03/12/2025
JUSTICE COMMISSION - STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
3 December 2025
“There is nothing more tragic than a society that asks people to rise while building steps too steep for them to climb.”
— Yogan Moodley
Today, on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Justice Commission reaffirms that a nation cannot call itself free while millions are still locked out of opportunity by design, neglect and silence.
Across South Africa, too many of our people, our neighbours, our workers, our children, live at the sharp end of inequality. They are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be unseen in the very institutions meant to protect them. And as the world meets in Doha to recommit to building inclusive societies, we remind our country that justice is not charity. Justice is the courage to reshape systems so that every person, regardless of disability, can stand tall with dignity and agency.
As activism has taught us, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
And today, we face it-
The inaccessible schools.
The hospitals that turn people away.
The workplaces that refuse to adapt.
The public transport that forgets who it is meant to serve.
The laws that exist on paper but not always in practice.
But we also face the truth that South Africa has within it a deep well of humanity, resilience and possibility. Progress happens when we choose hope over fear, and when we widen the circle of belonging.
The Justice Commission believes in a South Africa where disability inclusion is not an afterthought, but a foundation, a driver of economic growth, a catalyst for social cohesion and a measure of our national soul.
Today we call on government, business, civil society, and communities to act with urgency, make accessibility non-negotiable, strengthen social protection and support systems, invest in assistive technologies and inclusive employment, ensure that persons with disabilities are not merely consulted, but empowered to lead.
Because the measure of our justice is not how we treat the powerful, but how fiercely we protect the vulnerable.
On this day, we honour the millions who rise every morning carrying burdens most will never see. We commit to walking beside them, fighting with them and reshaping this nation so that every South African can claim their rightful place in its future.
The struggle for disability inclusion is not the work of a day. But it is the work of a generation and our generation must not fail.
Issued by Yogan Moodley
Chairperson of the Justice Commission
+27 (82) 652-7156
