International Day of Disabled People_ 3rd December

What is the International Day of Disabled People about?

On the 3rd December 1982, the UN General Assembly decided on the World Programme of Action for Disabled People. The United Nations committed itself and its members to promote the full participation of disabled people in social life and development as well as prevention and rehabilitation measures.

Disabled people are not yet fully considered within international development issues. They are still excluded from society in many countries of the world. Even where effective disability legislation is in place, the implementation lacks ideas and is hindered by negative attitudes towards disabled people.

Facts and figures

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 600 million disabled people worldwide, about 10% of the world population. It is also estimated that about 80% of all disabled people worldwide live in developing countries.

More and more, disability is seen as a social issue which is not only based on medical reasons. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Therefore the reasons for disability are always complex and can only be understood within the context of societies and cultures.

What does inclusion mean?

Inclusion is applied to a variety of fields such as education, employment, society in general or international development. Inclusion means the acceptance of all people and is not limited to disabled people but also includes other marginalized groups such as immigrants, women, poor people or people with HIV/AIDS.
In the disability field the concept is best known through inclusive education or inclusive development, promoting the consideration of disabled people in all aspects of school or international development.

"Disabled People deserve the same rights"