[Nfbf-l] Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012

[Alan Dicey]

Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 
2012From: White House Disability Group
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 4:48 PM
Subject: Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with 
Disabilities, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
 Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities 
2012
Please see below for a proclamation from President Obama on the 
International Day of Persons with Disabilities:

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Americans have always understood that each of us is entitled to a set of 
fundamental freedoms and protections under the law, and that when everyone 
gets a fair shot at opportunity, all of us do better. For more than two 
decades, our country has upheld those basic promises for persons with 
disabilities through the Americans with Disabilities Act -- a sweeping civil 
rights bill that moved our Nation forward in the journey to equality for 
all. And from making health care more affordable to ensuring new 
technologies are accessible, we have continued to build on that progress, 
guided by the belief that equal access and equal opportunity are common 
principles that unite us as one Nation.

On the 20th International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we reaffirm that 
the struggle to ensure the rights of every person does not end at our 
borders, but extends to every country and every community. It continues for 
the woman who is at greater risk of abuse because of a disability and for 
the child who is denied the chance to get an education because of the way he 
was born. It goes on for the 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide 
who all too often cannot attend school, find work, access medical care, or 
receive fair treatment. These injustices are an affront to our shared 
humanity -- which is why the United States has joined 153 other countries 
around the world in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with 
Disabilities, which calls on all nations to establish protections and 
liberties like those afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
While Americans with disabilities already enjoy these rights at home, they 
frequently face barriers when they travel, conduct business, study, or 
reside overseas. Ratifying the Convention in the Senate would reaffirm 
America's position as the global leader on disability rights and better 
position us to encourage progress toward inclusion, equal opportunity, full 
participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for persons 
with disabilities worldwide.

We have come far in the long march to achieve equal opportunity for all. But 
even as we partner with countries across the globe in affirming universal 
human rights, we know our work will not be finished until the inherent 
dignity and worth of all persons with disabilities is guaranteed. Today, let 
us renew our commitment to meeting that challenge here in the United States, 
and let us redouble our efforts to build new paths to participation, 
empowerment, and progress around the world.

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, 2012, 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 third day of December, 
in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the 
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA