Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, Ghana’s world-renowned advocate for the rights of disabled people, is to address the International Labour Organisation’s event on “Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities” to mark the annual observance of the UN International Day of Disabled Persons on Monday 3 December in Geneva.

3 December has since 1992 been observed annually as the United Nations International Day of Disabled Persons (IDDP). It provides opportunities for Governments, organizations of disabled persons and society as a whole to focus upon and take stock of the gains to be made from the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

This year’s theme is based on the right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others. On this occasion, ILO offices both in Geneva and around the world will work together to raise the visibility of the barriers preventing persons with disabilities from full participation in the labour market and highlight efforts to overcome these barriers, focusing, in particular, on good practice and collaboration among key stakeholders—government, workers’ and employers’ groups, Disabled Persons Organizations and other NGOs.

Unyielding faith

	Emmanuel hits the road in his campaigns.

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah is a disabled man born 1977 in Ghana. In 2005 Yeboah starred as himself in the documentary Emmanuel's Gift which tells the story of his life and exploits.

Yeboah was born without a tibia in his right leg. He struggled to overcome the belief in Ghana that a physically disabled had been cursed by a deity. His father deserted his family upon learning of Emmanuel's disability, leaving Emmanuel and his family without a source of income. He refused to beg for money, but instead went to the capital, Accra, to take up shining shoes as a job. He applied for a grant in order to get a bicycle, and proceeded to bike across Ghana with one leg.

Emmanuel has received various awards and recognition for his courage and bravery. In 2006 he established EEFSA (Emmanuel Educational Fund and Sports Academy) and continues his dream of alleviating the plight of the disabled in Ghana.

On the International Day of Disabled Persons, The ILO will launch a report entitled “The Right to Decent Work of Persons with Disabilities”.

According to this new ILO report, The Right to Decent Work of Persons with Disabilities, although much has been accomplished in recent years to improve the lives of persons with disabilities, majority continues to suffer violations of their rights. In the world of work, they tend to experience high unemployment, underemployment, have lower earnings than persons without disabilities and often drop out of the labour market completely. Yet, there is a growing awareness that people with disabilities represent enormous, untapped economic potential; that they can make a valuable contribution to national economies.