RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed on the third day of December each year to mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and inclusion of persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations General Assembly first recognized International Day of Disabled Persons in 1992, urging governments, as well as national, regional, and international organizations, to increase awareness of efforts to integrate persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic, and cultural life; and
WHEREAS, Each year, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities focuses on a different theme. In 2020, the theme is "Building Back Better," with the goal of creating a disability-inclusive, accessible, and sustainable post-COVID-19 world; and
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities, highlighting that work on disability inclusion is imperative to ensure the health and well-being ofa group that is among the hardest hit in this,crisis; and
WHEREAS, A world in which every person is able to attain the highest standard of health and well-being is only possible if health systems are accessible to and inclusive of persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms, sustainable development, and peace and security; and
WHEREAS, More than one billion persons worldwide have some form of disability and an estimated 600,000 persons with disabilities live in, work in, and visit the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, The International Day of Persons with Disabilities provides Chicagoans with an opportunity to reflect on our shared commitment to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities as a matter of justice and an investment in our common future; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this sixteenth day of December, 2020, do hereby designate December 3 each year as "International Day of Persons with Disabilities" in Chicago, and affirm our commitment to upholding the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities.