Side Event: Include Persons with Disabilities in the Sustainable Development Process

Summary: 6 February, New York -A successful side event entitled "Include Persons with Disabilities in the Sustainable Development Process" organised by the EU delegation, the permanent mission of Greece, the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the International Disability and Development consortium took place at the UN on 6 February in the margins of the open working group of sustainable development goals.

The main topic was the inclusion of the rights of persons with disabilities into the post-2015 Agenda. The debate focused on how this issue should be addressed to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left aside in the post-2015 development agenda. Human rights should be crosscutting issue in the new framework ensuring that the future goals, targets and indicators are universal, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others. The discussion allowed to hear diverse aspects of the exclusion encountered by persons with disabilities in different areas such education, employment or elections. The EU HoD presentation focused on the EU commitment to the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society and development, notably by including disability in the EU development cooperation, which was illustrated with very telling examples.

The event was very well attended by Member States, civil society and UN agencies.

See also the blog from CBM:

http://blog.cbm.org/not-just-a-side-event/#more-1079