Today we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. The ADA inspires the world to view disability through the prism of equality and empowers people with disabilities to contribute to our global progress. This groundbreaking US law triggered an international shift in perception of people with disabilities as charitable objects to those with rights, fully capable of exercising those rights. This perspective is a beacon for over a billion people with disabilities around the world – one in seven of us. Giving people with disabilities the opportunity to proudly participate in all aspects of society is a US foreign policy priority and a value that we live at the US Department of State.
Special Adviser on the International Rights of People with Disabilities, Sara Minkara, spearheads our efforts to protect the rights of people with disabilities around the world. With the US as co-chair of the Global Action on Disability Network (GLAD), Minkar’s Special Adviser guides our contributions to this body of bilateral and multilateral donors, public organizations and foundations that collectively strive for international development that includes people with disabilities and humanitarian action. At the Summit for Democracy, “Year of Action”, Minkar’s special adviser and her team will guide the United States in delivering on our Summit commitments for inclusive democracy.
At the US Department of State, we strive to be a model workplace of diversity, equality, inclusion, and accessibility, where all employees are treated with respect and have equal opportunities. This Administration underlines this commitment through Executive Order 14035, in which “accessibility” is embedded as the main pillar for reflecting, respecting and developing our diversity. As Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, emphasized, we do not limit our commitment to disability recognition or recognition of pride in disability to one day or month – we must strive to recognize these important issues every day.
On this anniversary, we reiterate our commitment to shaping a future in which people with disabilities enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms. We proudly emphasize how disability is the fabric of our communities, countries and the world. We urge everyone to join us in reaffirming the promise of dignity and justice for people with disabilities and in recognizing the work that remains to the full fulfillment of that promise.
