Implementation of the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons : Towards a Society for All in the 21st Century

Calls upon Governments to take all necessary measures to advance beyond the adoption of national plans for people with disabilities through, inter alia, the creation or reinforcement of arrangements for the promotion and awareness of disability issues and the allocation of sufficient resources for the full implementation of existing plans and initiatives, and emphasizes in this regard the importance of supporting national efforts through international cooperation;

Encourages Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector, as appropriate, to continue to take concrete measures to mainstream the disability perspective into the development process and promote the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions and agreed international standards concerning persons with disabilities, in particular the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, and for the further equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities;

Encourages Governments to continue their support to non-governmental organizations and other groups, including organizations of persons with disabilities, that contribute to the fulfilment of the implementation of the World Programme of Action;

Also encourages Governments to involve persons with disabilities in the formulation of strategies and plans, in particular those pertaining to them;

Urges relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, including relevant human rights treaty bodies and the regional commissions, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions, to incorporate the disability perspective in their activities, as appropriate, and to continue to work closely with the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Secretariat for the promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities, including activities at the field level, by sharing experiences, findings and recommendations on persons with disabilities;

Urges Governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to provide special protection to persons with mental or physical disabilities, who may experience multiple or aggravating forms of discrimination, with special emphasis on integrating them into society and protecting and promoting their full enjoyment of all human rights;

Urges Governments to address the situation of persons with disabilities with respect to all actions taken to implement existing human rights treaties to which they are parties;

Invites States to continue to participate actively in the negotiations within the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities;

Encourages Governments, intergovernmental organizations, concerned non-governmental organizations and the private sector to continue to support the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability, with a view to strengthening its capacity to support catalytic and innovative activities to implement fully the World Programme of Action and the Standard Rules, including the work of the Special Rapporteur, and to support activities to build national capacities, with emphasis on priorities for action identified in the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to support the initiatives of relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, as well as those of regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions, for the promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights by, and non-discrimination in respect of, persons with disabilities and the further implementation of the World Programme of Action, as well as their efforts to integrate persons with disabilities in technical cooperation activities, both as beneficiaries and as decision makers;