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.
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.
On World Autism Awareness Day, the United Nations is spotlighting the unique skills of people with autism and the need to recognize their talents through an initiative inviting businesses to make concrete commitments to employ people on the autism spectrum.
