High-Level Event of the General Assembly "Contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Post-2015 Development Agenda"

What are the good practices and lessons learned in integrating rule of law and human rights, including civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, as well as the right to development, in development processes, including for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals?

There is wide recognition that progress within the existing MDG framework has not been equitable and that persons with disabilities are disproportionately represented among those leftbehind by recent development gains. Intra-country inequalities have widened, of which persons with disabilities are disproportionately represented. According to a 2011 report published by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank World Report, an estimated 80 per cent of persons with disabilities live in developing countries, often representing 15-20 per cent of the most vulnerable and marginalised poor in such countries.[1]

Persons with disabilities face barriers to participation in society, including access to development programmes and are denied equal access from education, employment, health care, communication and transportation services. Persons with disabilities and their families, of whom 80 per cent live in developing countries, are overrepresented among those living in absolute poverty. Households with a disabled member are more likely to experience material hardship – including food insecurity, poor housing, lack of access to safe water and sanitation, and inadequate access to health care. Moreover, persons with disabilities are particularly at risk to the effects of climate change, such as natural disasters and food insecurity; they are also more vulnerable in situations of conflict.

The lesson learnt is that the next goals must focus on reaching marginalised groups, in particular persons with disabilities, as well as track progress at all levels and provide social protection. These goals must ensure that no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities.

How do we translate these lessons into a post-2015 development agenda?

The post-2015 development agenda underpinned by human rights can serve as an instrument for people and countries to help unseat the structural obstacles to sustainable, inclusive and just development, and prevent conflict and stimulate implementation and enforcement of all human rights.

The new frameworkmust be accessible for and inclusive of persons with disabilities, and promote the rights and full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in response to the growing commitments on international level:

  • The UN CRPD, ratified by 145 countries, is the only human rights treaty with a stand-alone article on international cooperation.
  • The UN Secretary General’s Report “Keeping the Promise: Realizing MDGs for Persons with Disabilities Towards 2015 and Beyond” and the report of the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda both call for disaggregation of data based on disability and the mainstreaming of persons with disabilities in the new development goals.
  • The Outcome Document of the High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development stressed “the importance of ensuring accessibility for and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of development and of giving due consideration to all persons with disabilities in the emerging post-2015 United Nations development agenda.”
  • The UN General Assembly Resolution 67/140 called for “realizing the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons withdisabilities towards 2015 and beyond.”
  • The OHCHR study on Art. 32 recognises that international cooperation activities need to be inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities to ensure the full realization of the objectives and purpose of the UN CRPD.
  • The MDG Summit Outcome Document of September 2010 highlighted the need for inclusion of persons with disabilities.
  • In 2011, the Busan Outcome Document on aid effectiveness embraced disability as a principle underpinning effective development.
  • The Rio+20 Outcome Document stressed that governments must commit to the promotion of sustainable development policies that support inclusive housing and social services; a safe and healthy living environment for all, in particular for persons with disabilities.

The Secretary-General, when setting the goals for the post-2015 development agenda, recognised disability as one of the cross-cutting issues that needs to be taken into account when designing goals and targets. This is exactly how we would like to see the new development agenda – the development and utilization of targets and indicators, which are inclusive of and sensitive to persons with disabilities.

According to the WHO and World Bank World Report on Disability, there are one billion persons with disabilities globally who need to be explicitly mentioned and included in the new development agenda that:

  • upholds human rights for all, eliminates discrimination and diminishes inequalities
  • builds on equal and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities at all levels
  • stimulates transparency and implements participatory accountability mechanisms
  • builds on indicators, disaggregated by disability in addition to gender, age and geographical location

What role can non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia and other relevant stakeholders play in supporting the promotion of human rights and the rule of law in the new development agenda?

The UN CRPD provides a very positive example to this question. Civil society participation was the core at/of the creation of the UN CRPD: IDA and other organisations were able to fully participate and engage in the initial drafting, ratification and implementation of the CRPD, as well as in nearly every negotiation that has related to persons with disabilities since. The slogan of the CRPD became: “Nothing about us without us,” which has been strongly endorsed not only by the disability movement, but by most stakeholders. The CRPD was a great victory for civil society, and disabled persons’ organisations (DPOs) in particular, as it explicitly provides for these organisations to play a direct role in the development, implementation and decision-making processes for all issues, which may affect persons with disabilities, including those with indirect effects.

Further, Article 33 of the UN CRPD on ‘National implementation and monitoring’ goes hand in hand with the principles of rule of law and national implementation. It calls on State parties to establish one or more focal points within government for matters relating to the implementation of the UN CRPD and requests the strengthen or establish monitoring mechanisms for protection and promotion of human rights, finally calls for the participation of civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, shall be involved and fully participate in the monitoring process.

Consequently, IDA and IDDC would like to emphasis the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations to be part of the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda in light of Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Article 32, International cooperation, of the UN CRPD, recognizes the “importance of international cooperation and its promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities.” The article enshrines the concept of inclusive development in which persons with disabilities are to be included in all phases of development programs, including planning, design, implementation, and evaluation stages. Such programmes have to be rights-based and therefore accessible and consequently, no development money should be spent to create further barriers. For example, new schools must accessible for children and adults with disabilities.

Sustainable development cannot be achieved without the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The voices and representation of organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) should be included in all phases of sustainable development, as cooperation and accountability must underpin the sustainable development goals. It is time for the international community to use new methods and go beyond an aid agenda. Future partnerships can play a constructive role in fostering multi-stakeholder dialogues at the global level in the future of development cooperation in the emerging post-2015 development agenda and in the transition to sustainable development.

What support is needed to foster a universal approach promoting freedom from want and freedom from fear, based on non-discrimination?

Persons with disabilities continue to experience discrimination on the basis of their disability. The UN CRPD provides guidance on how to address discrimination of persons with disabilities, but its implementation is just beginning and it, along with the system-wide mainstreaming of disability rights, needs to be strongly supported by the UN system and Member States. Therefore, it is important to:

-Take steps to combat multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and by recognising the multiple identities of individuals and ensuring the provision of reasonable accommodation.

-Carry out systematic and direct consultation with all rights holders and communities and ensure accommodations and support for their participation on an equal basis. Similarly, ensure that the private sectorengage in systematic and direct consultation with rights holders and communities with the provision of accommodations and support for their participation on an equal basis.

-Develop and carry out awareness raising campaigns and training to all stakeholders (public and private actors and the public in general) on non-discrimination and equal opportunities in close consultation with rights holders and communities and ensure regular monitoring and evaluation by rights holders on the effectiveness of measures taken and advances made

[1]O’ Reilly, A. (2007).The right to decent work of persons with disabilities. ILO, Geneva.