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.
On a tour of the United Nations Accessibility Centre for the audio, visual, and physically impaired today, United States Senator Tom Harkin said that “when you make a system better for a person with a disability it makes it better for people without disabilities.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garces of Ecuador as his Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.
Ahead of next week’s high-level meeting to discuss the role of persons with disabilities in contributing to overall development, senior United Nations officials today urged the international community to advance the full and effective participation of the one billion persons with disabilities in society and in development beyond 2015.
The international community must step up its efforts to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and advance their development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message to a ceremony in New York honouring countries that have shown dedication to the cause.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the world to reaffirm that persons with Down Syndrome are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, deploring the stigma and discrimination they continue to face.
