On Thursday 23 March, the International Disability Alliance and Handicap International signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU), reaffirming the commitment to further building partnership between the organisations.
About Handicap International and International Disability Alliance
Handicap International (HI) works in 57 countries, and with eight national associations, providing impartial aid organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. HI work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Together with local partners, HI works to improve the quality and inclusiveness of services, enhance civil society capacities and influence policies to enhance access to services for people with disabilities and vulnerable populations. The International Disability Alliance (IDA) advocates at the United Nations for an inclusive global environment for persons with disabilities and their organisations. IDA, through its eight global and six regional members, brings together over 1,100 organisations of persons with disabilities and their families.
The MoU
The MoU was signed in agreement by Mr. Manuel Patrouillard, Managing Director of Handicap International and Mr. Colin Allen, Chair of the International Disability Alliance. The MoU between HI and IDA signifies the continued collaboration between the two organisations. Ultimately, the MoU declares that IDA and HI agree to promote the enforcement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in compliance with the UN CRPD, and will full involvement of civil society and in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organisations.
The MOU also recognises that both parties will engage and coordinate their activities and objectives regarding capacity development of organisations of persons with disabilities, including the BRIDGE CRPD-SDG training.
This partnership acknowledges and builds upon joint work until date, from the engagement in the process of developing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities (CRPD) ten years ago, to multiple partnerships of HI with IDA and its constituencies to empower the disability movement in low and middle income countries, or advocating for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.
It sets forward four strategic priorities: capacity development of DPOs, advancing the rights of women and girls with disabilities, inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action and monitoring the situation of persons with disabilities globally.
It follows on from a high level meeting organized last July at HI Headquarters in Lyon with Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director of IDA, and Priscille Geiser, Head of HI’s technical unit on Support to Civil Society.
As stated by Manuel Patrouillard, this alliance is also strategic to ensure that HI’s federal strategy is underpinned by continuous learning towards greater inclusiveness of HI practices to all persons with disabilities.
