UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations A/RES/60/131
General Assembly Distr.: General
26 January 2006
Sixtieth session
Agenda item 62
05-49546
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 2005
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/60/501)]
60/131. Implementation of the World Programme of Action
concerning Disabled Persons: realizing the Millennium
Development Goals for persons with disabilities
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
Recalling also its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 37/52 of
3 December 1982, by which it adopted the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons,3 resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993, by which it adopted the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
and resolution 58/132 of 22 December 2003, as well as the relevant resolutions of
the Economic and Social Council and its functional commissions,
Recalling further the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration
on 8 September 20004 and of the 2005 World Summit Outcome on 16 September
20055 by Heads of State and Government, 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 the World Programme of Action, the Standard Rules and relevant
resolutions that give special attention to the questions of accessible environments
and information and communication technologies, health, education and social
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1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No. 20378.
2 Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531.
3 A/37/351/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII, recommendation I (IV).
4 See resolution 55/2.
5 See resolution 60/1.

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services, employment and sustainable livelihoods, including the relevant activities
of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, which reflect the strong
commitment to the equalization of opportunities, 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,
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, 2002, adopted by
the Second World Assembly on Ageing,6 considers “older persons and disabilities” as
a specific issue for policy concern,
Welcoming the progress of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and
Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities in preparing a draft text of the convention,
Acknowledging the complementary contributions of all existing international
frameworks on disability,
Aware of the fact that there are at least 600 million persons with disabilities
worldwide, of whom approximately 80 per cent live in developing countries,
Recognizing the important role of the World Programme of Action in the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,
Recognizing also that the achievement of the purposes of the World
Programme of Action is congruent with economic and social development, extended
services provided to the whole population in the humanitarian area, the
redistribution of resources and income and an improvement in the living standards
of the population,
Acknowledging the important role of non-governmental organizations, in
particular organizations of persons with disabilities, 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 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 in
all Member States, United Nations agencies, regional intergovernmental
organizations and regional commissions of the United Nations 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 enjoy
fully their human rights and to play an active part in the development of society,
Reiterating that technology, in particular information and communication
technologies, provides new possibilities for improving accessibility and
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6 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, annex II.

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employment for persons with disabilities and for facilitating their full and effective
participation and equality, stressing in this regard the importance of enhancing
cooperation among countries for the transfer of technology and technical and
economic cooperation in the development and dissemination of appropriate
disability-related technologies and know-how, 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 the further
development of practical statistical methodology for the collection and compilation
of data on populations with disabilities, and welcoming the initiatives of various
United Nations agencies and regional groups in the area of collection of disabilityrelated
data and information,
Recognizing also the need to address 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 and by ensuring that the benefits of development programmes also
reach them,
Recognizing that, because the vast majority of persons with disabilities
continue to be excluded from the benefits of development and denied the full and
equal recognition and enjoyment of their human rights, the impact of poverty on the
conditions of persons with disabilities, especially in rural areas, should be given
prominent consideration in the elaboration of national and international
development strategies,
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 of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation
of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, 7 including his
recommendations to mainstream the disability perspective in United Nations
international and national development frameworks and to consider the effective
synergy in monitoring the implementation of the existing international frameworks
on disability;
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, and
encourages her to continue her work, bearing in mind the background of the World
Programme of Action;3
3. Calls upon Governments to take all necessary measures to advance
beyond the adoption of national plans for persons 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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7 A/60/290.

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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. Urges Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations to promote effective measures, as elaborated in the World Programme
of Action, for the prevention of disability and the provision of appropriate
habilitation and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities in a manner
respectful of the dignity and integrity of persons with disabilities;
5. Encourages Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and the private sector, as appropriate, to continue to take concrete
measures to mainstream the disability perspective in 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 on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
and for the further equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities;
6. Encourages Governments to continue and to strengthen their support to
non-governmental organizations and other groups, including organizations of
persons with disabilities, that contribute to the implementation of the World
Programme of Action;
7. Also encourages Governments to involve persons with disabilities in the
formulation of strategies and plans, in particular those pertaining to them;
8. Urges relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system,
including the development agencies and funds, 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 of the Secretariat for the equalization of
opportunities for persons with disabilities and the promotion of the full enjoyment
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities,
including in activities at the field level;
9. 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 Statistics Division of the
Secretariat in the continuing 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;
10. Urges Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations to provide special protection to persons with disabilities from
marginalized sectors of society, who may be vulnerable to multiple, intersecting or
aggravating forms of discrimination, with special emphasis on integrating them into
society and protecting and promoting their full enjoyment of all human rights;
11. 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 and in efforts taken towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals;
12. Invites Member States and observers to continue to participate actively
and constructively in the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral

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International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity
of Persons with Disabilities, with a view to the early conclusion of a draft text of the
convention, in order to present it to the General Assembly, as a matter of priority,
for its adoption;
13. 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
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;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to support the initiatives of
relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, as well as those of
regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions,
for the further implementation of the World Programme of Action, including the
promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights by, and non-discrimination in
respect of, persons with disabilities, as well as efforts to integrate persons with
disabilities in technical cooperation activities, both as beneficiaries and as decision
makers;
15. 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 an accessible environment;
16. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General
Assembly at its sixty-second session on the global implementation of the World
Programme of Action, with respect to overall efforts being made to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals, also including in the report possible options to
improve the complementarity and synergy in the implementation of the World
Programme of Action and other United Nations disability mechanisms and
instruments, taking into account the strengths and main elements of the World
Programme of Action as well as its important role in providing policy guidelines for
States.
64th plenary meeting
16 December 2005