30 May 1991

12th plenary meeting

Establishing and strengthening national coordinating committees on disability or similar bodies

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling relevant resolutions in which the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council have requested the Secretary-General to assist Member States in establishing and strengthening national committees on disability and similar coordinating bodies and, in particular, General Assembly resolution 42/58 of 30 November 1987, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to consider convening during the second half of the Decade, within existing resources, an interregional meeting of representatives of those committees or similar bodies, to enhance their capabilities,

Aware of the important role of national coordinating committees in furthering the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,

Noting with concern that the great majority of disabled people live in developing countries and noting especially the deteriorating economic and social conditions of many developing countries, which adversely affect vulnerable groups, including disabled people, and the special difficulties they have in tackling the problems related to disability,

Taking into account the fact that countries have different cultures, customs, traditions and socio-economic levels and that national programmes are most effective when they are best suited to the country's circumstances,

Noting with appreciation the convening of the International Meeting on Roles and Functions of National Coordinating Committees on Disability in Developing Countries at Beijing from 5 to 11 November 1990,

Having considered the development of guidelines for the establishment and development of national coordinating committees or similar bodies,

1. Requests the Secretary-General to widely disseminate the guidelines for the establishment and development of national coordinating committees on disability in all the official languages of the United Nations and in Braille, within existing resources and through voluntary contributions;

2. Also requests the Secretary-General to assist Member States in undertaking follow-up measures, especially training seminars, to promote the implementation of the guidelines;

3. Requests the Secretariat, in particular the regional commissions, to promote an exchange of information and experiences between national coordinating committees or similar bodies, at the regional level;

4. Urges the Secretariat, in particular the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Technical Cooperation for Development, and the specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and the United Nations Development Programme to play a major role in assisting Member States, in particular the least developed among them, to establish and strengthen national coordinating committees or similar bodies;

5. Invites the Secretary-General to use resources available in the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons to assist Member States in setting up and strenthening national coordinating committees or similar bodies;

6. Calls upon Member States to establish national coordinating committees or similar bodies on a permanent basis and to provide them with the necessary staff and resources during and after the Decade, bearing in mind that their structure and methodology of work should be in conformity with the circumstances of the countries in which they are situated;

7. Recommends that the Secretary-General include the activities undertaken in relation to the Guidelines in future reports on disability-related programmes, and requests him to report to the Commission for Social Development at its thirty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution.