28 May 1987

17th plenary meeting

United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 37/52 of 3 December 1982, by which the Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, and 37/53 of 3 December 1982, by which, inter#alia, it proclaimed the period 1983-1992 United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 39/26 of 23 November 1984, by which the Secretary-General was requested to convene in 1987 a meeting of experts, consisting largely of disabled persons, to help the General Assembly at its forty-second session to evaluate the implementation of the World Programme of Action,

Recalling that the review of the World Programme of Action includes a review of the Vienna Affirmative Action Plan adopted by the World Symposium of Experts on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries and Technical Assistance in Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons,

Welcoming the offer of the Government of Sweden to act as host in 1987 to the above-mentioned meeting of experts, in conformity with the relevant provisions of Assembly resolution 39/26, and noting with appreciation the status of the preparations for that meeting,

Mindful that the principles of full participation and equality emphasized in the World Programme of Action call for disabled persons to be fully responsible for their own development and that the most important criteria for evaluating the implementation of the World Programme of Action are suggested by the theme of the International Year of Disabled Persons and the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, "Full participation and equality",

Affirming that well-functioning social security schemes often form one of the important pre-conditions for the introduction of de-institutionalization and independent living of persons with disabilities,

Mindful of the importance of disability prevention stressed in the World Programme of Action and of the principle of equalization of opportunities -

that is, that the services and facilities of society should be made accessible and open to all people, including those with disabilities,

Noting with appreciation the progress made in the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,

1. Urges the Secretary-General to take all measures within existing resources to enable the meeting of experts called for in General Assembly resolution 39/26 to evaluate progress at the mid-point of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, so that priority areas can be identified and effective international action can be launched to further help translate into practice the concepts of full participation and equalization of opportunities for disabled persons;

2. Calls upon Member States, bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to exert all possible efforts for the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, and to stimulate efforts at all levels in the context of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to launch, in conjunction with the forty-second session of the General Assembly and within available resources, a public information and awareness campaign to revitalize the Decade;

4. Invites Member States to adopt appropriate measures to accelerate the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons during the second half of the Decade;

5. Also invites Member States to consider possibilities for adequate participation of persons with disabilities in the work of the United Nations;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the premises of the United Nations are accessible to all people equally, including the disabled;

7. Again requests the Secretary-General to make all appropriate efforts to mobilize international support and action for the Decade;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Commission for Social Development at its thirty-first session on the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons during the second half of the Decade.