Proclamation of January 4th as World Braille Day,
The General Assembly,
Recognizing that multilingualism, as a core value of the Organization,
contributes to the achievement of the purposes and principles of the United Nations,
as set out in Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recognizing also that the United Nations pursues multilingualism as a means of
promoting, protecting and preserving diversity of languages and cultures globally, as
well as of improving the efficiency, performance and transparency of the
Organization,
Reaffirming its Resolution 53/199 of 15 December 1998 and Resolution 61/185 of
20 December 2006 on the proclamation of international years and Economic and
Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980 on international years and
anniversaries, particularly paragraphs 1 to 10 of the annex thereto on the agreed
criteria for the proclamation of international years, and paragraphs 13 and 14, in
which it is stated that an international day or year should not be proclaimed before
the basic arrangements for its organization and financing have been made,
Recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1
and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
1
Recalling also that Braille is a means of communication for blind persons, as
reflected in article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
2
and can be relevant in the contexts of education, freedom of expression and opinion,
and access to information and written communication, as well as in the context of social inclusion for blind persons, as reflected in articles 21 and 24 of the Convention.
Recognizing that Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical
symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical,
mathematical and scientific symbols,
Recognizing also that Braille is used by blind and partially sighted people to
read the same books and periodicals as those printed in a visual font,
Affirming that the use of Braille by individuals who are blind or partially sighted
ensures the communication of important information to them and others and
represents competency, independence and equality,
Affirming also that, because the importance of well-developed literacy skills on
the part of all individuals is reflected in the value placed on reading and writing in
schools and throughout society, instruction in literacy skills can justifiably be
considered the cornerstone of education and an important tool in the fight against
poverty,
Recognizing that promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
context of access to written language is a critical prerequisite to the full realization of
human rights for blind and partially sighted people,
1. Decides to proclaim 4 January as World Braille Day, to be observed each
year beginning in 2019, in order to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a
means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and
partially sighted people;
2. Invites all Member States, relevant organizations of the United Nations
system, other international organizations and civil society, including
non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to observe World Braille Day
in an appropriate manner, in order to raise public awareness of Braille as a means of
communication;
3. Encourages Member States to take measures throughout society to raise
awareness of Braille as a means of communication;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the
attention of all Member States and organizations of the United Nations system;
5. Stresses that the cost of all activities that may arise from the
implementation of the present resolution should be met from voluntary contributions.
55th plenary meeting
17 December 2018.
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