ID :
92528
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 14:22
Auther :

Intl. Day of Persons with Disabilities to be observed in Iran

TEHRAN, Dec. 1 (MNA) -- Tehran Municipality is to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.


The one-day event is to be held at Salamt (Health) Cultural Complex in Tehran.


According to director of the complex Mohammad-Javad Amiri, this event was established by the World Program of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982, the day provides an opportunity to mobilize action to achieve the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities.


The day is to be observed worldwide on the theme of “Making the Millennium Development Goals Inclusive: Empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities around the world” in a bid to promote an understanding of disability issues and the rights of persons with disabilities, Amiri explained.


The disabled people are still facing many problems. They are still excluded from society in many countries of the world. Most of them are often forced to live on the margins of society. They often face stigma and discrimination and are routinely denied basic rights such as food, education, employment, access to health, and reproductive health services, he added.


The World Health Organization estimates that there are 650 million disabled people worldwide, about 10 percent of the world population.


Recent studies indicate that persons with disabilities comprise up to 20 percent of the population living in poverty in developing countries, UN reported.

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