DUSHANBE, December 2, Asia-Plus  -- KVN (a club of the cheery and ready-witted) with participation of disabled persons is being held in the building of the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs today evening.

According to Kholmahamd Tengniyev, the head of the Dushanbe Blind Society, the KVN teams will raise problems of drug addiction, drunkenness, and HIV/AIDS.

The event is dedicated to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which marked on December 3.  “The main objective of this event is in showing that along with able-bodied people disabled people are also ready to make contribution to solution of important and pressing problems facing our society,” Tengniyev said, noting that the event is staged by Tajikistan’s Blind Society in association with the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs and Care International Tajikistan.

Tomorrow, sports activities with participation of disabled people such as mini football, table tennis and basketball events will be held at Dushanbe School # 3.  These sport activities are organized by Special Olympics of Tajikistan in cooperation with the National Olympic Committee and the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs.

The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The theme of the Day is based on the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities, established by the World Program of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by General Assembly in 1982. 

The official title of the Day was changed from International Day of Disabled Persons to International Day of Persons with Disabilities by General Assembly resolution 52/127 on December 18 2007. 

“Dignity and Justice for All of Us” is the theme of this year’s International Day for Persons with Disabilities, as well as for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2008 is a significant year in the international human rights movement given the entry into force on May 3 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, legally binding instruments, which set out the legal obligations of States to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Around 10 per cent of the world’s population, or 650 million people, live with disabilities. The Convention promotes and protects the human rights of persons with disabilities in civil, cultural, economic, political, and social life.  However, all over the world, persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to their participation in society and are often forced to live on the margins of society.

Eighty per cent of persons with disabilities – more than 400 million people – live in poor countries and there is a strong link between disability and poverty. For example, the statistics on employment for persons with disabilities are staggering.  In developing countries, 80 per cent to 90 per cent of persons with disabilities of working age unemployed and in industrialized countries it is estimated to be between 50 per cent and 70 per cent.