Human Rights Program
December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
“Empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities around the world”
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities - 3 December 2009: United Nations Enable.
- A Voice of Our Own, October 29, Volume 27, Issue 4, “The Value of Canadian Human Rights Commission to Person with Disabilities”: Council fo Canadians with Disabilities.
Globally, almost one in ten people is a person living with a disability, and people with disabilities constitute up to 20 per cent of the population living in poverty in developing countries. In the Global South, 80 to 90 per cent of working-age people with disabilities of are unemployed, and it is between 50 and 70 per cent in developed countries.
The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) is a national survey designed to collect information on people with disabilities in Canada. According to the 2006 PALS survey, 14.3 per cent of the Canadian population identify themselves as having a disability.
According to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, people with disabilities and their families are twice as likely to live in poverty as other Canadians, and the incidence of poverty among Aboriginal Peoples with disabilities is even higher. Over two million Canadian adults with disabilities lack one or more of the educational, workplace, aids, home modification or other supports they need to fully participate in their communities. Over 56 per cent of working-age adults with disabilities are unemployed or out of the labour market. For women with disabilities, the rate is almost 60 per cent. Slightly more than half of Canadian children with disabilities who need aids and devices need more than what they receive. Rates of violence and abuse against people with disabilities, especially women, are among the highest for any group in Canadian society.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity to mobilize support and action in achieving the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities as established by the “World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons”, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has supported and advocated for the rights of persons with disabilities to live and work in society with dignity, autonomy and equality.
The PSAC continues to push the envelope and make further progress in the fight for true equality for and full participation of persons with disabilities in our society. The 2009 PSAC Triennial Convention passed a resolution that calls for a comprehensive duty to accommodate strategy including raising awareness in workplaces and educating and mobilizing members to take action on the issue. The strategy will include developing tools and how to integrate the duty to accommodate in all the work we do in our union, workplaces and communities.
Whether through legislative changes, political action or collective bargaining, the PSAC will continue to fight to ensure that our workplaces and our communities are barrier free and free from discrimination.
Date Modified : 2010/01/29
