The International Disability Alliance and the International Disability and Development Consortium have launched a "Rebuilding an inclusive future for all" campaign.
We need to build on the momentum in the run up to and during the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) to keep pressure on the UN and member states to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities are upheld in pandemic response measures and to rebuild an inclusive future for all as the world recovers.
The HLPF’s theme for 2020 is ‘Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development’: ‘Participants will debate where we stand on the SDGs in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will reflect on how the international community can respond to the pandemic in a way that puts us back on track to achieve the SDGs and accelerate progress during the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.’ The list of topics are included in the messaging below.
Hashtags: #HLPF2020#BuildBackBetter #RebuildForAll#DisabilityC19
Timeframe: Tuesday 7 July- Friday 17 July
Purpose
- To ensure member state recognition of the inequality and discrimination experienced by persons with disabilities and their commitment to accelerated action and delivery of the SDGs as we rebuild an inclusive future for all over the next decade.
- To promote and share experiences of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to propose and share policy and practical solutions to how the rebuilding of an inclusive future for all can be delivered.
Asks (to Govts, INGOs, foundations, CSOs, private sector and individuals)
- Ensure that both COVID-19 response and recovery are disability inclusive and based on the rights of persons with disabilities.
- Ensure close consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations at all levels in designing and implementing as well as monitoring response and recovery roadmaps.
- Accelerate the delivery of the SDGS and use this opportunity to build back more resilient, sustainable, greener and kinder societies than existed before, and to rebuild our society in a way that truly leaves no one behind.
Overarching messages
- How countries respond to COVID-19 will shape how we recover. Right now, various parts of our world are at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital that all plans for both response and recovery leave no one behind and rebuild an inclusive future for all.
- Rebuilding an inclusive future for all based on the delivery of the SDGs to ensure persons with disabilities are not left behind needs to be the core component of COVID-19 recovery.
- There is a huge risk that COVID-19 will exacerbate existing inequalities. We can build back better and create a more inclusive world if we take proper action. We should make sure response and recovery efforts are truly inclusive, so we can become stronger and more resilient.
- As countries continue the management of COVID-19 as a public health issue, while also transitioning to open up economies and societies, removal of existing barriers and building back inclusively are critical for future implementation of the SDGs. Let’s use the SDGs to build back more resilient, sustainable, greener and kinder societies than existed in pre-COVID times.
Key events
- General Debate statement
- 7 July 2020: HLPF side event: Learning from COVID-19 to accelerate action for a more inclusive decade of SDG delivery.
- Talking points delivered by Rosario Galarza - 8 July: VNR Lab on Engaging social groups in the VNR process and reaching the furthest behind - a case study of persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples.
- Statement delivered by Jose Viera - 8 July: Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities side-event: "Will the SDGs Still be Relevant after the Pandemic for persons with disabilities?"
- Speech delivered by Mary Keogh
- Speech delivered by Mohammed Loutfy
- Talking points delivered by Vladimir Cuk