A/HRC/34/58 III. Support services for persons with disabilities 12. The present report aims to raise awareness and provide guidance to States on how to ensure access to different forms of support for persons with disabilities inclusive of a human rights-based approach. A. What is support? 13. Support is the act of providing help or assistance to someone who requires it to carry out daily activities and participate in society. Support is a practice, deeply embedded in all cultures and communities, that is at the basis of all our social networks. Everyone needs support from others at some stage, if not throughout their life, to participate in society and live with dignity. Being a recipient of support and offering support to others are roles we all share as part of our human experience, regardless of impairment, age or social status. However, while some forms of support have been naturally integrated into social design, others, such as that required by persons with disabilities, are still marginal. 2 14. Support for persons with disabilities encompasses a wide range of formal and informal interventions, including live assistance and intermediaries, mobility aids and assistive devices and technologies. It also includes personal assistance; support in decisionmaking; communication support, such as sign language interpreters and alternative and augmentative communication; mobility support, such as assistive technology or service animals; living arrangements services for securing housing and household help; and community services. Persons with disabilities may also need support in accessing and using general services, such as health, education and justice. 15. For most persons with disabilities, access to quality support is a necessary precondition for living and fully participating in the community on the basis of choices equal to others. Without adequate support, persons with disabilities are at risk of falling into neglect and institutionalization. The provision of appropriate support is necessary to the realization of the full spectrum of human rights and enables persons with disabilities to achieve their full potential, thus contributing to the overall well-being and diversity of the communities in which they live. For many persons with disabilities, support represents an essential precondition for their active and meaningful participation in society, while preserving their dignity, autonomy and independence. 16. The existence of social and environmental barriers creates the need for support. For example, persons with disabilities who live in inaccessible communities may require greater support than if they lived in accessible ones. Individual support needs also vary according to personal factors, including level of impairment, age, socioeconomic status and ethnic origin. While the existence of strong non-discrimination legal frameworks and fully accessible general environments significantly facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities, many of them may still require support measures to be able to participate in the community on an equal basis with others. B. The importance of support 17. Persons with disabilities constitute 15 per cent of the world population, approximately one billion people. Many of them require different forms of support, 2 Tom Shakespeare, Help (Birmingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Venture Press, 2000). 5