Side Event : Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals - Mutual reinforcement for persons with disabilities, including women and girls with disabilities

The recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identifies 17 integrated and indivisible Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ambitious and universal agenda explicitly refers to human rights standards and embeds key human rights principles. Central to the SDGs is the core principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’, which asserts that progress will not be possible if it does not reach the most marginalised.  

The 2030 Agenda is especially critical for persons with disabilities, who were absent from the Millennium Declaration and did not benefit significantly from the policies and processes related to the Millennium Development Goals, and are now included across the SDGs. The recognition of persons with disabilities and other marginalised and vulnerable populations as key participants and agents for change in achieving sustainable development complements human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and other international frameworks.  Moreover, the recognition of intersectional discrimination faced by, for example, women and girls with disabilities, will be critical to ensuring the realisation of human rights and the SDGs.

The UN Human Rights Council - and its subsidiary mechanisms, such as the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) - as well as the UN treaty bodies are each uniquely situated within the UN system to review the human rights records of UN Member States and, therefore, in a privileged position to contribute to the SDGs follow up and review, which should build on existing reporting mechanisms, as recommended by the 2030 Agenda. For instance, under the Universal Periodic Review procedure, 42 States are reviewed on their overall human rights records each year, which includes the reporting of obligations that are in many areas related to the SDGs. The UN human rights monitoring mechanisms can play a key role to contribute substantively to the implementation and monitoring of SDGs for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalised populations.

This side event will provide a brief overview of the SDGs process and achievements for persons with disabilities, including women and girls with disabilities, and consider ways in which human rights standards and principles can contribute to the follow up and review of SDGs for persons with disabilities. The side event will discuss the importance of interpreting the SDGs through a human rights lens and seek to advance the discourse on SDG implementation and monitoring in the international fora. Critically, it will increase awareness and understanding of key international development issues for persons with disabilities.

Moderator:   Ambassador from Indonesia/Kenya (TBC)

Opening remarks:

Ambassador Peter Sørensen, Head of the EU Permanent Delegation to the UN in Geneva and 

Ambassador from Kenya/Indonesia (TBC)

Speakers:

Catalina Devandas, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – The inclusion of persons with disabilities in the SDGs

Setareki S. Macanawai, Pacific Disability Forum - Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Disability Forum, from Fiji – HRs & SDGs perspective to persons with disabilities

Craig Mokhiber, OHCHR - Chief, Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch – Disability-inclusive perspective and the role of the UN human rights monitoring mechanisms on the review and follow up of the SDGs

Member of the CEDAW or CESCR Committee - Gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities in the SGDs agenda (TBC)

A donor representative – The donors’ role at the disability-inclusive implementation of the Agenda 2030

Sponsors: Australia

 Live webcast, International Sign interpretation and captioning will be provided.