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.
Accessibility, especially in today’s urban environments, involves a lot more than installing ramps, in order to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy the rights they are entitled to, according to Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes, the UN’s Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility. Ms. Cisternas Reyes spoke with UN News.
Cluster munition casualties almost exclusively in Syria
Casualties from cluster munitions doubled in the last year and civilians accounted for nearly all of the victims, the UN and civil society partners said on Thursday.
Protecting girls from forced or underage initiations like female circumcision has always been a focus of Sylvia Blyden, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Gender and Social Affairs.
In the wake of a high-profile conviction of a mastermind who murdered and dismembered a woman with albinism, a United Nations independent expert is calling for additional oversight of traditional healers who use body parts in witchcraft rituals and so-called medicines.
Following the recent global commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a United Nations human rights expert today issued a warning that some of the most basic components of the convention have yet to be realized and that urgent steps are necessary to level inequalities.
Inclusive education is central to achieving high quality education for all learners, including those with disabilities, and for the development of inclusive, peaceful and fair societies, UN human rights experts have said in authoritative new guidelines on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
