disability rights

First Person: ‘I did it, dad!’ A father's experience of Down syndrome

Millions of people around the world are affected by Down syndrome, a chromosome disorder. Each year, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children are born with the condition which commonly affects, to varying degrees, an individual’s learning styles, physical characteristics and health. 

News in Brief 19 March 2021

  • Scores of schools ‘reportedly occupied’ by security forces in Myanmar: UNICEF 
  • No ‘fix’ to police violence, without tackling scourge in society 
  • Concern over Belarus crackdown on disability rights activists 
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2'53"

News in Brief 3 December 2020

  • Inclusion for people with disabilities means education, health care access 
  • Mooted Bangladesh island relocation of Rohingya refugees, must respect rights: UN 
  • COVID crisis set to drag 32 million of world’s poorest back into extreme poverty: UNCTAD 
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3'4"

News in Brief 21 September 2020

  • UN’s Yemen negotiator calls for ‘courage’ to end fighting 
  • Spain ‘did not ensure that Down’s child’s school needs were met’, says UN panel  
  • UN’s ‘Global Conversation’ shows that people want the basics to tackle COVID 
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3'54"

‘We all must step up’ collective action on disability inclusion – UN deputy chief

The international community has agreed truly ground-breaking frameworks to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, including in the context of development, but there remains a significant gap between these ambitions and the reality experienced daily by millions of persons with disabilities, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a conference in Doha on Saturday. 

Tuesday’s Daily Brief: climate crisis reports, renewal in Iraq, Zimbabwe’s hunger crisis, Disabilities Day

A recap of Tuesday’s stories: New climate change reports on human health and global warming; Zimbabwe’s ‘worst hunger crisis in a decade’; protests and civil unrest show ‘renewed sense of patriotism’ in Iraq; UN ‘determined to lead by example’ on disability rights.

UN ‘determined to lead by example’ on disability rights: Guterres

The UN is determined to lead by example when it comes to the rights of people with disabilities, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on 3 December.

At UN event, people with Downs Syndrome ‘speak up’ to influence government policy and action

Today, the call that people with Down Syndrome be included to fully and equally participate in all aspects of society echoed widely throughout United Nations Headquarters in New York.