Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 95
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993, by which
it adopted the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities
for Persons with Disabilities,
Recalling also its resolution 37/52 of 3 December 1982,
by which it adopted the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons, 1/
Recalling further all its relevant resolutions, including
resolutions 37/53 of 3 December 1982, 46/96 of 16 December 1991,
47/88 of 16 December 1992 and 48/95 and 48/99 of 20 December 1993,
Welcoming the unreserved reaffirmation in the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human
Rights on 25 June 1993, 2/ of the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of persons with disabilities, and the recognition in
the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population
and Development 3/ of a pressing need, among others, for the realization
of the goals of full participation and equality for persons with
disabilities,
Reaffirming the continuing validity and value of the World
Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, which provides
a firm and innovative framework for disability-related issues,
Reiterating the responsibility of Governments for removing
or facilitating the removal of barriers and obstacles to the full
integration and participation of persons with disabilities into
society, and supporting their efforts to develop national policies
to reach specific objectives,
Recognizing the contribution of non-governmental organizations,
especially organizations of persons with disabilities, in the
global effort to bring about full participation and equality for
persons with disabilities,
Aware of the major obstacles to the implementation of the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, foremost
among these being an inadequate allocation of resources,
Having due regard to the preconditions set out under section
I of the Standard Rules for equal participation, including national
action to raise awareness in society about persons with disabilities,
their rights, their needs, their potential and the need to realize
these, and their contributions, to provide effective medical care,
including mental health care, to ensure rehabilitative services,
to establish and maintain support services, including devices
to assist persons with disabilities and to help them to increase
their level of independence in their daily living and to exercise
their rights,
1. Urges all Governments to implement, with the cooperation
and assistance of organizations, the Standard Rules on the Equalization
of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, set out in the
annex to General Assembly resolution 48/96;
2. Invites Member States, in cooperation with organizations
of persons with disabilities or their representatives, to develop
disability programmes, both on a national and local level, for
the implementation of the Standard Rules and to include disability
components in all planning, policy and development programmes;
3. Also invites Member States, in developing disability
programmes, to set time limits for the accomplishment of specific
goals or targets, where appropriate;
4. Encourages Governments to take legal and administrative
measures, as appropriate, to implement fully the Standard Rules;
5. Encourages the consideration during major forthcoming
events, including the 1995 World Summit for Social Development
and the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality,
Development and Peace, of disability issues relevant to the subject-matter
of those events;
6. Welcomes the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on
Disability to monitor the implementation of the Standard Rules
and to submit reports to the Commission for Social Development
at its thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions;
7. Welcomes also the establishment of a panel of experts
as referred to in section IV, paragraph 3, of the Standard Rules;
8. Encourages the Secretary-General and the United Nations
agencies concerned to finalize, in consultation with Member States,
the development of a global disability indicator, and also encourages
the Special Rapporteur to make use of it, where appropriate, in
his future work;
9. Notes with appreciation that a number of Member States
have made, or have indicated their intention to make, contributions
to support the work of the Special Rapporteur;
10. Invites Governments and the private sector to provide
meaningful assistance to the United Nations Voluntary Fund on
Disability, with a view to providing additional support to the
implementation of the Standard Rules, within the context of the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to support the effective
monitoring by the Special Rapporteur of the Standard Rules, and
invites voluntary contributions to fund the Special Rapporteur's
work in this regard;
12. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the
General Assembly at its fifty-second session on the implementation
of the present resolution;
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General
on the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons; 4/
2. Calls upon Governments, when implementing the World
Programme of Action, to take into account the elements suggested
in the Long-term Strategy to Implement the World Programme of
Action concerning Disabled Persons to the Year 2000 and Beyond,
as set out in the annex to the above-mentioned report of the Secretary-General;
3. Notes with interest the various activities and contributions
made by United Nations programmes and agencies in the disability
field;
4. Requests the regional commissions and other regional
organizations to facilitate the adaptation and transfer of global
approaches, standards and disability-related technology to the
specific needs of the region;
5. Urges international organizations to support regional
and national plans;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure appropriate
support for the effective functioning of the Long-term Strategy;
7. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the
General Assembly at its fifty-second session on the implementation
of the Long-term Strategy.
94th plenary meeting
23 December 1994
1/ A/37/351/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII, recommendation
1 (IV).
2/ A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
3/ A/CONF.171/13, chap. I, resolution 1, annex.
4/ A/49/435. .