Governments risk falling short of achieving Sustainable Development Goals, says global disability consortium.
9 May 2019. Four years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) is urging UN States Parties to take practical steps to ensure persons with disabilities are not being left behind.
Today the IDDC is releasing new recommendations to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and can deliver on the promise to Leave No One Behind.
IDDC officially handed over its recommendations to German parliamentarian Ottmar Von Holtz and government official Cornelia Henriksson at its General Assembly in Berlin last week. The recommendations were well received and plans are now being made to take them to the UN’s High Level Political Forum which plays a central role in reviewing progress made by the SDGs.
Dominic Haslam, IDDC’s Chair says: “The UN’s promise to leave no one behind in the delivery of the SDGs could and should finally ensure that persons with disabilities are included in and can benefit from mainstream development programmes.”
‘Laws, policies and goals can be the foundation of this change, but only if they are implemented and there is clear accountability for their delivery. We need to see stronger leadership from governments to turn policy into practical action. That’s what these recommendations are about.”
All United Nations State Parties adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 as an urgent call to end poverty. The principle of Leave No One Behind was at the heart of the goals, to ensure the most marginalised people would benefit from international development efforts.
IDDC’s recommendations express concern that this core principal will be overlooked in the delivery of the Goals, without concrete, urgent action.
IDDC is calling for State Parties to embrace the new recommendations in their national policy and delivery mechanisms.
IDDC’s key recommendations include:
- Active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in policies and programmes
- Accessibility and reasonable accommodation
- Accountability
- Sufficient and inclusive financing
- Disability data collection, disaggregation research and analysis
In addition, as part of it General Assembly workshop “Realising the global commitment to Leaving No One Behind” outcomes, IDDC developed targeted recommendations focusing on access to health (SDG3), education (SDG4), employment and decent work (SDG8), and global partnerships (SDG17).