[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 126, 112th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8913--DEC. 3, 2012

Proclamation 8913 of December 3, 2012

International Day of Persons With Disabilities, 2012

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


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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