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A/RES/62/127
18 December 2007
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/62/432)]
62/127. Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons: realizing the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities
The General Assembly,
Recalling its previous resolutions concerning persons with disabilities, particularly resolution 60/131 of 16 December 2005, in which it recognized the important role of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,
Recalling also its resolutions on the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
Welcoming the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto on 13 December 2006,
Recalling the 2005 World Summit, held from 14 to 16 September 2005, at which Heads of State and Government, inter alia, expressed their resolve to ensure the timely and full realization of development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, and recognizing the importance of incorporating the perspective of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits, with a view to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration,
Aware that there are at least 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide and that the majority of them live in conditions of poverty, and in this regard recognizing the critical need to address the negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
Convinced that addressing the profound social, cultural and economic disadvantage experienced by many persons with disabilities and that promoting the progressive removal of barriers to their full and effective participation in all aspects of development will further the equalization of opportunities and contribute to the realization of a “society for all” in the twenty-first century,
Reaffirming the need to include the rights of persons with disabilities in the development efforts at the national, regional and international levels to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and in this regard stressing the need to improve the complementarity and synergy in the implementation of the three main United Nations mechanisms, namely, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, each of which constitutes an important building-block in the steps to achieve time bound and quantifiable commitments set forth in the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields,
Recognizing the importance of the principles and policy guidelines contained in the World Programme of Action, the Convention and the Standard Rules in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of the policies, plans, programmes and actions at the national, regional and international levels to further equalize opportunities for persons with disabilities,
Convinced that the forthcoming periodic reviews of global progress as well as obstacles encountered in implementing the outcome of the Millennium Summit require the inclusion of an evaluation of the measures taken to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as they impact on persons with disabilities,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development;
3. Calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto3 as a matter of priority;
4. Expresses concern about the persistent gap between policy and practice regarding mainstreaming the perspective of persons with disabilities, including their rights and well-being, in the work of the United Nations in realizing the Millennium Development Goals;
5. Encourages States to involve persons with disabilities on an equal basis with other persons in the formulation of strategies and plans, in particular those pertaining to them;
6. Encourages States, in cooperation with, inter alia, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations as well as regional and international financial institutions, and the private sector, as appropriate, to be guided by the objectives of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons1 as well as those of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities2 in their work and to examine and ensure that development strategies, policies and programmes aimed at implementing internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, are inclusive of issues concerning persons with disabilities and promote the equalization of opportunities for all by:
(a) Ensuring accessibility, also through reasonable accommodation to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life and to participate as agents and beneficiaries of development;
(b) Providing appropriate and accessible social services and safety nets for persons with disabilities to ensure improved well-being for all;
(c) Ensuring an adequate standard of living and social protection for persons with disabilities, including through access to poverty and hunger eradication programmes, inclusive quality education, in particular free and compulsory primary education and secondary education, as well as the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care as provided to other persons, and the promotion of full employment and decent work for all;
(d) Promoting and strengthening national capacities for participatory, democratic and accountable processes and mechanisms that further the equalization of opportunities for the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in civil and political, economic, social and cultural life;
7. Encourages States to collect and analyse appropriate information, including statistical and research data that are disaggregated by age and sex, on the situation of persons with disabilities, bearing in mind appropriate protection of personal data, for purposes of policy planning, analysis and evaluation that include the perspective of persons with disabilities, and in this regard invites States to avail themselves of the technical services of the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat;
8. Urges relevant entities of the United Nations system, including agencies, funds and programmes, and invites international and regional development finance institutions to take concrete measures to incorporate the perspective of persons with disabilities, including accessibility requirements, in development cooperation and development finance activities;
9. Reaffirms the role of the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability, and encourages States, intergovernmental organizations, concerned non-governmental organizations and the private sector to continue to support the Fund with a view to strengthening its capacity to support catalytic and innovative activities to implement fully the development goals and objectives of the World Programme of Action, the Standard Rules and the Convention, including the work of the Special Rapporteur, and to facilitate international cooperation, including building national capacities, with emphasis on priorities for action identified in the present resolution;
10. Encourages all relevant parties to bear in mind the situation of persons with disabilities in the United Nations system-wide coherence discussions, without prejudice to the outcome of those discussions;
11. Calls upon States to include in country reports, in connection with the forthcoming periodic reviews of progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a review and evaluation of the impact of development efforts on the rights, well-being and livelihood of persons with disabilities;
12. Reaffirms its commitment to respect and promote, without discrimination, the rights of indigenous persons with disabilities, and urges States to take effective measures to continue to improve their economic and social conditions;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to give higher priority to concerns and issues of persons with disabilities and their inclusion within the work programme of the United Nations system and within existing resources, and to strengthen the role of the United Nations and its development programmes and agencies in mainstreaming disability issues, taking into account the perspective of persons with disabilities within the work of the United Nations system by:
(a) Promoting the inclusion of the perspective of persons with disabilities in the policies, programmes and projects of the Secretariat and the other United Nations bodies and agencies on a broader scale and with higher priority, on the basis of a holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination, and in this regard ensuring that the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses is inclusive of the perspective of persons with disabilities;
(b) Further strengthening action in all countries and providing assistance to developing countries, in particular to least developed countries, with special attention to persons with disabilities in vulnerable circumstances;
(c) Assisting Member States in formulating comprehensive and coherent policies and action plans, as well as projects, including pilot projects, that promote, inter alia, international cooperation and technical assistance, particularly to enhance the capacities of government agencies, as well as civil society, including organizations of persons with disabilities, to implement programmes on disability;
14. Decides that the fifth review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action, to be conducted by the General Assembly in 2008, shall direct special attention to the issues raised in the present resolution;
15. Also decides to rename the International Day of Disabled Persons, observed every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities;
16. Requests the Secretary-General:
(a) To submit an analytical and policy-oriented report on the fifth review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session as a contribution to the forthcoming periodic reviews of the progress as well as obstacles encountered in implementing the goals of the Millennium Summit, particularly the Millennium Development Goals;
(b) To present, as an annex to the report requested in subparagraph (a) above, proposed updates of the World Programme of Action, in accordance with paragraph 201 of the World Programme, bearing in mind the current situation of persons with disabilities around the world, as well as the developments in the global policy framework regarding persons with disabilities, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
76th plenary meeting
18 December 2007