International Day of Persons With Disabilities, 2011

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8763 of December 2, 2011

International Day of Persons With Disabilities,
2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we
recommit to ensuring people living with disabilities
enjoy full equality and unhindered participation in all
facets of our national life. We recognize the myriad
contributions that persons with disabilities make at
home and abroad, and we remember that disability rights
are universal rights to be recognized and promoted
around the world.

For decades, America has been a global leader in
advancing the rights of people with disabilities. From
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to the
Twenty-First Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act, which I signed last year, we have
striven to bring the American dream and comprehensive
opportunities in education, health care, and employment
within reach for every individual. These actions--made
possible only through the tireless and ongoing efforts
of the disability community--affirm our commitment to
an equitable and just society where every American can
play a part in securing a prosperous future for our
Nation.

To fulfill this promise not only in America, but around
the world, my Administration is putting disability
rights at the heart of our Nation's foreign policy.
With leadership from the Department of State and the
United States Agency for International Development, we
are collaborating across governments and in close
consultation with the global disability community to
expand access to education, health care, HIV/AIDS
prevention and treatment, and other development
programs. In 2009, we signed the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which seeks to
ensure persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights
and opportunities as all people. If ratified, the
Convention would provide a platform to encourage other
countries to join and implement the Convention, laying
a foundation for enhanced benefits and greater
protections for the millions of Americans with
disabilities who spend time abroad.

We know from the historic struggle for disability
rights in the United States that disability inclusion
is an ongoing effort, and many challenges remain in
securing fundamental human rights for all persons with
disabilities around the world. On International Day of
Persons with Disabilities, we press forward, renewing
our dedication to embrace diversity, end
discrimination, remove barriers, and uphold the rights,
dignity, and equal opportunity of all people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim December 3, 2011, as
International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I call
on all Americans to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.