A thematic book exhibition “Equal opportunities to all!” timed to the International Day of People with Disability runs in the International organizations reading room (room 207g) from 2 December to 7 January.

This Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1992 (resolution 47/3) within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons (1983–1992) and is observed annually on 3 December.

The observance of the International Day of People with Disability gives an opportunity to draw attention to disabled persons and to develop a strategy for providing them equal access to all aspects of social life. The purpose of the Day is also the revealing and the removal of obstacles and barriers to implementation of rights and a huge potential of persons with disabilities.

Today the world's population makes more than 7 billion. More than 1 billion persons, i.e. each seventh inhabitant of our planet, have this or that form of disability. More than 100 million disabled are children. About 80 percent of people with disabilities live in developing countries.

At present more and more countries declare their intention to protect and encourage the rights of disabled people. At the same time, a number of problems remain in this sphere. Disabled people often become subjects to poverty and have twice more chances to be deprived of public health services. The level of employment among disabled people makes in some countries only one third of the employment level of the whole population. In developing countries the primary education gap between disabled children and other children makes from 10 up to 60 percent. Such an inequality in its various forms causes damage to not only disabled people, but also to society as a whole.

Understanding the importance of this problem, the United Nations and other international organizations direct their efforts to the struggle against an unfriendly attitude to people with disabilities and social, economic and cultural barriers that preclude disabled people from being full members of society. The United Nations have achieved considerable successes in the field of general awareness on the rights of disabled people and the strengthening of an international legal basis for implementation of these rights. A set of important documents such as the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons and the Convention on Disabled Persons Rights are accepted and work. These documents have obliged the governments, the civil society and the world community to conduct work in the interests of disabled people and together with them for the sake of an inclusive, sustainable and fair development all over the world.

The book exhibition prepared on the occasion of this Day will acquaint readers and visitors of the Library with the urgent issues of disabled people’s protection policy and also with the means which help disabled people and their families to reach a spiritual and financial independence.

Papers on display reveal various aspects of the United Nations’ activity for the further development and application of international laws and standards concerning disabled people and their equal participation in social life and the development of society.

The offered exhibition includes about 60 documents in Russian and English languages: books, periodicals, brochures.

The most part of exhibits are papers of international organizations (UN, UNESCO, the European Union, the council of Europe etc).

The exhibition features the following thematic sections:

Disabled people and society (general questions).
Interantional laws and standards concerning disabled people and their rights.
Disabled people’s protection and education.
Children’s disability.
Medical and psychological rehabilitation of disabled people.
Legal regulation and social protection of disabled people in Belarus.

The book exhibition will be interesting to specialists in social policy, social workers, physicians, sociologists, persons with disabilities and also university students and professors in social disciplines.

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Equal opportunities to all!

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