General Assembly

A/RES/48/96

Distr. GENERAL

4 March 1994

Forty-eighth session

Agenda item 109

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

[on the report of the Third Committee (A/48/627)]

II. TARGET AREAS FOR EQUAL PARTICIPATION

Rule 5. Accessibility

States should recognize the overall importance of accessibility in the process
of the equalization of opportunities in all spheres of society. For persons
with disabilities of any kind, States should (a) introduce programmes of
action to make the physical environment accessible; and (b) undertake measures
to provide access to information and communication.

1. Access to the physical environment
   1. States should initiate measures to remove the obstacles to participation
      in the physical environment. Such measures should be to develop standards and
      guidelines and to consider enacting legislation to ensure accessibility to
      various areas in society, such as housing, buildings, public transport
      services and other means of transportation, streets and other outdoor
      environments.
   2. States should ensure that architects, construction engineers and others
      who are professionally involved in the design and construction of the physical
      environment have access to adequate information on disability policy and
      measures to achieve accessibility.
   3. Accessibility requirements should be included in the design and
      construction of the physical environment from the beginning of the designing
      process.
   4. Organizations of persons with disabilities should be consulted when
      standards and norms for accessibility are being developed. They should also
      be involved locally from the initial planning stage when public construction
      projects are being designed, thus ensuring maximum accessibility.
2. Access to information and communication
   5. Persons with disabilities and, where appropriate, their families and
      advocates should have access to full information on diagnosis, rights and
      available services and programmes, at all stages. Such information should be
      presented in forms accessible to persons with disabilities.
   6. States should develop strategies to make information services and
      documentation accessible for different groups of persons with disabilities.
      Braille, tape services, large print and other appropriate technologies should
      be used to provide access to written information and documentation for persons
      with visual impairments. Similarly, appropriate technologies should be used
      to provide access to spoken information for persons with auditory impairments
      or comprehension difficulties.
   7. Consideration should be given to the use of sign language in the
      education of deaf children, in their families and communities. Sign language
      interpretation services should also be provided to facilitate the
      communication between deaf persons and others.
   8. Consideration should also be given to the needs of people with other
      communication disabilities.
   9. States should encourage the media, especially television, radio and
      newspapers, to make their services accessible.
   10. States should ensure that new computerized information and service
       systems offered to the general public are either made initially accessible or
       are adapted to be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
   11. Organizations of persons with disabilities should be consulted when
       measures to make information services accessible are being developed.

Rule 6. Education

States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary
educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in
integrated settings. They should ensure that the education of persons with
disabilities is an integral part of the educational system.

1. General educational authorities are responsible for the education of
   persons with disabilities in integrated settings. Education for persons with
   disabilities should form an integral part of national educational planning,
   curriculum development and school organization.
2. Education in mainstream schools presupposes the provision of interpreter
   and other appropriate support services. Adequate accessibility and support
   services, designed to meet the needs of persons with different disabilities,
   should be provided.
3. Parent groups and organizations of persons with disabilities should be
   involved in the education process at all levels.
4. In States where education is compulsory it should be provided to girls
   and boys with all kinds and all levels of disabilities, including the most
   severe.
5. Special attention should be given in the following areas:
   (
   1. Very young children with disabilities;
   2. Pre-school children with disabilities;
   3. Adults with disabilities, particularly women.
6. To accommodate educational provisions for persons with disabilities in
   the mainstream, States should:
   1. Have a clearly stated policy, understood and accepted at the
      school level and by the wider community;
   2. Allow for curriculum flexibility, addition and adaptation;
   3. Provide for quality materials, ongoing teacher training and
      support teachers.
7. Integrated education and community-based programmes should be seen as
   complementary approaches in providing cost-effective education and training
   for persons with disabilities. National community-based programmes should
   encourage communities to use and develop their resources to provide local
   education to persons with disabilities.
8. In situations where the general school system does not yet adequately
   meet the needs of all persons with disabilities, special education may be
   considered. It should be aimed at preparing students for education in the
   general school system. The quality of such education should reflect the same
   standards and ambitions as general education and should be closely linked to
   it. At a minimum, students with disabilities should be afforded the same
   portion of educational resources as students without disabilities. States
   should aim for the gradual integration of special education services into
   mainstream education. It is acknowledged that in some instances special
   education may currently be considered to be the most appropriate form of
   education for some students with disabilities.
9. Owing to the particular communication needs of deaf and deaf/blind
   persons, their education may be more suitably provided in schools for such
   persons or special classes and units in mainstream schools. At the initial
   stage, in particular, special attention needs to be focused on culturally
   sensitive instruction that will result in effective communication skills and
   maximum independence for people who are deaf or deaf/blind.

Rule 7. Employment

States should recognize the principle that persons with disabilities must be
empowered to exercise their human rights, particularly in the field of
employment. In both rural and urban areas they must have equal opportunities
for productive and gainful employment in the labour market.

1. Laws and regulations in the employment field must not discriminate
   against persons with disabilities and must not raise obstacles to their
   employment.
2. States should actively support the integration of persons with
   disabilities into open employment. This active support could occur through a
   variety of measures, such as vocational training, incentive-oriented quota
   schemes, reserved or designated employment, loans or grants for small
   business, exclusive contracts or priority production rights, tax concessions,
   contract compliance or other technical or financial assistance to enterprises
   employing workers with disabilities. States should also encourage employers
   to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate persons with disabilities.
3. States’ action programmes should include:
   1. Measures to design and adapt workplaces and work premises in such
      a way that they become accessible to persons with different disabilities;
   2. Support for the use of new technologies and the development and
      production of assistive devices, tools and equipment and measures to
      facilitate access to such devices and equipment for persons with disabilities
      to enable them to gain and maintain employment;
   3. Provision of appropriate training and placement and ongoing
      support such as personal assistance and interpreter services.
4. States should initiate and support public awareness-raising campaigns
   designed to overcome negative attitudes and prejudices concerning workers with
   disabilities.
5. In their capacity as employers, States should create favourable
   conditions for the employment of persons with disabilities in the public
   sector.
6. States, workers’ organizations and employers should cooperate to ensure
   equitable recruitment and promotion policies, employment conditions, rates of
   pay, measures to improve the work environment in order to prevent injuries and
   impairments and measures for the rehabilitation of employees who have
   sustained employment-related injuries.
7. The aim should always be for persons with disabilities to obtain
   employment in the open labour market. For persons with disabilities whose
   needs cannot be met in open employment, small units of sheltered or supported
   employment may be an alternative. It is important that the quality of such
   programmes be assessed in terms of their relevance and sufficiency in
   providing opportunities for persons with disabilities to gain employment in
   the labour market.
8. Measures should be taken to include persons with disabilities in
   training and employment programmes in the private and informal sectors.
9. States, workers’ organizations and employers should cooperate with
   organizations of persons with disabilities concerning all measures to create
   training and employment opportunities, including flexible hours, part-time
   work, job-sharing, self-employment and attendant care for persons with
   disabilities.

Rule 8. Income maintenance and social security

States are responsible for the provision of social security and income
maintenance for persons with disabilities.

1. States should ensure the provision of adequate income support to persons
   with disabilities who, owing to disability or disability-related factors, have
   temporarily lost or received a reduction in their income or have been denied
   employment opportunities. States should ensure that the provision of support
   takes into account the costs frequently incurred by persons with disabilities
   and their families as a result of the disability.
2. In countries where social security, social insurance or other social
   welfare schemes exist or are being developed for the general population,
   States should ensure that such systems do not exclude or discriminate against
   persons with disabilities.
3. States should also ensure the provision of income support and social
   security protection to individuals who undertake the care of a person with a
   disability.
4. Social security systems should include incentives to restore the
   income-earning capacity of persons with disabilities. Such systems should
   provide or contribute to the organization, development and financing of
   vocational training. They should also assist with placement services.
5. Social security programmes should also provide incentives for persons
   with disabilities to seek employment in order to establish or re-establish
   their income-earning capacity.
6. Income support should be maintained as long as the disabling conditions
   remain in a manner that does not discourage persons with disabilities from
   seeking employment. It should only be reduced or terminated when persons with
   disabilities achieve adequate and secure income.
7. States, in countries where social security is to a large extent provided
   by the private sector, should encourage local communities, welfare
   organizations and families to develop self-help measures and incentives for
   employment or employment-related activities for persons with disabilities.

Rule 9. Family life and personal integrity

States should promote the full participation of persons with disabilities in
family life. They should promote their right to personal integrity and ensure
that laws do not discriminate against persons with disabilities with respect
to sexual relationships, marriage and parenthood.

1. Persons with disabilities should be enabled to live with their families.
   States should encourage the inclusion in family counselling of appropriate
   modules regarding disability and its effects on family life. Respite-care and
   attendant-care services should be made available to families which include a
   person with disabilities. States should remove all unnecessary obstacles to
   persons who want to foster or adopt a child or adult with disabilities.
2. Persons with disabilities must not be denied the opportunity to
   experience their sexuality, have sexual relationships and experience
   parenthood. Taking into account that persons with disabilities may experience
   difficulties in getting married and setting up a family, States should
   encourage the availability of appropriate counselling. Persons with
   disabilities must have the same access as others to family-planning methods,
   as well as to information in accessible form on the sexual functioning of
   their bodies.
3. States should promote measures to change negative attitudes towards
   marriage, sexuality and parenthood of persons with disabilities, especially of
   girls and women with disabilities, which still prevail in society. The media
   should be encouraged to play an important role in removing such negative
   attitudes.
4. Persons with disabilities and their families need to be fully informed
   about taking precautions against sexual and other forms of abuse. Persons
   with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse in the family,
   community or institutions and need to be educated on how to avoid the
   occurrence of abuse, recognize when abuse has occurred and report on such
   acts.

Rule 10. Culture

States will ensure that persons with disabilities are integrated into and can
participate in cultural activities on an equal basis.

1. States should ensure that persons with disabilities have the opportunity
   to utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for
   their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of their community, be they in
   urban or rural areas. Examples of such activities are dance, music,
   literature, theatre, plastic arts, painting and sculpture. Particularly in
   developing countries, emphasis should be placed on traditional and
   contemporary art forms, such as puppetry, recitation and story-telling.
2. States should promote the accessibility to and availability of places
   for cultural performances and services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas and
   libraries, to persons with disabilities.
3. States should initiate the development and use of special technical
   arrangements to make literature, films and theatre accessible to persons with
   disabilities.

Rule 11. Recreation and sports

States will take measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal
opportunities for recreation and sports.

1. States should initiate measures to make places for recreation and
   sports, hotels, beaches, sports arenas, gym halls, etc., accessible to persons
   with disabilities. Such measures should encompass support for staff in
   recreation and sports programmes, including projects to develop methods of
   accessibility, and participation, information and training programmes.
2. Tourist authorities, travel agencies, hotels, voluntary organizations
   and others involved in organizing recreational activities or travel
   opportunities should offer their services to all, taking into account the
   special needs of persons with disabilities. Suitable training should be
   provided to assist that process.
3. Sports organizations should be encouraged to develop opportunities for
   participation by persons with disabilities in sports activities. In some
   cases, accessibility measures could be enough to open up opportunities for
   participation. In other cases, special arrangements or special games would be
   needed. States should support the participation of persons with disabilities
   in national and international events.
4. Persons with disabilities participating in sports activities should have
   access to instruction and training of the same quality as other participants.
5. Organizers of sports and recreation should consult with organizations of
   persons with disabilities when developing their services for persons with
   disabilities.

Rule 12. Religion

States will encourage measures for equal participation by persons with
disabilities in the religious life of their communities.

1. States should encourage, in consultation with religious authorities,
   measures to eliminate discrimination and make religious activities accessible
   to persons with disabilities.
2. States should encourage the distribution of information on disability
   matters to religious institutions and organizations. States should also
   encourage religious authorities to include information on disability policies
   in the training for religious professions, as well as in religious education
   programmes.
3. They should also encourage the accessibility of religious literature to
   persons with sensory impairments.
4. States and/or religious organizations should consult with organizations
   of persons with disabilities when developing measures for equal participation
   in religious activities.

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III. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES

Rule 13. Information and research

States assume the ultimate responsibility for the collection and dissemination
of information on the living conditions of persons with disabilities and
promote comprehensive research on all aspects, including obstacles that affect
the lives of persons with disabilities.

1. States should, at regular intervals, collect gender-specific statistics
   and other information concerning the living conditions of persons with
   disabilities. Such data collection could be conducted in conjunction with
   national censuses and household surveys and could be undertaken in close
   collaboration, inter alia, with universities, research institutes and
   organizations of persons with disabilities. The data collection should
   include questions on programmes and services and their use.
2. States should consider establishing a data bank on disability, which
   would include statistics on available services and programmes as well as on
   the different groups of persons with disabilities. They should bear in mind
   the need to protect individual privacy and personal integrity.
3. States should initiate and support programmes of research on social,
   economic and participation issues that affect the lives of persons with
   disabilities and their families. Such research should include studies on the
   causes, types and frequencies of disabilities, the availability and efficacy
   of existing programmes and the need for development and evaluation of services
   and support measures.
4. States should develop and adopt terminology and criteria for the conduct
   of national surveys, in cooperation with organizations of persons with
   disabilities.
5. States should facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities
   in data collection and research. To undertake such research States should
   particularly encourage the recruitment of qualified persons with disabilities.
6. States should support the exchange of research findings and experiences.
7. States should take measures to disseminate information and knowledge on
   disability to all political and administration levels within national,
   regional and local spheres.

Rule 14. Policy-making and planning

States will ensure that disability aspects are included in all relevant
policy-making and national planning.

1. States should initiate and plan adequate policies for persons with
   disabilities at the national level, and stimulate and support action at
   regional and local levels.
2. States should involve organizations of persons with disabilities in all
   decision-making relating to plans and programmes concerning persons with
   disabilities or affecting their economic and social status.
3. The needs and concerns of persons with disabilities should be
   incorporated into general development plans and not be treated separately.
4. The ultimate responsibility of States for the situation of persons with
   disabilities does not relieve others of their responsibility. Anyone in
   charge of services, activities or the provision of information in society
   should be encouraged to accept responsibility for making such programmes
   available to persons with disabilities.
5. States should facilitate the development by local communities of
   programmes and measures for persons with disabilities. One way of doing this
   could be to develop manuals or check-lists and provide training programmes for
   local staff.

Rule 15. Legislation

States have a responsibility to create the legal bases for measures to achieve
the objectives of full participation and equality for persons with
disabilities.

1. National legislation, embodying the rights and obligations of citizens,
   should include the rights and obligations of persons with disabilities.
   States are under an obligation to enable persons with disabilities to exercise
   their rights, including their human, civil and political rights, on an equal
   basis with other citizens. States must ensure that organizations of persons
   with disabilities are involved in the development of national legislation
   concerning the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as in the ongoing
   evaluation of that legislation.
2. Legislative action may be needed to remove conditions that may adversely
   affect the lives of persons with disabilities, including harassment and
   victimization. Any discriminatory provisions against persons with
   disabilities must be eliminated. National legislation should provide for
   appropriate sanctions in case of violations of the principles of
   non-discrimination.
3. National legislation concerning persons with disabilities may appear in
   two different forms. The rights and obligations may be incorporated in
   general legislation or contained in special legislation. Special legislation
   for persons with disabilities may be established in several ways:
   1. By enacting separate legislation, dealing exclusively with
      disability matters;
   2. By including disability matters within legislation on particular
      topics;
   3. By mentioning persons with disabilities specifically in the texts
      that serve to interpret existing legislation.
   • A combination of those different approaches might be desirable. Affirmative
     action provisions may also be considered.
4. States may consider establishing formal statutory complaints mechanisms
   in order to protect the interests of persons with disabilities.

Rule 16. Economic policies

States have the financial responsibility for national programmes and measures
to create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.

1. States should include disability matters in the regular budgets of all
   national, regional and local government bodies.
2. States, non-governmental organizations and other interested bodies
   should interact to determine the most effective ways of supporting projects
   and measures relevant to persons with disabilities.
3. States should consider the use of economic measures (loans, tax
   exemptions, earmarked grants, special funds, and so on) to stimulate and
   support equal participation by persons with disabilities in society.
4. In many States it may be advisable to establish a disability development
   fund, which could support various pilot projects and self-help programmes at
   the grass-roots level.

Rule 17. Coordination of work

States are responsible for the establishment and strengthening of national
coordinating committees, or similar bodies, to serve as a national focal point
on disability matters.

1. The national coordinating committee or similar bodies should be
   permanent and based on legal as well as appropriate administrative regulation.
2. A combination of representatives of private and public organizations is
   most likely to achieve an intersectoral and multidisciplinary composition.
   Representatives could be drawn from concerned government ministries,
   organizations of persons with disabilities and non-governmental organizations.
3. Organizations of persons with disabilities should have considerable
   influence in the national coordinating committee in order to ensure proper
   feedback of their concerns.
4. The national coordinating committee should be provided with sufficient
   autonomy and resources to fulfil its responsibilities in relation to its
   decision-making capacities. It should report to the highest governmental
   level.

Rule 18. Organizations of persons with disabilities

States should recognize the right of the organizations of persons with
disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at national, regional and
local levels. States should also recognize the advisory role of organizations
of persons with disabilities in decision-making on disability matters.

1. States should encourage and support economically and in other ways the
   formation and strengthening of organizations of persons with disabilities,
   family members and/or advocates. States should recognize that those
   organizations have a role to play in the development of disability policy.
2. States should establish ongoing communication with organizations of
   persons with disabilities and ensure their participation in the development of
   government policies.
3. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities could be to
   identify needs and priorities, to participate in the planning, implementation
   and evaluation of services and measures concerning the lives of persons with
   disabilities, and to contribute to public awareness and to advocate change.
4. As instruments of self-help, organizations of persons with disabilities
   provide and promote opportunities for the development of skills in various
   fields, mutual support among members and information sharing.
5. Organizations of persons with disabilities could perform their advisory
   role in many different ways such as having permanent representation on boards
   of government-funded agencies, serving on public commissions and providing
   expert knowledge on different projects.
6. The advisory role of organizations of persons with disabilities should
   be ongoing in order to develop and deepen the exchange of views and
   information between the State and the organizations.
7. Organizations should be permanently represented on the national
   coordinating committee or similar bodies.
8. The role of local organizations of persons with disabilities should be
   developed and strengthened to ensure that they influence matters at the
   community level.

Rule 19. Personnel training

States are responsible for ensuring the adequate training of personnel, at all
levels, involved in the planning and provision of programmes and services
concerning persons with disabilities.

1. States should ensure that all authorities providing services in the
   disability field give adequate training to their personnel.
2. In the training of professionals in the disability field, as well as in
   the provision of information on disability in general training programmes, the
   principle of full participation and equality should be appropriately
   reflected.
3. States should develop training programmes in consultation with
   organizations of persons with disabilities, and persons with disabilities
   should be involved as teachers, instructors or advisers in staff training
   programmes.
4. The training of community workers is of great strategic importance,
   particularly in developing countries. It should involve persons with
   disabilities and include the development of appropriate values, competence and
   technologies as well as skills which can be practised by persons with
   disabilities, their parents, families and members of the community.

Rule 20. National monitoring and evaluation of
disability programmes in the implementation of
the Rules

States are responsible for the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the
implementation of national programmes and services concerning the equalization
of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

1. States should periodically and systematically evaluate national
   disability programmes and disseminate both the bases and the results of the
   evaluations.
2. States should develop and adopt terminology and criteria for the
   evaluation of disability-related programmes and services.
3. Such criteria and terminology should be developed in close cooperation
   with organizations of persons with disabilities from the earliest conceptual
   and planning stages.
4. States should participate in international cooperation in order to
   develop common standards for national evaluation in the disability field.
   States should encourage national coordinating committees to participate also.
5. The evaluation of various programmes in the disability field should be
   built in at the planning stage, so that the overall efficacy in fulfilling
   their policy objectives can be evaluated.

Rule 21. Technical and economic cooperation

States, both industrialized and developing, have the responsibility to
cooperate in and take measures for the improvement of the living conditions of
persons with disabilities in developing countries.

1. Measures to achieve the equalization of opportunities of persons with
   disabilities, including refugees with disabilities, should be integrated into
   general development programmes.
2. Such measures must be integrated into all forms of technical and
   economic cooperation, bilateral and multilateral, governmental and
   non-governmental. States should bring up disability issues in discussions on
   such cooperation with their counterparts.
3. When planning and reviewing programmes of technical and economic
   cooperation, special attention should be given to the effects of such
   programmes on the situation of persons with disabilities. It is of the utmost
   importance that persons with disabilities and their organizations are
   consulted on any development projects designed for persons with disabilities.
   They should be directly involved in the development, implementation and
   evaluation of such projects.
4. Priority areas for technical and economic cooperation should include:
   1. The development of human resources through the development of
      skills, abilities and potentials of persons with disabilities and the
      initiation of employment-generating activities for and of persons with
      disabilities;
   2. The development and dissemination of appropriate disability-related technologies and know-how.
5. States are also encouraged to support the formation and strengthening of
   organizations of persons with disabilities.
6. States should take measures to improve the knowledge of disability
   issues among staff involved at all levels in the administration of technical
   and economic cooperation programmes.

Rule 22. International cooperation

States will participate actively in international cooperation concerning
policies for the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

1. Within the United Nations, the specialized agencies and other concerned
   intergovernmental organizations, States should participate in the development
   of disability policy.
2. Whenever appropriate, States should introduce disability aspects in
   general negotiations concerning standards, information exchange, development
   programmes, etc.
3. States should encourage and support the exchange of knowledge and
   experience among:
   1. Non-governmental organizations concerned with disability issues;
   2. Research institutions and individual researchers involved in
      disability issues;
   3. Representatives of field programmes and of professional groups in
      the disability field;
   4. Organizations of persons with disabilities;
   5. National coordinating committees.
4. States should ensure that the United Nations and the specialized
   agencies, as well as all intergovernmental and interparliamentary bodies, at
   global and regional levels, include in their work the global and regional
   organizations of persons with disabilities.

IV. MONITORING MECHANISM

1. The purpose of a monitoring mechanism is to further the effective
   implementation of the Rules. It will assist each State in assessing its level
   of implementation of the Rules and in measuring its progress. The monitoring
   should identify obstacles and suggest suitable measures that would contribute
   to the successful implementation of the Rules. The monitoring mechanism will
   recognize the economic, social and cultural features existing in individual
   States. An important element should also be the provision of advisory
   services and the exchange of experience and information between States.
2. The Rules shall be monitored within the framework of the sessions of the
   Commission for Social Development. A Special Rapporteur with relevant and
   extensive experience in disability issues and international organizations
   shall be appointed, if necessary, funded by extrabudgetary resources, for
   three years to monitor the implementation of the Rules.
3. International organizations of persons with disabilities having
   consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and organizations
   representing persons with disabilities who have not yet formed their own
   organizations should be invited to create among themselves a panel of experts,
   on which organizations of persons with disabilities shall have a majority,
   taking into account the different kinds of disabilities and necessary
   equitable geographical distribution, to be consulted by the Special Rapporteur
   and, when appropriate, by the Secretariat.
4. The panel of experts will be encouraged by the Special Rapporteur to
   review, advise and provide feedback and suggestions on the promotion,
   implementation and monitoring of the Rules.
5. The Special Rapporteur shall send a set of questions to States, entities
   within the United Nations system, and intergovernmental and non-governmental
   organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities. The set
   of questions should address implementation plans for the Rules in States. The
   questions should be selective in nature and cover a number of specific rules
   for in-depth evaluation. In preparing the questions the Special Rapporteur
   should consult with the panel of experts and the Secretariat.
6. The Special Rapporteur shall seek to establish a direct dialogue not
   only with States but also with local non-governmental organizations, seeking
   their views and comments on any information intended to be included in the
   reports. The Special Rapporteur shall provide advisory services on the
   implementation and monitoring of the Rules and assistance in the preparation
   of replies to the sets of questions.
7. The Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of
   the Secretariat, as the United Nations focal point on disability issues, the
   United Nations Development Programme and other entities and mechanisms within
   the United Nations system, such as the regional commissions and specialized
   agencies and inter-agency meetings, shall cooperate with the Special
   Rapporteur in the implementation and monitoring of the Rules at the national
   level.
8. The Special Rapporteur, assisted by the Secretariat, shall prepare
   reports for submission to the Commission for Social Development at its
   thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions. In preparing such reports, the
   Rapporteur should consult with the panel of experts.
9. States should encourage national coordinating committees or similar
   bodies to participate in implementation and monitoring. As the focal points
   on disability matters at the national level, they should be encouraged to
   establish procedures to coordinate the monitoring of the Rules. Organizations
   of persons with disabilities should be encouraged to be actively involved in
   the monitoring of the process at all levels.
10. Should extrabudgetary resources be identified, one or more positions of
    interregional adviser on the Rules should be created to provide direct
    services to States, including:
    1. The organization of national and regional training seminars on the
       content of the Rules;
    2. The development of guidelines to assist in strategies for
       implementation of the Rules;
    3. Dissemination of information about best practices concerning
       implementation of the Rules.
11. At its thirty-fourth session, the Commission for Social Development
    should establish an open-ended working group to examine the Special
    Rapporteur’s report and make recommendations on how to improve the application
    of the Rules. In examining the Special Rapporteur’s report, the Commission,
    through its open-ended working group, shall consult international
    organizations of persons with disabilities and specialized agencies, in
    accordance with rules 71 and 76 of the rules of procedure of the functional
    commissions of the Economic and Social Council.
12. At its session following the end of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate,
    the Commission should examine the possibility of either renewing that mandate,
    appointing a new Special Rapporteur or considering another monitoring
    mechanism, and should make appropriate recommendations to the Economic and
    Social Council.
13. States should be encouraged to contribute to the United Nations
    Voluntary Fund on Disability in order to further the implementation of the
    Rules.

FOOTNOTES:

1. See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1991, Supplement No. 6 (E/1991/26), chap. I, sect. D.
2. E/CN.5/1993/5, annex.
3. See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1993,
   Supplement No. 4 (E/1993/24), chap. III, sect. E.
4. A/37/351/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex, sect. VIII, recommendation 1
   (IV).
5. See sect. IV, para. 2, of the annex to the present resolution.
6. Proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/53.
7. Resolution 217 A (III).
8. See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
9. Resolution 44/25, annex.
10. Resolution 34/180, annex.
11. World Health Organization, International Classification of
    Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps: A manual of classification relating
    to the consequences of disease (Geneva, 1980).
12. Resolution 45/158, annex.
13. Resolution 3447 (XXX).
14. Resolution 2856 (XXVI).
15. Resolution 2542 (XXIV).
16. Resolution 46/119, annex.
17. Final Report of the World Conference on Education for All:
    Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990, Inter-Agency
    Commission (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank) for the World Conference on
    Education for All, New York, 1990, appendix 1.

* Rehabilitation is a fundamental concept in disability policy and
is defined above in paragraph 23 of the introduction.

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