The Orders will be presented by Sir Philip Craven, in one of his final acts as International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President, during the 2017 Paralympic Sport and Media Awards on Thursday (September 7).

The ceremony forms part of the IPC General Assembly and Conference, which begun here today and is scheduled to conclude on Friday (September 8) with the election of a new IPC Governing Board and successor to Sir Philip.

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) President DePace will be recognised for the almost 50 years of work he has contributed to all levels of the Paralympic Movement.

During this time. he has been an athlete, coach, United States' Chef de Mission and Board director for the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games Organising Committee.

His roles have also included vice-resident of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF) and IPC Executive Committee.

As IWAS President since 2001, he is said to have done much to promote Paralympic sport internationally from the grassroots to high-performance level.

Three-time Paralympian Nielsen, meanwhile, will be awarded the honour after being said to have made a huge impact on the lives of people with an impairment from Board involvement to Governmental and legal advisory positions.

Nielsen, the chairperson of the Danish Sports Organisation for the Disabled Executive Board since 1979, became vice-president of the ISMWSF five years later.

Following the creation of IWAS, he became a Board member in 2003 and six years later vice-president.

Between 2005 and 2009, he served on the IPC Governing Board and, from a sport perspective, it is claimed his unwavering athlete-focused approach has had a great impact on the operations and direction of Para-sport.

Masson, a former top flight table tennis player and now one of the most influential figures in Para-sport in France, will be the other Paralympic Order recipient.

In his role as secretary general of the French Disabled Sports Federation (FFH), Masson helped to create the National Paralympic Committee of France in 2009 and has done much to develop the Paralympic Movement in his native country.

He has been involved in detailed negotiations with the French Government and the French Ministry of Sport in order to develop, and sometimes to defend, the independent position of the FFH relative to the development of Para-sport in France.

"It will be a great honour for me to present the Paralympic Order to three individuals who have dedicated their lives to developing the Paralympic Movement, playing hugely influential roles," Sir Philip said.

"Between them they have dedicated more than 100 years to the Paralympic Movement at various levels making a monumental impact."

At the 2017 Paralympic Sport and Media Awards, which are supported by Allianz, there will be 10 other presentations recognising achievements both on and off the field of play at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Previous recipients of the Paralympic Order include former International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and International Association of Athletics Federations President Sebastian Coe.

Dr. Whang Youn Dai, who contributed her life for the development of Paralympic sport in South Korea and around the world, has also had the honour bestowed upon her.