IDDC

Looking back on 'Disability: Make Development Inclusive' discussion

On 26 May, the European Commission (EC) hosted a lunchtime discussion Disability: Make Development Inclusive, with speakers from DG EuropeAid, DG Employment and Social Affairs and IDDC. The session held at the EC's own ‘Info Point’ included presentations from the EC on its overall approach to disability and development, as well as its commitments as a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Catherine Naughton (from IDDC member CBM) presented the tools and outcomes of the EU funded 'Mainstreaming Disability in Development Cooperation' pilot project, also known as ‘make development inclusive’.

The first speaker, Sergio Piccolo representing the Commission's aid programme, outlined the current aid commitments to persons with disabilities and the various approaches and possibilities to fund inclusive development programmes. In terms of recent developments in light of the commitments under the CRPD, he highlighted that a network of contact persons on disability in European Commission delegations outside the EU has been established. Mr Piccolo also referred to the significance of last year's Accra Agenda for Action, which called on all donors to include persons with disabilities as a cross cutting issue in development cooperation. In the immediate future (2009) there will most likely be a call for proposals under the "Investing in People" programme, that will be disability specific and in the area of inclusion of persons with disabilities in social protection and employment projects. Further work will be done in the future to continue to map out all of the field programmes being undertaken by the EC.

The second speaker, Inmaculada Placencia Porrero from the Commission's Directorate General on Employment and Social Affairs, spoke about the broader commitments in European policy to persons with disabilities and their rights as well as the internal commitments not just for the European Community policies, but also for the staff and institutions that the CRPD brings in. She highlighted in particular several streams of engagement for development policy:

• Improving mainstreaming of disability issues in development aid such as through the forthcoming cross-cutting issues paper

• Adjustments to aid in light of article 32 of the CRPD

• Revision of the 2003 EC Guidance Note on Disability and Development

• Dissemination of the results of the Commission funded pilot project

Catherine Naughton presented the main objectives and outcomes of the IDDC project Make Development Inclusive. In particular she highlighted the tools available for inclusive project cycle management, a guidance paper on inclusive local development, and the range of training materials which have been produced by project partners. She also spoke of IDDCs commitment to future work in cooperation with the EC to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to international cooperation.

The lunchtime discussion was attended by Commission officials, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and UN agencies, who all had the chance to take samples of the projects outputs (publications and CDs).

In the closing discussion, actors present welcomed some of the newer initiatives of the Commission in terms of implementing the CRPD and were interested to hear about the plans for further developing those, including in the next European Disability Action Plan, and in concert with other international actors such as the UN and its agencies.

• Download the presentations of the speakers