December 3rd marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, established by the United Nations in 1981 to raise awareness and increase understanding of disability issues and the com-mitment to ensuring dignity, rights, and well-being of people with disabilities. This year's theme is Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.

The 2025 celebrations draw inspiration from the Second World Summit for Social Development, held in Doha, Qatar, in November. At this event, world leaders renewed their commitment to a more just, inclusive, and equitable world, emphasizing disability inclusion as a central element of social progress. This approach reflects the growing awareness that including people with disabili-ties is not only an ethical goal but also a key factor for sustainable and lasting development.

However, the global reality still presents numerous challenges. In every corner of the world, peo-ple with disabilities face significant and persistent obstacles: a higher risk of falling into poverty, limited opportunities for access to education and decent work, generally lower wages, deficiencies in social protection systems, barriers that hinder personal autonomy and dignity, gaps in care and support systems, unequal access to assistive technologies, and environments that are often inac-cessible or not very inclusive. The commitment is therefore to accelerate progress in eliminating poverty, productive employment, and social inclusion.

On December 3rd, a significant event will be held at the UN headquarters in New York, bringing together representatives of Member States, UN leaders, disability rights activists, and youth. The goal is to identify concrete solutions to address disability-related challenges and promote a more inclusive society.

We want to recall here the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, which further promoted the rights and well-being of people with disabilities, reaffirming the prin-ciple of equality and the need to ensure their full and effective participation in the political, social, economic, and cultural spheres of society. The convention calls on States to identify and eliminate obstacles that limit respect for these fundamental rights, emphasizing the importance of creating conditions that allow people with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aligns with these principles, based on the idea that no one should be left behind, including people with disabilities. The Agenda places particular em-phasis on strengthening national health services and improving infrastructure to ensure effective access to services for all. Raising public awareness about the importance of including people with disabilities is crucial to accelerate the development of a resilient and inclusive society that elimi-nates gender disparities, enhances educational and health services, and promotes social, econo-mic, and political inclusion for all.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities reminds us of the importance of valuing every individual and breaking down barriers that limit fundamental rights. It represents an important opportunity to emphasize the right of every person to full and active participation in all areas of life: work, cultural, artistic, and sports. It is a moment of reflection on human dignity and the need to eliminate all types of barriers, promoting concrete changes to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Finally, it represents a call to action to build a more equitable and inclusive world, where every individual, regardless of their abilities, can fully contribute to the progress of society.