Dear All,

Please find a copy of the statement prepared by GLADNET,
http://www.gladnet.org , an international research and advocacy organisation
in Canada on the International Day of Disabled Persons. It is perceived to
give opinions on the current state of disability discrimination across the
world.

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Statement on the Occasion of the International Day of Disabled Persons, 3
December 1999 by GLADNET

Looking Back - Looking Ahead on the International Day of Disabled
Persons

On this last International Day of Disabled Persons of the twentieth
century, we look back to both achievement and disappointment.

The last half of the century has seen some substantial improvements,
though not without its share of concern. Since the end of the Second
World War, there has been a slow but steady movement away from
segregating disabled people from the general population and from the
view that "the disabled" need care, philanthropy and charity. In
addition, societies in many countries began phasing down of dependence
on institutional service.

For its part, the international community, through the principles
ennunciated in the Charter establishing the United Nations, and the
adoption of instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the ILO Convention concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment (Disabled Persons), and the UN Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, has
fostered an increased recognition of the rights and dignity of the
person. And finally, we have seen the exceptional rise of the consumer
movement, leading to disabled people everywhere refusing to accept roles for
themselves other than full participants in all aspects of national life.

And yet, at the beginning of the third millennium, people with
disabilities still face unacceptable social and economic exclusion, are
still objects of sympathy, are still not treated as quite fully human. The
fact remains that disabled people disproportionately, around the world, are
still amongst the poorest of the poor. They are more likely than their
able-bodied peers to be unemployed and dependent on family members and/or
public assistance for their existence. In high-income countries, it
appears that disabled people are employed at a rate roughly one-half that of
non-disabled people , and at least twice as many disabled as compared with
non-disabled people are not in the labour force. And, when employed, there
is a greater tendency for disabled people to be under-employed relative to
their levels of training. In low-income countries the situation is much
worse, particularly given the absence of social safety nets.

At the dawn of the 21st century, it is a human tragedy of immeasurable
economic and social costs to keep such a significant proportion of the
global population at the margins of society. On this last International Day
of Disabled Persons of the twentieth century, the members of the GLADNET
world community resolve that this situation must not and shall not continue.
____________________________________________________-
Ozcan

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