 UN officials, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have characterized the bill as representing a paradigm shift in attitudes toward a more rights-based view of disability in line with the social model.In 1976, the United Nations began planning for its International Year of Disabled Persons (1981), later renamed the International Year of Disabled Persons.The UN Decade of Disabled Persons (1983–1993) featured a World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons.