[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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      SENATE RESOLUTION 445--RECOGNIZING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF 
             INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

  Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Jones, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. 
Cantwell, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 445

       Whereas December 3 of each year is recognized 
     internationally as International Day of Persons with 
     Disabilities;
       Whereas the United Nations (UN) states that the observance 
     of International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to 
     promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize 
     support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons 
     with disabilities and 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;
       Whereas over 1,000,000,000 people, or 15 percent of the 
     world's population, live with some form of disability;
       Whereas 80 percent of individuals with disabilities live in 
     developing countries;
       Whereas there are more than 93,000,000 children with 
     disabilities worldwide according to the United Nations 
     Children's Fund (UNICEF);
       Whereas the prevalence of disabilities is approximately 50 
     percent higher for women than for men, and women make up 75 
     percent of all individuals with disabilities in low- and 
     middle-income countries, according to UN Women;
       Whereas persons with disabilities are often excluded from 
     the labor market, political participation and meaningful 
     involvement in public life and are more likely to experience 
     poverty, discrimination, social stigmatization, and lack of 
     access to vital and inclusive resources;
       Whereas children with disabilities are more likely to be 
     malnourished, subject to violence, isolation, and abuse, and 
     less likely to attend school than children without 
     disabilities;
       Whereas issues related to disability rights cut across all 
     sectors of foreign assistance, including democracy, voting 
     and elections, human rights, civil rights, labor, global 
     health, education, economic growth and trade, gender equality 
     and women's empowerment, agriculture and food security, water 
     and sanitation, conflict transformation, disaster risk 
     reduction, and humanitarian recovery and relief;
       Whereas there are 59,500,000 people forcibly displaced 
     worldwide and displaced people are more likely to have a 
     disability, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees;
       Whereas forced displacement amplifies the risk experienced 
     by refugees with disabilities with respect to violence, 
     including sexual and domestic abuse, trafficking, 
     exploitation by family members, discrimination, and exclusion 
     from access to justice, education, livelihoods, a 
     nationality, and other public services;
       Whereas people with disabilities are often members of 
     marginalized groups, including women, young people, older 
     adults, the LGBTI community, ethnic and religious minorities, 
     indigenous people, internally displaced people, and refugees;
       Whereas the United States has shown leadership domestically 
     on disability rights with the enactment and implementation of 
     the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 
     et seq.), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-
     325), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
     U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), as well as section 504 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and this leadership 
     should be leveraged to support international disability 
     rights;
       Whereas United States support for the rights of individuals 
     with disabilities--
       (1) is in the diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian 
     interests of the United States;
       (2) generates goodwill toward the United States; and
       (3) highlights the values of the people of the United 
     States through the work of governmental, nongovernmental, and 
     faith-based organizations of the United States;
       Whereas the United States Government, through the United 
     States Agency for International Development (USAID), promotes 
     disability-inclusive development by--
       (1) improving the quality and accessibility of education 
     for students with disabilities through the promotion of sign 
     language, Braille, access to assistive technology, and other 
     inclusive education practices;
       (2) increasing the participation of people with 
     disabilities in political processes through national 
     awareness campaigns, use of accessible polling stations and 
     voter materials, and open exchange between disability 
     communities and politicians to update election laws to be 
     more inclusive and compliant with the United Nations 
     Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
       (3) strengthening organizations run by and for people with 
     disabilities to advocate on their own behalf, design, and 
     implement international development programs and access 
     direct funding;
       (4) supporting the economic independence of women with 
     disabilities through microcredit programs that provide seed 
     grants to women to invest in their families and start new 
     businesses;
       (5) integrating youth and adults with disabilities into the 
     competitive workforce by facilitating job training, 
     internship opportunities, and educating employers on best 
     practices for hiring people with disabilities; and
       (6) ensuring community health care providers and disaster 
     response experts include people with disabilities in their 
     programs by employing the principles of universal design; and
       Whereas the inclusion of people with disabilities is a 
     fundamental part of democracy, and essential to the full 
     realization of human rights: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes December 3, 2019, as International Day of 
     Persons with Disabilities;
       (2) supports the goals and ideals of International Day of 
     Persons with Disabilities;
       (3) recognizes the importance of supporting the rights of 
     individuals with disabilities both domestically and abroad;
       (4) supports efforts by the Department of State and the 
     United States Agency for International Development to promote 
     disability-inclusive development;
       (5) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
     bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts to 
     promote and protect the rights of individuals with 
     disabilities; and
       (6) encourages other members of the international community 
     to protect the rights and civil liberties of individuals with 
     disabilities.

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