Following is the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, statement for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed on 3 December.
Today, we observe the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which underscores our vision of a Commonwealth where everyone has the opportunities and resources they need to achieve their full potential.
We celebrate persons with disabilities who have achieved leadership in sport, culture, government, business, and other aspects of society. Additionally, we recognise those who work to realise the rights of persons with disabilities and drive change across the Commonwealth.
Progress on this issue is critical, as one in six people in the world experience disability and are often among the most excluded in our communities. Persons with disabilities have the same rights as everyone else to lead dignified and independent lives, without discrimination and where they are empowered to thrive.
At the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, heads reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring, protecting and promoting the full realisation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons with disabilities, to fully implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals.
Building on the Commonwealth Charter’s commitment to inclusion, a disability inclusion action plan is currently being drafted. An initiative of the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum, the action plan sets out a transformational policy and accountability framework that aims to accelerate inclusion in the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat and in member states.
The voices of people with disabilities have been, and will continue to be, essential to the shaping of the action plan. Progress is simply not possible without their full and meaningful participation.
We will be purposeful in our pursuit of a Commonwealth that is more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable for our 2.7 million citizens. The richness of the Commonwealth lies in our diversity, and we can leverage it to our advantage.
I challenge each of us to be champions of change and embody the values of the Commonwealth Charter. Only then do we truly fulfil the basic tenets of equal participation, representation, and inclusion.
The time to act is now.
