The International Disability Alliance and the International Disability and Development Consortium welcomes the 30 May Report of the High Level Panel of...

IDA’s aim for the post-2015 consultation and negotiation was to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the final post-2015 development framework, with a particular focus on explicit references to persons with disabilities in all aspects of economic and social life, disaggregation of data by disability status and an inclusive sustainable development agenda accessible to all. In order to achieve this, IDA partnered with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) on all post-2015 related advocacy activities, including the final consultation and negotiation process of the post-2015 development agenda.

IDA and IDDC’s advocacy work was directed to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Report of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet”. The activities outlined in this section contributed to the successful inclusion of explicit references in both documents, as well as to other simultaneous processes that will inform the future Post-2015 Development Framework.

High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development - held on September 23, 2013 had a primary objective to debate inclusion of persons with disabilities in the post-2015 development agenda. It was the first time in history that the rights of persons with disabilities were discussed within the framework of the UN high-level agenda on development.

  • IDA organized an HLMDD advocacy week in March 2013. IDA participated in the first week of the intergovernmental negotiation process of the HLMDD outcome document. Then IDA chair, Mr. Yannis Vardakastanis, spoke at the beginning of the event on behalf of civil society. Finally, IDA cosponsored and organize a number of high-level side events.

IDA/IDDC position papers

  • Between 2013 and 2015 IDA together with IDDC prepared a number of position papers responding to different phases of process. At the beginning of 2014 an IDA/IDDC paper was developed with suggested targets and indicators related to future SDGs.

 

Report by the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, "A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development" called for the segregation of data by disability and formulated for the first time the principle “leave no one behind”.

  • Thanks to the coordinated advocacy work of IDA, IDDC and others, the report includes a good number of references to persons with disabilities, including in the goals 1 (poverty) and 3 (providing quality education and lifelong learning).

The Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, was established by the Rio+20 outcome document, mandated to prepare a set of goals for consideration by the UNGA at its 68th session by September 2014. It held eight sessions in total. As participation of non-governmental stakeholders in the OWG formal meetings was limited, direct involvement of civil society comprised a one-hour briefing each morning before the formal session began.

On 12 September 2014 the 68th General Assembly adopted the Report of the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals, with nine explicit references to persons with disabilities: two in the introduction, two in education (goal 4), one in employment (goal 8), one in reducing inequalities (goal 10), two in inclusive cities (goal 11), and one in data disaggregation by disability status in means of implementation (goal 17).

IDA activities greatly contributed to the successful outcome of the report, including participation in the civil society steering committee, development of position papers, delivering fifteen statements, organisaiton of two side-events, and 70 bi-lateral meetings between IDA Members and UN Member States.

Synthesis Report of the UN Secretary-General - On 4 December 2014, the Secretary-General introduced the Synthesis Report “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet”, which summarised the outcomes produced from various Post-2015 processes. There were four references to disability in the Synthesis Report: one in the area of disaggregation of data (46), in people, groups and countries most in need (51), inequality (68) and prosperity: to grow a strong, inclusive and transformative economy (72).

IDA, in partnership with IDDC, undertook a number of activities that served to inform the final report of the Secretary-General, including five written contributions which covered issues ranging from rule of law, stable and peaceful societies, the role of partnerships, and women and young persons. IDA continued and increased its engagement with various stakeholders, including the Washington Group on Disability Statistics and World We Want campaign. Please see Annex XX for further details. 

IDA also co-chaired an online consultation on inequality, participation in the global consultation on education in Dakar, Senegal, and activly contributed to the My World Survey.

  

Africa Conference

IDA hosted a conference to deepen dialogue between national, regional and global DPOs in Nairobi, Kenya in March 2014, to promote inclusive development, organised in cooperation with IDDC, SIDA, UN PRPD, UNICEF and CBM. 100 participants from 17 African countries, in addition to participants from around the world, adopted the Nairobi Declaration in the presence of high-level representatives of governments and UN agencies. The Declaration contains the priorities of the African continent with respect to the post-2015 development agenda and the implementation of the UN CRPD. The Kenyan Minister of Social Affairs Disability Unit delivered closing remarks at the conference. Click here fore more, including the Nairobi Declaration. 

Latin America Conference

IDA — in partnership with the UN PRPD, the São Paulo State Secretariat for the Rights of the Person with Disability, and with the support of UNICEF — held a conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil in October 2015. Over 135 participants attended the conference. The main conference objectives were to enhance multi-stakeholder dialogue on implementation of the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda in the region and to create an enabling environment for Latin American and Caribbean DPOs to strengthen national and regional networks. Participants in this conference also produced a Political Declaration. Alongside the Conference, IDA co-organised two complementary side workshops on youth and self-advocacy, and indigenous persons. Click here for more, including the Sao Paulo Political Decelaration.