World Down Syndrome Day 2026: From Loneliness to Inclusion: Valuing Human Genetic Diversity to Enable the Effective Realization of Rights for Persons with Down Syndrome

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests and Friends,

Allow me first to express my sincere gratitude to the organizers for the invitation to participate in and co-sponsor this important gathering: the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, EU For Trisomy 21, and the Association of Parents of Persons with Disabilities (Kuwait), in collaboration with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Korea, Italy, and the UAE  in Geneva.

It is a privilege to listen today to the voices and experiences of persons with Down syndrome themselves. (To untrained eyes, they might appear “lonely”, but they are definitely not “alone”!) Their presence among us gives this event its deepest meaning. To all the self-advocates who are about to intervene, I say: thank you. Thank you for your courage, authenticity, and generosity. Thank you for reminding us of a truth that is often forgotten in modern society: that every person, regardless of genetic characteristics, is worthy of life.

Persons with Down syndrome are more than a diagnosis, more than a condition, and certainly more than the limits others may imagine. All of them, like all of us, possess the same inherent dignity and sacred value, intentionally and lovingly imprinted by the Creator from the very first moment of conception. Consequently, like everyone else, they hold the same fundamental rights.

Their genetic identity does not render them “more or less human”.  Persons with Down syndrome must fully enjoy their human rights and participate meaningfully in every aspect of society: education, work, religion, culture, health care, social life, civic engagement, and every opportunity to develop and flourish authentically.

Inclusion, therefore, is not merely a matter of providing services or accommodations. It is about recognizing persons with Down syndrome as full members of our communities.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests and Friends,

This event should encourage us to reaffirm our unwavering efforts to promote and defend the inherent dignity, fundamental rights, and transcendent value of all persons at every stage of life.

Discriminatory and eugenic practices linked to prenatal screening and the selective termination of pregnancies targeting babies diagnosed with Down syndrome must be firmly rejected.[1]

On this special event for the World Down Syndrome Day (21 March), we also acknowledge and thank the many professionals and institutions around the world that are committed to the continuing care for persons with Down syndrome and their families. “Yet, while professional competence is a primary, fundamental requirement, it is not of itself sufficient. (…) human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heartfelt concern. ”[2] A system of care and support may be operationally perfect, but if it is heartless, it becomes cold and impersonal. The heart, too, must be formed. 

As Pope Leo XIV reminds us: “The quality of human life is not dependent on achievements. The quality of our lives is dependent on love.”[3] The value of a person’s life should not be measured by utility or performance, but by the simple and profound fact of being human – cared for and loved by others.

May our collective efforts continue to build a culture of life and humanity where every person with Down syndrome is recognized as unique and unrepeatable, and welcomed with equal dignity and respect.  

Thank you.