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

The Outcome Document of the Rio+20 Conference acknowledged that persons with disabilities not only face significant restrictions in all aspects of development, but should be considered a vulnerable population and included as one of the major stakeholders involved in the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Secretary-General, when setting the goals for the post-2015 development agenda, recognized disability as one of the cross-cutting issues that needs to be taken into account when designing goals and targets. This is exactly what the disability community would like to see the new development agenda achieve: recognition of the cross-cutting nature of disability through the development and utilization of indicators and targets that are inclusive and sensitive of persons with disabilities.

The European Union Delegation, the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN, the International Disability Alliance, the International Disability and Development Consortium invite you to a side event on February 6 which will call for clear recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities in the Open Working Group (OWG) process leading towards the development of the SDGs.

Among others, speakers include:

• Mr. Ivan Simonovic, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights,

• Mr. Yannis Vardakastanis, Chair of the International Disability Alliance,

• Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, head of the EU Delegation to the UN,

• Ambassador Michel Spinellis, Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN

With the support of: The Inter-Agency Support Group for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Millennium Campaign

Contact: For non UN Pass holders, please contact Ms. Ioanna Germanou, Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN, 212.47.91.321, un.igermanou@gmail.com