GENEVA, Dec 3 (AFP) - UN agencies called on governments to make greater efforts to ensure the rights of the world's 600 million disabled people on Wednesday as they marked the International Day for the Disabled.
Disabilities affect one quarter of the world's population -- touching entire families -- while 80 percent of all disabled people live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
"The global disabled population is increasing as a result of population growth, medical advances that preserve and prolong life, malnutrition, chronic conditions, HIV/AIDS, road injuries and land mines," it said in a statement.
"During civil conflicts or other violent events, many die but the number of people disabled can create an even larger health burden," WHO warned.
The agency urged governments to use international disability day to make a stronger commitment to implementing the rights of people with disabilities.
Its appeal was echoed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan, who also welcomed a decision by the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week to endorse the establishment of a working group to draft a new convention aimed at better protecting the rights of the disabled.
"The International Day of Disabled Persons should refocus our attention on the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities," Ramcharan said in a statement.
"It should prompt us to collective and individual efforts to ensure the full respect for and increasing enjoyment of their rights," he said.
The UN human rights office would support the efforts of the working group, who will meet for the first time next month to continue the drafting of the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, Ramcharan added.
WHO said attempts to help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities had enjoyed some success under a scheme created 20 years ago, dubbed Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR).
The initiative shifts the emphasis on helping disabled people achieve equal opportunities and rights from hospitals to the community.
In Vietnam, according to the WHO, 80 percent of disabled people are fully integrated into society, and the health ministry aims to boost this ratio to 100 percent by 2020.
2003 was designated European Year of Disabled People, the UN said.
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