[Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Fw: Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012

[Sherri]

Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 
2012
----- Original Message ----- 
From: White House Disability Group
To: flmom2006 at gmail.com
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

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