'CAUSE OF THE DISABLED IS A CAUSE THAT NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO IGNORE', SECRETARY-GENERAL STATES
Press Release
SG/SM/6981
SOC/4497
'CAUSE OF THE DISABLED IS A CAUSE THAT NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO IGNORE', SECRETARY-GENERAL STATES
19990506 Addressing Presentation to Ireland Of Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability AwardFollowing is the text of the address by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the occasion of the presentation to Ireland of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award, which was received by President Mary McAleese of Ireland, in New York yesterday:
I am very pleased to join you today in honouring President McAleese and the Irish people for their commitment to the disabled.
I am particularly delighted to take part in awarding this honour because it is named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a founding father of the United Nations, and an example of courage and humanity to every man or woman in our world, whether they be disabled or not.
As Secretary-General, I have sought to make the United Nations a home for the peoples of the world -- a home where their rights would be respected, their calls for justice would be heard and their pursuit of development would be advanced. I have done so because I believe we must put the human being at the centre of everything we do.
This principle is doubly important when it comes to the cause of the half-billion people in the world who are affected by disabilities.
Like many other challenges facing humanity, disability knows no boundaries of nation or race or gender. It is a challenge that is met every day, by every one of those affected. They deserve our admiration, more than our sympathy. We must do more, and do better, to support them.
What few understand is how much the United Nations has already done to combat disease and disabilities. Smallpox, for example, has almost been eradicated from the planet by the World Health Organization (WHO). Polio -- the illness that afflicted FDR -- will be next.
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UNICEF has mounted early action for breastfeeding and child health, in a movement to save children. But I believe we can do more to prevent people from being disabled by the common scourges of mankind: war, disease, indiscriminate weapons like landmines, and environmental damage.
In every one of these areas, the United Nations is seizing on the promise of a new century to give new energy to our work in preventing and halting the spread of these calamities.
At the heart of this effort lies the United Nations World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons which the General Assembly adopted unanimously in 1982. Central to the programme is the goal of full and equal participation by persons with disabilities in all aspects of life, regardless of the level of development of their country.
Today, we honour Ireland and its people for reaching farther and doing more in pursuit of that goal.
Ireland has been setting the pace in the cause of the disabled in many ways: by creating a Minister of State position with responsibility for disability and equality; by enacting an Employment Equality Act which outlaws discrimination in employment against a number of groups, including people with disabilities; and by funding an array of initiatives designed to ensure equal opportunities for the disabled.
Just as importantly, Ireland has led the cause of the disabled on the international level, particularly in the European Union, where it has promoted new and expanded measures to ensure Europe-wide equality for the disabled.
We are all aware how deserving you are of this award today. It is my hope that other nations will look to you and learn of the great promise that exists for every society in empowering the disabled among their people and helping them make the most of their lives.
You could not wish for greater inspiration than the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As my friend, the leader of the World Health Organization Gro Harlem Brundtland, once said, "The story of how FDR lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift America up from Depression and lead the world struggle against fascist aggression is both epic and inspirational."
I am confident that you, too, will inspire other nations to recognize that the cause of the disabled is a cause that no one can afford to ignore.
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