UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that people with disabilities, the vast majority of whom live in poor countries, have a fundamental role to play in development processes.

"With 80 percent of persons with disabilities -- more than 400 million people -- living in poor countries, we need to do much more to break the cycle of poverty and disability," he said.

The secretary-general made the statement while addressing a commemoration in New York to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls a week before the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both occasions are being commemorated with the theme "Dignity and justice for all of us."

The UN General Assembly has underscored the need to include people with disabilities in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, eight anti-poverty targets, by their 2015 deadline.

Noting that the international disability community's slogan is "Nothing about us without us," Ban called on governments and others to guarantee that persons with disabilities are an integral part of all development processes.

"In this way, we can promote integration and pave the way for a better future for all people in society," he said.

Ban stressed that there is much to celebrate this year, with the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in May.

The first conference of the parties to the pact met in October, and the resulting progress is due to the "active participation and leadership of persons with disabilities, by ensuring that they have access to -- and are included in -- all aspects of our work," Ban noted.

Meanwhile, he stressed the world body's commitment to promoting accessibility in many forms, such as communications technologies and political processes.

Acknowledging the need to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities at the UN Headquarters in New York, he said, "I share your frustration, and sometimes I feel ashamed, at how difficult it can be to navigate our building here in New York."

Efforts are underway to improve the organization's facilities by rebuilding rooms and adding ramps, he said.

Events marking the international day in New York included a multimedia presentation by the UN Mine Action Service on disability rights. There were also musical performances by Tamas Erdi, a Hungarian pianist who lost his eyesight shortly after he was born, and Rudely Interrupted, an Australian rock band almost entirely composed of members who have physical and intellectual disabilities.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2008)