The United States of America has reiterated its determination to see developing countries like Nigeria, and the rest of the world treating persons with disabilities with the same dignity as done by the U.S.

In a message marking the 21st International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of his country’s eagerness “to export the American gold standard – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – to the rest of the world.”

There are a billion persons with disabilities in the world, more than 50 million being Americans.

Kerry in a statement made available to News Express by the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria recalled his efforts during his final weeks as a Senator, “alongside Republican senators from John McCain to John Barrasso to try and ratify the Disabilities Treaty, an international agreement that promotes and protects the rights of people with disabilities.” “Our ratification will benefit the millions of Americans with disabilities when they travel abroad for study, work, or pleasure. The goal is simple: to help lift other countries up to meet the standard the United States set more than 20 years ago. We fell just five votes short last year of exporting our American ideal, and now is the time to finish the job,” Kerry stated.

Continuing, the U.S. Secretary of State said: “The need is enormous, and the imperative is urgent. What we did here at home with the ADA hasn’t even been remotely realized in many places overseas. At least 80 percent of the world’s persons with disabilities live in the developing world, too often in deplorable conditions of neglect and second class citizenship. Too many people, in too many places around the globe, are subjected to unacceptable horrors simply because they have a disability. Moreover, for the more than 50 million Americans with disabilities who want to travel, study, work, and serve abroad, including our 5.5 million veterans with disabilities, the protections that they have grown accustomed to under the ADA and other ground-breaking U.S. legislation simply do not exist in many countries. We can change that. We can help expand opportunities abroad for Americans with disabilities, create new markets for American companies, and be in the strongest possible position to push for critically needed improvements around the world.

“On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we reaffirm our determination to ensure that our disabled brothers and sisters can travel abroad with the same dignity and respect that they enjoy here at home, and that disabled people around the world can at last share in the promises that Americans believe are a right, not a privilege.”

•Photo shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Update news