UN seeks end to marginalisation of persons with disabilities

The UN has disclosed that there are no fewer than 1.5 billion persons living with disabilities in the world, noting that ending their marginalisation is “a matter of justice.’’

Senior UN officials made the calls in London at the first-ever UN-backed Global Disability Summit which focused on inclusive education, economic empowerment and technological innovations.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a universally-adopted UN Convention were well-established commitments for advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.

“But too often, this political commitment has not translated into significant improvements in the lives of the 1.5 billion persons with disabilities across the world,” Mohammed said.

According to her, women and girls with disabilities suffer the “double discrimination” of sex and disability.

“While governments must lead, transformation requires the efforts of all of society,” she said, adding that young people, persons with disabilities, civil society organisations and the private sector were among others working toward change.

The deputy UN chief urged “meaningful participation and results-based collaboration” on “stepping up disability inclusion in SDG implementation.”

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, acknowledged that there was more to do to make the world “a more equal and just place.’’

Steiner explained that the UN was looking to better address disabilities in all settings “to ensure that persons with disabilities are given equal access and voice in society so that they can realise their fullest possible potential.’’

“To realise the promise of the 2030 Agenda – and its core pledge to leave no one behind – it is essential that all peoples, particularly those facing discrimination and exclusion, have access and voice and can participate equally in every aspect of life.

“This is a matter of justice, and equal opportunity, as well as economic growth. The costs of exclusion are simply too high,” he said.

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), painted a grim picture of the challenging situation for children with disabilities, saying prejudice, stigma, or inaccessible learning prevent half of all those children from attending school.

Fore, however, pointed out that the half that do attend schools lack a quality education, adding that “this is a tragic waste of potential – for these children and for their societies and economies.’’

“As a global community, we will not achieve SDG 4 – education for all – if we continue failing these children. Not just getting them into school, but improving the quality of their education,” Fore stated.

To help offset some of these challenges, she said the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology provides life-changing support – including wheelchairs, prosthetics and hearing aids – to 500 million people globally by 2030.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said that at least 15 per cent of the more than 130 million people worldwide who need humanitarian aid have disabilities.

“There is no silver bullet but the central, fundamental requirement is to include disabled people and their organisations in planning for and implementing responses to humanitarian crises,” Lowcock said.

According to him, doing this will “make for a better, more effective and humane response.”

The summit is co-hosted by the governments of Kenya and the United Kingdom as well as the International Disability Alliance.