Worldwide, the International Day of Struggle for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated annually on May 5. The history of this day dates back to 1992, when people with disabilities held an action to fight for equal rights and against discrimination. Since then, such events have been held every year to draw the attention of the world community to the problems related to the protection of the rights of people with disabilities. The purpose of this day is to remind people of the need to respect the rights of disabled people to employment, education and affordable infrastructure, wherever they are.
According to the World Health Organization, more than a billion people in the world suffer from some form of disability, and more than 100 million of them are children. Due to the spread of chronic diseases, the number of people with disabilities is growing every year.
One of the first comprehensive human rights treaties of the XXI century was the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was opened for signature in 2006 and entered into force in 2008. Russia joined this Convention in 2008, and a federal law on its ratification was adopted in 2012. Also in 2020, amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation were adopted, which led to the creation of additional guarantees to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and ensure their development.
According to Rosstat and the Pension Fund, there are more than 10.6 million disabled people in the country, of which more than 700 thousand are children. Every year their number increases by more than 700 thousand people. Many of them need constant care and expensive medicines. Therefore, on the International Day of Struggle for the Rights of Disabled People, actions “Disabled people are an equal member of society” are held annually in many Russian cities, as well as many other charitable and educational events, special conferences and rallies with only one goal – to fight for the rights of disabled people to live a normal, full life.
Member of the Public Chamber of the Moscow region, head of the public organization of the disabled “Chariot” Igor Gunderov: “It is important that people know about this day. Both in the Russian Federation and in the Moscow region, quite a lot has been done for the disabled. In my opinion, the All-Russian Societies of the disabled play a very important role, because they are the ones who work with the Russian Government.”
