Title: A resolution recognizing the goals and ideals of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution recognizes December 3, 2019, as International Day of Persons with Disabilities and expresses support for U.S. efforts to promote the rights of individuals with disabilities both domestically and internationally.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 445 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 445

 Recognizing the goals and ideals of International Day of Persons with 
                             Disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 3, 2019

   Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Jones, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. 
  Cantwell, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the goals and ideals of International Day of Persons with 
                             Disabilities.

Whereas December 3 of each year is recognized internationally as International 
        Day of Persons with Disabilities;
Whereas the United Nations (UN) states that the observance of International Day 
        of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote an understanding of 
        disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and 
        well-being of persons with disabilities and seeks to increase awareness 
        of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities 
        in every aspect of political, social, economic, and cultural life;
Whereas over 1,000,000,000 people, or 15 percent of the world's population, live 
        with some form of disability;
Whereas 80 percent of individuals with disabilities live in developing 
        countries;
Whereas there are more than 93,000,000 children with disabilities worldwide 
        according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF);
Whereas the prevalence of disabilities is approximately 50 percent higher for 
        women than for men, and women make up 75 percent of all individuals with 
        disabilities in low- and middle-income countries, according to UN Women;
Whereas persons with disabilities are often excluded from the labor market, 
        political participation and meaningful involvement in public life and 
        are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination, social 
        stigmatization, and lack of access to vital and inclusive resources;
Whereas children with disabilities are more likely to be malnourished, subject 
        to violence, isolation, and abuse, and less likely to attend school than 
        children without disabilities;
Whereas issues related to disability rights cut across all sectors of foreign 
        assistance, including democracy, voting and elections, human rights, 
        civil rights, labor, global health, education, economic growth and 
        trade, gender equality and women's empowerment, agriculture and food 
        security, water and sanitation, conflict transformation, disaster risk 
        reduction, and humanitarian recovery and relief;
Whereas there are 59,500,000 people forcibly displaced worldwide and displaced 
        people are more likely to have a disability, according to the UN High 
        Commission for Refugees;
Whereas forced displacement amplifies the risk experienced by refugees with 
        disabilities with respect to violence, including sexual and domestic 
        abuse, trafficking, exploitation by family members, discrimination, and 
        exclusion from access to justice, education, livelihoods, a nationality, 
        and other public services;
Whereas people with disabilities are often members of marginalized groups, 
        including women, young people, older adults, the LGBTI community, ethnic 
        and religious minorities, indigenous people, internally displaced 
        people, and refugees;
Whereas the United States has shown leadership domestically on disability rights 
        with the enactment and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities 
        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 
        (Public Law 110-325), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
        Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), as well as section 504 of the 
        Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and this leadership should be 
        leveraged to support international disability rights;
Whereas United States support for the rights of individuals with disabilities--

    (1) is in the diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian interests of the 
United States;

    (2) generates goodwill toward the United States; and

    (3) highlights the values of the people of the United States through 
the work of governmental, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations of 
the United States;

Whereas the United States Government, through the United States Agency for 
        International Development (USAID), promotes disability-inclusive 
        development by--

    (1) improving the quality and accessibility of education for students 
with disabilities through the promotion of sign language, Braille, access 
to assistive technology, and other inclusive education practices;

    (2) increasing the participation of people with disabilities in 
political processes through national awareness campaigns, use of accessible 
polling stations and voter materials, and open exchange between disability 
communities and politicians to update election laws to be more inclusive 
and compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilities;

    (3) strengthening organizations run by and for people with disabilities 
to advocate on their own behalf, design, and implement international 
development programs and access direct funding;

    (4) supporting the economic independence of women with disabilities 
through microcredit programs that provide seed grants to women to invest in 
their families and start new businesses;

    (5) integrating youth and adults with disabilities into the competitive 
workforce by facilitating job training, internship opportunities, and 
educating employers on best practices for hiring people with disabilities; 
and

    (6) ensuring community health care providers and disaster response 
experts include people with disabilities in their programs by employing the 
principles of universal design; and

Whereas the inclusion of people with disabilities is a fundamental part of 
        democracy, and essential to the full realization of human rights: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes December 3, 2019, as International Day of 
        Persons with Disabilities;
            (2) supports the goals and ideals of International Day of 
        Persons with Disabilities;
            (3) recognizes the importance of supporting the rights of 
        individuals with disabilities both domestically and abroad;
            (4) supports efforts by the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development to promote 
        disability-inclusive development;
            (5) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
        bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts to promote 
        and protect the rights of individuals with disabilities; and
            (6) encourages other members of the international community 
        to protect the rights and civil liberties of individuals with 
        disabilities.
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