Context
This initiative seeks to draw attention to one of the most marginalised and underrepresented groups in the world. Representing 0.2% to 2% of the population, persons with deafblindness are a diverse yet hidden group, and are more likely to live in poverty and be unemployed, with lower educational outcomes than other persons with disabilities. Deafblindness is less well-known and often misunderstood leading to people struggling to obtain the right support, and often being excluded from both development and disability programmes.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have generated greater attention to persons with disabilities. Underscoring the importance of ‘leaving no one behind’, there is growing momentum for greater disability inclusion. However, the first global report of the WFDB in 2018 highlighted that persons with deafblindness are often not legally recognised as a distinct disability group, resulting in persistent statistical invisibility, even where disability data is collected. The lack of reputable data contributes to significant gaps in services to support persons with deafblindness.
Deafblindness is explicitly mentioned in the Declaration of the European Parliament on the Rights of Deafblind People (2004) and in Article 24 (Education) of the CRPD, and has been recognized by the CRPD Committee in several General Comments and Concluding Observations.
However, globally there is still a lack of awareness and a lack of recognition of persons with deafblindness as a distinct disability group, which leads to invisibility and consequently a failure of governments to recognise inclusion requirements. Due to the specific implications of their disability, persons with deafblindness face additional barriers and require specific support, in particular interpreter-guide/Deafblind interpreting services and tailored rehabilitation services, among others. Persons with deafblindness may use a wide range of communication methods, including but not limited to tactile communication, braille, sign languages and non-spoken languages. As these services are available in few countries, persons with deafblindness benefit little from development efforts, including those aimed at implementing the CRPD.
Rationale
During the 17th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (CoSP17) from June 11-13, 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) launched an initiative urging the United Nations General Assembly to officially recognize June 27th as the International Day of Deafblindness.
Why June 27th?
The date of 27 of June has been chosen to commemorate the birth of Helen Keller in 1880, a renowned figure in the deafblind community. The deafblind community already commemorates this day using it to remind the world that the deafblind community exists and must be visible. The last week of June is also recognized as Deafblind International Awareness Week. The importance and contributions of the deafblind community globally are highlighted through various events, manifestations, conferences and exhibitions.
Objectives
The goal of the proclamation of a UN International Day of Deafblindness is to raise awareness of deafblindness as a unique and distinct disability as well as to promote empowerment and inclusion of deafblind individuals in all aspects of society. Raising awareness of this distinct disability should contribute to greater visibility of persons with deafblindness and the unique barriers they face, consequently leading to improvement of their access to services and support.
There is a clear need for further research and data to build an evidence base for CRPD-compliant, disability-specific and disability-mainstreamed services, with the active participation of persons with deafblindness and their representative organizations. Increased visibility of persons with deafblindness would improve their inclusion in society and ensure they are no longer left behind.
The campaign aims to:
- Achieve universal recognition of deafblindness as a unique and distinct disability, including in international classifications.
- Raise awareness among member states regarding their obligations towards persons with deafblindness under the CRPD.
- Boost the official recognition of deafblindness as a unique disability in law and practice by member states.
- Raise awareness about the specific situation and requirements of persons with deafblindness.
Support and Endorsements
The Government of Croatia has committed to leading this initiative. To this end, on September 27, 2024, Mr. Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister, highlighted the campaign during his address at the General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
We are grateful for the support of many partners and allies who have joined us in this campaign, including the International Disability Alliance (IDA), Deafblind International (DbI), Sense International (SI), the World Blind Union (WBU), the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Perkins, Lions International, and many others. Their collective support plays a crucial role in advancing our goal to establish June 27th as the International Day of Deafblindness.
You can download WBU’s support letter here.
Get Involved
Read this article to learn how you can support our initiative.
Feel free to contact us at communication@wfdb.eu
Side Event
As a key moment in this campaign, and in collaboration with the Republic of Croatia and the International Disability Alliance, we will host a side event during CoSP18, “Recognizing June 27th as the International Day of Deafblindness,” taking place on Thursday, 12 June 2025, 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM, in Conference Room CR4, UN Headquarters, New York.
This event will hopefully mark the celebration of the resolution’s adoption and serve as a platform for raising visibility of the deafblind community and our goals. We strongly encourage all supporters to attend and amplify this historic effort.
Relevant documents
WFDB’s manifesto for the International Day of Deafblindness 2024.