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The celebration of this year International day of the Disabled has been marked with a series of activities. The occasion was held under the auspices of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, in collaboration with the National Disability Council and the secretariat of the Africa Decade on Disability.
The celebration began with a press soiree at the Coconut Regency Hotel in Accra, on 27th November 2009, to create awareness for the event. This was followed by a clean-up exercise around the Accra Rehabilitation Center, a football march between the National Deaf Football Team –the Black Challengers and Accra Great Olympics, a trade fair, a disability forum at the British council, a health screening exercise and host of other activities. The theme for this year program was “Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and their Communities around the World”.
For the first time, the day was climaxed with a disability concert and awards. Several individual Persons with disability (PWDs) and corporate bodies and agencies were honored for their contributions towards the promotion of rights of PWDs.
In his welcome address Mr Samuel Kwesi Asare, president of the GFD reiterated that contrary to the spirit of the 1992 constitution Persons with disability in Ghana continue to face various forms of discrimination on daily basis. Mr Asare therefore calls on the government to expedite action on the implementation of the National Disability Act (715) and the ratification of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disability. The president also calls on government to provide the enabling environment for the empowerment of PWDs and their integration into the larger Ghanaian society.
On his part, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr. Emile Short emphasized that need to safeguard the fundamental Rights of PWDs. Mr Short assured the gathering of the commitment of CHRAJ to the promotion of the rights of PWDs in Ghana.
The International Day of the Disabled falls on 3rd December of every year and has been promoted by the United Nations since 1992.
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