FIMITIC

On 18 December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly renamed the International Day of Disabled Persons, observed every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The 192 Member States of the General Assembly took that decision unanimously when adopting a resolution on "Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons: realizing the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities".

The Assembly also called on United Nations agencies and bodies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and protection of the environment to ensure that the disability perspective is incorporated in their work.

In a related development, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is now six ratifications away from coming into force. It was ratified by Mexico on 17 December, by El Salvador on 14 December and by Nicaragua on 7 December. Twenty ratifications are needed to bring the treaty into force.

For information, click here.

Also, the "Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" is available on-line.