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The International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Government of Norway, and the Government of Ghana hosted the second Global Disability Summit on 16 and 17 February 2022 (GDS22). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure inclusive participation at the Summit, the event was held on a digital platform.

The first Global Disability Summit (GDS18), held in 2018 in London, generated an unprecedented level of focus on and commitment to disability-inclusive development. 171 national governments, multilateral agencies, donors, foundations, private sector, and civil society organisations made 968 individual commitments. More than 300 governments and organisations signed the GDS18 Charter for Change, encouraging the focused implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The Global Disability Summit 2022 (GDS22) in was built on the results achieved at the first Summit, to further accelerate much-needed progress towards the fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.

The Summit led to concrete commitments that brought genuine change for persons with disabilities. GDS22 gathered a total of 1413 commitments on disability inclusion.

People with disabilities want equality through access and participation. To obtain lasting change at the country level, we seek collaboration with States, multilateral organisations, and civil society. We seek action and we seek the voices of persons with disabilities themselves.

Global Disability Youth Summit and a Civil Society Forum. was also held under the auspices of the GDS22.

The Chair's summary, recordings of GDS22, commitments made and the program are available.

Several international human rights treaties exist to protect their rights, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These Conventions are complemented by agreements called Optional Protocols. They establish individual complaints mechanism for individuals or groups of individuals who have seen their rights violated in their country.

This online workshop organised on the 10th of May, 2021 jointly by the International Disability Alliance and the European Disability Forum informed participants on the role and functioning of the Optional Protocols, as tools to defend the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Speakers included representatives and legal experts from the Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Disability Alliance, the International Women’s Right Actions Watch Asia Pacific and Validity Foundation. The workshop was introduced and moderated by Ana Pelaez Narvaez, Vice President of the European Disability Forum and member of the CEDAW Committee.

When launching the Strategy in June 2019, the Secretary-General stated that the United Nations would lead by example and raise its standards and performance on disability inclusion across all pillars of its work, from Headquarters to the field. The present report outlines the first steps on the path to achieving transformative and lasting change for persons with disabilities across the United Nations system

The report is organized into seven sections. Following the introduction, an overview of the advances made in the United Nations on disability inclusion, including the adoption of the Strategy, is provided in section II; the first year of implementation of the Strategy at the entity and country levels is reported on in section III; coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response and recovery efforts are the focus of section IV; the overarching actions for implementation of the Strategy are considered in section V; challenges and opportunities are highlighted in section VI; and the conclusion and recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly are contained in section VII. The report provides an analysis of information from 57 United Nations entities1 that reported under the Strategy ’s entity accountability framework and seven United Nations country teams that completed the accountability scorecard on disability inclusion as part of a targeted roll-out.

This virtual side event was held on 28 May 2020, coinciding with the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians. It focused on the disproportionate challenges facing persons with disabilities in humanitarian, conflict, and post-conflict settings. Chaired by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms. Catalina Devandas Aguilar, this discussion shared insights from speakers and panelists from the Governments of Poland and the United Kingdom, the European Union, UNMAS, Humanity & Inclusion (H.I.), the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and others.

By presenting the situation in Syria, Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Manager for HI Syria response Bahia Zrikem highlighted the fundamental role Council Members should play in ensuring that all civilians, including persons with disabilities, are fully protected during hostilities, in line with International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law obligations, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the UNSC Resolution 2475 on protecting persons with disabilities in armed conflict.

On April 10th 2020 the European Disability Forum (EDF) organised a two hours webinar about the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges are persons with disabilities are facing. The speakers shared how persons with disabilities are experiencing the measures adopted by the different countries when these don’t take into consideration a disability perspective.

This webinar was conducted by André Félix, EDF External Communications Coordinator and was supported by Raquel Riaza, Events and Administration Officer and by other colleagues from EDF‘s office. The webinar was accessible for persons with disabilities providing live captioning and international sign language interpretation. It was recorded and a transcript is available

Through a conversation with panelists, the Disability Inclusion 101: Basic Concepts and Approaches webinar seeks to address the following topics:

• Understanding the concept of disability: who are persons with disabilities? 
• What is the human rights-based approach to disability? 
• Universal design, accessibility, and reasonable accommodation 
• The twin-track approach: combining disability-targeted initiatives with disability inclusion in mainstream initiatives 
• What is an organization of persons with disabilities and how to engage with them

Opening Speaker: USG Ana Maria Menéndez, Senior Advisor on Policy to the Secretary-General

Panelists:

Mr. Facundo Chavez Penillas, Human Rights & Disability Advisor, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Ms. Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor, World Bank
Mr. Stefan Tromel, Senior Disability Inclusion Specialist, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Ms. Elham Yussefian, Inclusive Humanitarian and DRR Advisor, International Disability Alliance
 

The webinar was moderated and facilitated by Mr. Gopal Mitra, Senior Social Affairs Officer, and Ms. Georgia Dominik, Social Affairs Officer, Disability Team, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG).

This webpage is aimed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Convention. It comprises some brief explanations about the Convention and the role of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It also countains a video, that is made out of speeches of the Committee members.

"This web-based disability orientation for staff is a multi-media, 40-minute video that includes interesting and thought provoking statements, resources and good practices from UNICEF and partners from across the globe. The objective of the orientation is to strengthen understanding of, and capacity to support, programming for children and women with disabilities. The Disability Orientation consists of two main modules, each module has five lessons. The first part of the Orientation provides an overview of the disability movement and what disability means according to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The second part of the Orientation focusses on how to mainstream disability through our work. The Orientation on Disability can be taken individually or in groups"
Note: Video is available with English subtitles as well as accessibility options like voice over and American Sign Language