International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Next: December 3, 2026
A world built for everyone.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly proclaimed this day in 1992, in resolution 47/3, as the UN Decade of Disabled Persons (1983–1992) came to a close. First called the International Day of Disabled Persons, it falls on 3 December, the date in 1982 when the Assembly adopted recommendations for its World Programme of Action and proclaimed that decade. The day promotes understanding of disability and support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities, and their full place in political, social, economic and cultural life.
How it's celebrated
The UN marks the day at its New York headquarters with panel discussions and cultural events, and governments, civil society and businesses are invited to hold their own. It is a good day to ask whether a building, a website or an event works for everyone, and to listen to disabled people about what would make it better.
Did you know
- WHO estimates that 1.3 billion people, about one in six of us, experience significant disability.
- When the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened for signature in 2007, 82 countries signed on the first day, the most for any UN convention.
- Asia and the Pacific proclaimed the world's first regional disability decade, for 1993 to 2002, and in 2012 adopted the Incheon Strategy to 'Make the Right Real'.
Coming up next
- International Day of Banks · December 4, 2026
- Thai Father's Day · December 5, 2026
- International Volunteer Day · December 5, 2026
- World Soil Day · December 5, 2026
- Edison's Phonograph Talks Back · December 6, 2026
- Finnish Independence Day · December 6, 2026