New Delhi (NVI): International Day of Disabled Persons is observed every year on December 3, under the leadership of the United Nations (UN), to spread awareness about the issues of disabilities and how people are affected by it worldwide.
The day is also focused to promote the well-being and rights of people dealing with disabilities in every sphere of society and development.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through a resolution in 1992 declared December 3 as International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) also known as World Disability Day.
Since then, the day has been observed every year globally, to promote the ideas of involving people with disabilities in every aspect of social, political, economic and cultural life.
Every year, the day is observed with a specific theme. The official theme for International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2020 is “Building back better: towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world by, for and with persons with disabilities.”
Apart from this, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will also organise a global awareness campaign with the theme “tell our stories, enable our rights”.
Nearly 1 billion people live with some form of disability. That accounts for approximately 15 per cent of the entire world’s population and 80 per cent live in the developing countries, as per the UN report.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inequalities across the world widened, making it all the more important to take steps to reduce gaps in the society. While people with disabilities battled societal taboos before the onset of the pandemic, but the outbreak added to the inequalities among people based on their abilities.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message on World Disabilities Day 2020 said, “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 a -inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world.”
“This vision will only be achieved through active consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations,” he added.
-RJV
