Protecting the rights of people with disabilities helps all of us

Woman in wheelchair using elevator to board bus (© Steven Senne/AP)
Sarah Kaplan, of Lynn, Massachusetts, rides an elevator to board a bus outside her Boston workplace. (© Steven Senne/AP)

At a meeting with her Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts at the end of this month, State Department Special Advisor on International Disability Rights Sara Minkara will work with them to increase the rights of people with disabilities while strengthening the U.S.-ASEAN partnership.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990, provides accommodations for people with disabilities, if necessary, so that they can study or work. Similar laws have been passed in other countries, from the United Kingdom to Mongolia.

These laws and policies protect people with disabilities while boosting economies and societies.