UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations A/C.3/58/L.8/Rev.1
General Assembly Distr.: Limited
13 November 2003
Original: English
03-61308 (E) 141103
*0361308*
Fifty-eighth session
Third Committee
Agenda item 106
Social development, including questions relating to the
world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled
persons and the family
Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Argentina,
Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Congo, Costa
Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana,
Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya,
Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta,
Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco,
Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway,
Panama, Peru, Philippines Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia,
South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of
Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia and
Zimbabwe: revised draft resolution
Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons: towards a society for all in the
twenty-first century
The General Assembly,
Recalling the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and
reaffirming the obligations contained in relevant human rights instruments,
including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women1 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,2
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1 Resolution 34/180, annex.
2 Resolution 44/25, annex.

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Recalling also its relevant resolutions, in particular resolutions 37/52 of 3
December 1982, by which it adopted the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons,3 48/96 of 20 December 1993, by which it adopted the Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, and 56/115
of 19 December 2001, as well as the relevant resolutions of the Economic and Social
Council and its functional commissions,
Recalling further the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted on 8
September 2000 by heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit of the
United Nations,4 stressing the need to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities, and
recognizing the importance of incorporating the disability perspective in the
implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and
summits, with a view to achieving the internationally agreed development goals,
including those contained in the Millennium Declaration,
Noting with appreciation the initiatives and actions of Governments to
implement relevant sections of the Standard Rules and of relevant resolutions that
give special attention to the questions of accessible environments and information
and communication technologies, health, education and social services, employment
and sustainable livelihoods, including the relevant activities of intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations,
Reaffirming the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and
summits and their respective follow-up reviews,
Noting that the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted by the
Second World Assembly on Ageing,5 considers “older persons and disability” as a
specific issue for policy concern,
Noting also the preparatory work of the Ad Hoc Committee on a
comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the
rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in establishing a Working Group with
the aim of preparing and presenting a draft text that would be the basis for the
negotiation of the draft convention,
Recognizing the strong commitment of Governments to the equalization of
opportunities and to the rights of persons with disabilities and the promotion and
protection of the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities,
including in the context of development,
Acknowledging the important role of non-governmental organizations in the
promotion and protection of the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons with
disabilities, and noting in this regard their work in promoting the elaboration of an
international convention on the rights of disabled persons,
Noting with appreciation the important contributions of regional
intergovernmental organizations and the regional commissions of the United Nations
in promoting awareness and building capacities for the full participation and
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3 A/57/351/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII, recommendation I (IV).
4 See resolution 55/2.
5 Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, 8-12 April 2002 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.02.IV.4), chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II.

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equality of persons with disabilities, as well as the outcome of international
conferences relating to persons with disabilities,
Mindful of the need to adopt and implement effective policies and strategies to
promote the rights and the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities
at all levels,
Recognizing the importance of accessibility both of the physical environment
and of information and communication in enabling persons with disabilities to fully
enjoy their human rights,
Reiterating that technology, in particular information and communication
technologies, provides new possibilities for improving accessibility and employment
for persons with disabilities and for facilitating their full and effective participation
and equality, and welcoming the initiatives of the United Nations and contributions
from regional groups in promoting information and communication technologies as
a means of achieving the universal goal of a society for all,
Recognizing the importance of timely and reliable data on disability-sensitive
topics, programme planning and evaluation and the need for further development of
practical statistical methodology for the collection and compilation of data on
populations with disabilities,
Recognizing also the challenge of better incorporating the disability
perspective in development and technical cooperation activities,
Recognizing further the need to improve the quality of life of persons with
disabilities worldwide through the enhancement of awareness of and sensitivity to
disability issues and respect for the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons
with disabilities,
Also recognizing that in the elaboration of national and international
development strategies, consideration needs to be given to the impact of poverty,
especially in rural areas, on the conditions of persons with disabilities,
Expressing grave concern that situations of armed conflict continue to have
especially devastating consequences for the human rights of persons with
disabilities,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General6 on
the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons,3 including the Secretary-General’s recommendations relating to policy
options to promote the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons with
disabilities in the context of development;
2. Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on Disability of the
Commission for Social Development to promote the full enjoyment of all human
rights by, and the equalization of opportunities for, persons with disabilities;
3. Calls upon Governments to undertake all necessary measures to advance
beyond the adoption of national plans for people with disabilities through, inter alia,
the creation or reinforcement of arrangements for the promotion and awareness of
disability issues and the allocation of sufficient resources for the full
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6 A/58/61-E/2003/5.

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implementation of existing plans and initiatives, and emphasizes in this regard the
importance of supporting national efforts through international cooperation;
4. Encourages Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and the private sector, as appropriate, to continue to take concrete
measures to mainstream the disability perspective into the development process and
promote the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions and agreed
international standards concerning persons with disabilities, in particular the
Standard Rules, and for the further equalization of opportunities for persons with
disabilities;
5. Encourages Governments to continue their support to non-governmental
organizations and other groups, including organizations of persons with disabilities,
that contribute to the fulfilment of the implementation of the World Programme of
Action concerning Disabled Persons;
6. Also encourages Governments to involve persons with disabilities in the
formulation of strategies and plans, in particular those pertaining to them;
7. Urges relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system,
including relevant human rights treaty bodies and the regional commissions, as well
as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions, to
incorporate the disability perspective in their activities, as appropriate, and to
continue to work closely with the Division for Social Policy and Development for
the promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
by persons with disabilities, including activities at the field level, by sharing
experiences, findings, and recommendations on persons with disabilities;
8. Stresses the importance of improving data and statistics on persons with
disabilities, in compliance with national legislation on the protection of personal
data, so that they can be compared internationally and domestically for purposes of
policy design, planning and evaluation from the disability perspective, urges
Governments, in this regard, to cooperate with the United Nations Statistics
Division in the continued development of global statistics and indicators on
disability, and encourages them to avail themselves of the technical assistance of the
Division to build national capacities for national data-collection systems;
9. Urges Governments, intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental
organizations to provide special protection to persons with mental or
physical disabilities, who may experience multiple or aggravating forms of
discrimination, with special emphasis on integrating them into society and
protecting and promoting their full enjoyment of all human rights;
10. Urges Governments to address the situation of persons with disabilities
with respect to all actions taken to implement existing human rights treaties to
which they are parties;
11. Invites States to continue to actively participate in the negotiations within
the Ad Hoc Committee on a comprehensive and integral international convention to
promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities;
12. Encourages Governments, intergovernmental organizations, concerned
non-governmental organizations and the private sector to continue to support the
United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability, with a view to strengthening its
capacity to support catalytic and innovative activities to implement fully the World

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Programme of Action and the Standard Rules, including the work of the Special
Rapporteur, and to support activities to build national capacities, with emphasis on
priorities for action identified in the present resolution;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to support initiatives of
relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, as well as those of
regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions,
for the promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights by, and nondiscrimination
in respect of, persons with disabilities and the further implementation
of the World Programme of Action, as well as their efforts to integrate persons with
disabilities in technical cooperation activities, both as beneficiaries and as decision
makers;
14. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his efforts in
improving the accessibility of the United Nations for persons with disabilities, and
urges him to continue to implement plans to provide a barrier-free environment;
15. Welcomes the review by the Secretary-General in his current report on the
fourth quinquennial review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action,6 and
requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixtieth
session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.