NEW YORK, (Pakistan Point News - 03rd Dec, 2020) The United Nations commemorated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, IDPD, on Thursday, calling for greater inclusion for persons with disabilities, and recognising and protecting their human rights.
"These rights touch on every aspect of life: the right to go to school, to live in one’s community, to access health care, to start a family, to engage in political participation, to be able to play sport, to travel – and to have decent work," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message.
"As the world recovers from the pandemic, we must ensure that the aspirations and rights of persons with disabilities are included and accounted for in an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world," the UN chief urged.
"This vision will only be achieved through active consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations," he added.
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, highlighted the impact of the pandemic and related mitigation measures, such as school closures, on children and young people with disabilities.
They are often at the highest risk of experiencing a disruption of their education, she added, warning that many distance learning methods do not account for their specific needs.
"It is crucial to involve persons with disabilities in the devising of solutions that are truly aimed at everyone and to learn from the experience," Ms. Azoulay urged.
This can be achieved by developing digital resources and skills that foster inclusion, training teachers in the principles of accessible education for all, and creating accessible tools adapted to different learning requirements, she added.
"This is crucial not only for students with disabilities, but also for their classmates. All students benefit from a more inclusive education access to education, like access to other common goods, must become universal," the UNESCO Director-General said.
Observed every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was established by the UN General Assembly in October 1992, to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues pertaining to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development.
The theme this year is "Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World".
