UN Human Rights Treaties

UNNAITTIEODNS
A
General Assembly
Distr.
LIMITED
A/C.3/52/L.12
20 October 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Fifty-second session
Agenda item 102
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE
WORLD SOCIAL SITUATION AND TO YOUTH, AGEING, DISABLED
PERSONS AND THE FAMILY
Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Philippines,
Poland, Sweden and Turkey: 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 its resolutions 37/52 of 3 December 1982, by which it adopted the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,1 49/153 of
23 December 1994, and 50/144 of 21 December 1995, in which it called upon
Governments, when implementing the World Programme of Action, to take into
account the elements suggested in the Long-term Strategy to Implement the World
Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons to the Year 2000 and Beyond,2
Recalling also its resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993, by which it
adopted the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities,
Welcoming the inclusion of measures to address questions of disability in
the programmes, plans and platforms for action adopted by the World Conference
on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the
World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, and
the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II),
1 A/37/351/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII, recommendation 1 (IV).
2 A/49/435, annex.
97-27970 (E) 201097 /...
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Mindful of the need to adopt and implement effective public policies and
programmes to promote the rights of persons with disabilities,
Convinced that the end of the century provides an opportunity for
considering what issues to address in order to fully implement the Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
Welcoming initiatives to hold international conferences related to disabled
persons, particularly the holding of the Fifth World Assembly of Disabled
People's International at Mexico City in December 1998, on the theme "Towards an
inclusive twenty-first century",
Recognizing the importance of timely and reliable data on disability for
disability-sensitive policies, programme planning and evaluation, and the need
for further development of practical statistical methodology for data collection
and compilation on populations with disabilities,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on
the third review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons,3 and welcomes the conclusions and recommendations contained
therein;
2. Takes note of Economic and Social Council resolutions 1997/19 and
1997/20 on equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities, and
children with disabilities, respectively;
3. Notes with appreciation the valuable work undertaken by the Special
Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development, and welcomes
the second round of monitoring the implementation of the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the cooperation
of the Special Rapporteur with the Commission on Human Rights, especially with
the Committee on the Rights of the Child,
4. Encourages Governments and the non-governmental community to examine
key social and economic policy issues related to the equalization of
opportunities for persons with disabilities, in particular: (a) accessibility,
(b) social services and social safety nets, and (c) employment and sustainable
livelihoods;
5. Urges Governments to cooperate with the United Nations Statistics
Division in the continued development of global statistics and indicators, and
encourages them to avail themselves of the technical assistance of the Division,
as needed;
6. Urges relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system,
including relevant treaty bodies, such as the Committee on the Rights of the
Child, the regional commissions, and intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and institutions, to work closely with the United Nations
3 A/52/351.
/...
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programme on disabled persons in the promotion of the rights of persons with
disabilities by sharing experiences and findings on disability issues;
7. Decides that the next quinquennial review of the World Programme of
Action, in 2002, shall consider the issues mentioned in operative paragraph 4 of
the present resolution;
8. Invites Governments and the private sector to continue to support the
United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability with a view to providing additional
support to the implementation of the Standard Rules, including further
assistance in national capacity-building and support for the work of the Special
Rapporteur on Disability;
9. Requests the Secretary-General to develop a plan to increase the
accessibility of the United Nations and its offices and meetings to persons with
disabilities;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at
its fifty-fourth session, through the Commission for Social Development at its
thirty-seventh session, a report on the implementation of the present
resolution.
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