Draft rules on disability aim to equalize opportunities.

The Commission for Social Development has proposed draft standard rules to assist States in equalizing opportunities for people with disabilities.

The new rules on disability, to be formally adopted by the General Assembly, would give disabled people the same rights and obligations as others. While not compulsory, they are intended to guide States in formulating their disability policies, as well as help the disabled to push for their rights and seek policy reforms.

The 32-member Commission, in approving 10 resolutions at its thirty-third session (8-17 February, Vienna), also proposed an agenda for the World Summit for Social Development, scheduled to be held in early 1995, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In other texts, the Commission urged Governments to intensify preparations for the International Year of the Family (1994), declaring 15 May as the International Day of Families, and approved texts on the monitoring of international plans and programmes on youth and the elderly.

Featured prominently in debate was the 1993 Report on the World Social Situation (see story, page 62).

The Commission, which meets every two years, advises the Economic and Social Council on policies to promote social progress and practical measures for social welfare and development.

Equal rights for disabled

The draft rules on disability outline the preconditions for equal participation in society, including awareness-raising about the rights and needs of disabled people, and the provision of adequate medical care and rehabilitation services. Target areas for equal participation include: access to the physical environment; education, employment and social security; and recreation, religious and cultural activities.

The draft rules also propose monitoring mechanisms and implementation measures to achieve their objectives, including national legislation.

In other action, the Commission requested development of a plan of action to implement the long-term strategy of the 1982 World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons. A framework for such a plan was suggested at an expert group meeting in Vancouver, Canada, in April 1992.

The Commission also appealed to all governments to observe the International Day of Disabled Persons (3 December) as proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/3.

Promotion of full participation of the disabled within the UN system was also urged.

Agenda for 1995 Summit

The proposed agenda for the 1995 World Summit for Social Development is to centre on three core issues: alleviation of poverty; expansion of employment; and enhancement of social integration.

The Summit is to foster greater understanding of the importance of social development, highlighting the need for integration of social and economic development. It would express a shared worldwide commitment to put the needs of people at the centre of development and of international cooperation as a major priority of international relations.

The Commission, stressing that welfare provisions should not just aim at protecting people, but also help them to reduce their vulnerability, called for: decentralizing decision-making and finding cost-effective programmes to ensure full participation of all people in society; monitoring the impact of policies to eliminate poverty; and improving education and employment opportunities to enhance human development.

In debate, most delegates supported the Summit's focus on poverty reduction, generation of productive employment, and promotion of greater social cohesion. The Summit, which many delegates called timely and important, should take a practical approach, avoiding political and philosophical debate.

Commission Chairman Juan Carlos Beltramino of Argentina supported a more practical approach to social programmes, as the present ones often did not meet expectations. Social problems, such as poverty, unemployment and inequality, were growing and quick social changes often had caught officials off guard, he said.

Economic gains of social policies

The interconnection between economic development and social progress was also discussed in the Secretary-General's report (A/48/56) on implementation of the 1987 Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in the Near Future. To include social policies in societal management strategies was a "prerequisite to achievement of many economic goals", he stated, and this had been acknowledged increasingly by Governments.

Innovative approaches were favoured, the report said. There was broad agreement on some essential factors for an effective social policy, including: considering disadvantaged people not as burdens upon society but as unused human resources; strengthening social welfare services to support individual and community efforts to overcome dysfunctional conditions; and strengthening the public sector in the areas of information collection, evaluation of innovative measures and policy-oriented research.

Family issues

The priority theme of the Commission's 1993 session was "Social consequences of population growth and changing social conditions with particular emphasis on the family".

An expert group meeting convened in September 1992 had described the role of the family as including: fulfilling the tasks of procreation and socialization; contributing to the economic well-being of societies and individuals; and providing social and emotional support basic to the security of individual members.

Henryk J. Sokalski, Director of the Division for Social Development, told the Commission that innovative approaches to providing social security might help encourage a change in traditional attitudes dealing with fertility and family size. Also, another way to facilitate such a change was the expectation that all citizens enjoy full participation in the democratic process.

Youth, ageing

In a resolution on the tenth anniversary in 1995 of the observance of the International Youth Year and on a draft world programme of action for youth towards the year 2000 and beyond, States and organizations were urged to prepare national programmes of action in the context of preparations for the anniversary. The occasion was to serve as an opportunity for a fundamental reassessment of the role and purpose of UN activities in the field of youth.

Regarding implementation of the 1982 International Plan of Action on Ageing, the Commission called on the Secretary-General to maintain the integrity and identity of the UN programme on ageing, as well as the Trust Fund for Ageing, to ensure full implementation of the Plan of Action. The Secretary-General was also to draft a conceptual framework for a programme for the observance of the International Year of Older Persons in 1999. The Commission requested that the Year be renamed the International Year of the Elderly.