The International Disability Alliance1 and the International Disability and Development Consortium welcome the 30 May Report of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons (HLP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda that calls for a new global partnership in eradicating extreme poverty and transforming economies through sustainable development.
The report is a huge step forward. In keeping up the momentum and making sure that disability remains included in on-going discussions and debates about the post-2015 development framework over the next two years, we would like to propose the following concrete steps:
- The UN Secretary General’s Annual Report to the General Assembly on progress towards the MDGs should clearly reference the same commitment as the HLP Report to ensure that the post 2015 framework is inclusive of persons with disabilities, including by developing disability sensitive indicators and targets within each of the goals as well as by disaggregating data by disability.
- The Post-2015 development framework should be based on human rights, which are uniformly applied across all the new goals and targets. All goals should be inclusive of persons with disabilities in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
- To mainstream disability across the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals agenda and include persons with disabilities in the SDGs, inter alia, by developing disability sensitive indicators and targets as well as by stressing the importance of disaggregation of data by disability.
- To mainstream persons with disabilities at the Special Event on MDGs to be held on September 25 in New York as well as to link the Outcome Document of the High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development with the Outcome Document of the Special Event on MDGs;
- Mechanisms should be in place to ensure the effective participation of organisations of persons with disabilities at every stage of the process.
- A revision of international development assistance to include disability-related targets.
- Any new global partnerships must include persons with disabilities in their international cooperation efforts.
As established by article 32 of the CRPD, all projects and programmes, whether mainstream or disability specific, have to be compliant with the CRPD, i.e. be inclusive, accessible and promote the rights and full and effective participation for persons with disabilities, including by supporting the work of representative organizations of persons with disabilities.