paid leave for parents to care for the health needs of their disabled children.
However, it is a positive development that of the constitutions of the countries adopted after 2010, more than two out of three (68%) prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, 58% guarantees the right to work for persons with disabilities and 63% guarantees the right to education for children with disabilities. But, according to the study, humanity as a whole is still far from the desired level when it comes to the treatment of persons with disabilities.
source: newsone.gr
