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Realisation of sustainable development goals by, for and with persons with disabilities: UN flagship report on disability and development 2018

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (UNDESA)
December 2018

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This report represents the first UN systemwide effort to examine disability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level. The report reviews data, policies and programmes and identifies good practices; and uses the evidence it reviewed to outline recommended actions to promote the realization of the SDGs for persons with disabilities. Over 200 experts from UN agencies and International Financial Institutions, Member States and civil society, including research institutions and organizations of persons with disabilities, contributed to this report. The report covers new areas for which no global research was previously available, for example, the role of access to energy to enable persons with disabilities to use assistive technology. It also contains the first global compilation and analysis of internationally comparable data using the Washington Group on Disability Statistics short set of questions. Reviews of legislation from 193 UN Member States were conducted and analysed for this report to highlight good practices and to assess the current status of discriminatory laws on voting, election for office, right to marry and others

2017 HLPF Thematic review of SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

UNDESA - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM
2017

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The gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents an enormous opportunity to achieve gender equality, end poverty and hunger, combat inequalities within and among countries, build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, protect and promote human rights, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The SDGs provide an important framework for collective action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the realization of their full enjoyment of all human rights. This work requires continued attention to the implementation of outcomes of major United Nations conferences and Summits, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, as well as sustained implementation of international human rights treaties. 

2016 Synthesis of Voluntary National Reviews

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT DEPARTMENT FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (UNDESA)
January 2017

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"This report synthesizes some of the findings of the VNRs (voluntary national reviews) from twenty - two countries, drawing primarily from the written reports and executive summaries of the majority of countries. It uses a theme based analysis drawn largely from the voluntary common guidelines contained in the Annex to the Secretary-General’s report on critical milestones towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level. The report examines reporting countries’ efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, including challenges, gaps, achievements and lessons learned" 

Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Voluntary National Reviews for the HLPF 15-16 December 2016, United Nations Headquarters, New York

DIVISION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS - UNDESA
January 2017

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In December of 2016 the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) met in New York to conduct an expert group meeting on Voluntary National Reviews. Major highlights from the meeting are highlighted in this report, including, recommendations for further improvement of future meetings based on answers to questionnaires.

10th anniversary of the adoption of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - UNDESA

UNDESA
December 2016

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This page was set-up on UNDESA webpage to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Convention. It adresses the following issues:

- Background
- Events to commemorate CRPD+10 around the world
- Highlights of the 10 years since the adoption of the CRPD
- Main CRPD page
- CRPD 10 Anniversary Note (UN CRPD Secretariat, DSPD/DESA)
- Celebrating 10 Years of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (OHCHR)
- Call for submissions on inclusive development for persons with disabilities and the realization of their human rights

Mainstreaming disability in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

United Nations Secretariat, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
November 2016

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"The present report has been prepared in response to Economic and Social Council resolution 2015/4, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission for Social Development, at its fifty-fifth session, a report on the implementation of that resolution, including the Chair’s summary of the discussions and the proposals made during the multi-stakeholder panel discussion on disability at the Commission’s fifty-fourth session. The report provides an overview of the inclusion of disability in existing international development frameworks, as well as of the status of persons with disabilities in social and economic development. It notes that, worldwide, persons with disabilities are still at a disadvantage in many aspects of their participation in development processes, mechanisms and institutions. The report presents the information concerning: (a) the review and follow-up mechanisms of relevant international frameworks on disability-inclusive development; (b) the role of the Commission for Social Development in mainstreaming disability in the development agenda; (c) summary of the multi-stakeholder panel discussion on disability held at the fifty-fourth session of the Commission for Social Development; and (d) conclusions and recommendations"

Toolkit on disability for Africa

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (UNDESA)
November 2016

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A Toolkit on Disability for Africa has been developed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD). It is designed for the African context and aims to:

  • Provide practical tools on various disability-related issues to government officials, members of parliament, civil and public servants at all levels, disabled persons organizations (DPOs) and all those with an interest in the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development;
  • Support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and disability-inclusive development;
  • Offer examples of good practices from many countries in the African region.

 

Toolkit Modules:

  • UN DESA toolkit on CRPD – Trainers’ tips
  • Introducing the UNCRPD
  • Frameworks for implementing and monitoring the UNCRPD
  • Disability-inclusive development
  • Accessibility
  • Building multi-stakeholders partnerships for disability inclusion
  • National plans on disability
  • Legislating for disability rights
  • Access to justice for persons with disabilities
  • The rights of persons with disabilities to work
  • Inclusive health services for persons with disabilities
  • Participation in political and public life
  • Information and communication technology (ICT) and disability
  • Culture, beliefs, and disability
  • Inclusive education

Good practices of accessible urban development - Making urban environment inclusive and fully accessible to ALL

August 2016

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About 6.25 billion people, 15 per cent of them persons with disabilities, are expected to be living in urban centres by 2050. Urbanisation has the potential to be an engineer for achieving sustainable and inclusive development for all. The current lack of environmental accessibility faced by people with disabilities, in particular in many cities in the world, presents a major challenge. As the international community prepares for the Third Global Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which will take place in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016, it is an apt and a strategic opportunity to promote an accessible and inclusive Urban Agenda.

This report is a compendium of promising initiatives and good practices that have emerged in recent yeas successfully promoting accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities, their rights, aspiration and contributions in the contexts of urban development. It countains findings and recommendations which were adopted at a UN expert group meeting, that may be helpful in informing the ongoing Habitat III discourses, the development of the New Urban Agenda as well as in furthering accessible and inclusive urban development 

United Nations Global Sustainable Development Report 2016

Uinted Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
July 2016

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This report was prepared to inform the discussions at the high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development in 2016. The theme chosen for the HLPF is "ensuring that no one is left behind". The report builds on GSDR2014 and GSDR2015. The approach is of an assessment of assessments, documenting and describing the landscape of information on specific issues or nexuses of issues. Specifically, the report keeps the ‘science-policy interface’ and ‘SDGs as integrated system’ as main threads. Main topics include: ensuring that no one is left behind and the 2030 Agenda; the infrastructure – inequality – resilience nexus; perspectives of scientists on technology and the SDGs; inclusive institutions for sustainable development; and identification of emerging Issues for sustainable development. An annex addresses persons with disabilities specifically, highlighting their over-representation in the "furthest behind".

2016 Synthesis of Voluntary National Reviews

DIVISION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS - UNDESA
2016

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"The 2016 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) took place from 11 to 20 July 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Twenty-two countries presented voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and particularly the sustainable development goals (SDGs), over a day and a half during the Ministerial Segment of the HLPF under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This report synthesizes some of the findings of the VNRs, drawing primarily from the written reports and executive summaries of the majority of countries. It uses a theme based analysis drawn largely from the voluntary common guidelines contained in the Annex to the Secretary-General’s report on critical milestones towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level. The report examines reporting countries’ efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, including challenges, gaps, achievements and lessons learned." 

Operationalizing the 2030 agenda : ways forward to improve monitoring and evaluation of disability inclusion

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFIARS (UNDESA)
2015

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This note concerns monitoring and evaluation of disability and inclusion in light of the sustainable development goals. The note identifies steps which can be taken by individual countries and the international community as a whole to address the gaps in data disaggregation and collection concerning people with disabilities. The note concludes with a discussion of possible ways forward for better monitoring and evaluation for disability inclusion in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Global status report on disability and development prototype 2015

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (DESA)
2015

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This report situates disability and inclusion within the broader context of sustainable development, with a particular focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper provides background on the historical role of the UN in promoting inclusion and outlines the current trends and challenges facing people with disabilities globally. The following section presents these challenges within the context of the SDGs, showing that disability needs to be tackled if the SDGs are to be achieved. It concludes with a number of recommendations for a disability-inclusive 2030 agenda for sustainable development

Accessibility and development : mainstreaming disability in the post-2015 development agenda

UN DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (DESA)
December 2013

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The publication reviews the concept of accessibility and its role in achieving inclusive and sustainable development. It propositions that accessibility be, not only a means and a goal of inclusive development, but also an enabler of an improved, participative economic and social environment for all members of society, including persons with disabilities.

Three key issues are addressed in the publication: (1) Accessibility in the context of human rights and development; (2) accessibility in policy and practice; and (3) accessibility and a disability-inclusive post-2015 development agenda.

The publication reviews good practices and lessons learned from both top-down and bottom-up approaches in promoting accessibility in practices and provides a response to the question: “How does accessibility relate to inclusive, sustainable and equitable development?” The publication argues that accessibility must be re-conceptualized as an enabler: a precondition for any progress toward development for all members of society.  It concludes that the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making processes would contribute directly to the successful adoption of an inclusive post-2015 development agenda

ST/ESA/350

Mainstreaming disability in the development agenda : towards 2015 and beyond|Report of the Secretary-General

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
November 2012

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"The report presents selected examples of advances made at the international, regional and national levels in mainstreaming disability in evolving policy frameworks for inclusive development. The report concludes that, in order to advance such policy frameworks further, follow-up strategies must be introduced at all levels and suggests elements for inclusion in such strategies. The report provides specific recommendations on action at the national, regional and global level to promote the effective implementation of the outcome of the High-level Meeting, specifying actions for Member States, the United Nations system, civil society and all other stakeholders"
E/CN.5/2013/9

Best practices for including persons with disabilities in all aspects of development efforts

FORGACS, R. T
November 2011

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"The present document has been prepared in response to the request in paragraph 15(b) of General Assembly resolution 65/186, in which the Secretary-General was asked to 'provide information on best practices at international, regional, sub regional and national levels for including persons with disabilities in all aspects of development efforts'...The document is divided into four main sections. Following this brief introduction, section II will focus on the initial criteria for the assessment of best practices. Section III presents a number of recommendations, suggesting also how the United Nations can facilitate the process of mainstreaming disability and persons with disabilities in development and highlighting the interlinks between the mainstreaming of disability and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and section IV contains 26 case studies from across the globe"

Report on the world social situation 2011 : the global social crisis

UNITED NATIONS Department of Economic and Social Affairs
2011

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"This report explores the on-going adverse social consequences of the crisis. The global economic downturn has had wide-ranging negative social outcomes for individuals, families, communities and societies, and its impact on social progress in areas such as education and health will only become fully evident over time" This report identifies the immediate and long-term social impacts of the current crisis and strongly underscores the need for inclusive social policies ”ST/ESA/334

The millennium development goals : report 2010

UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (UN DESA)
June 2010

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This report evaluates each of the eight MDGs by highlighting the progress of world regions in achieving their MDG targets during the first ten years. Data, collected by over 25 international organizations, suggests that many countries are achieving progress and recommendations are provided for the following five years. This report is useful for people interested in the MDGs

Mainstreaming disability in the development agenda

UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
November 2009

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"The report presents an overview of the status of disability-inclusive development cooperation within the framework of multilateral, regional and bilateral initiatives. The report concludes with recommendations for mainstreaming disability in the development agenda and development cooperation"
E/CN.5/2010/6

Fifth quinquennial review and appraisal of the world programme of action concerning disabled persons

GROCE, Nora
July 2008

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This report aims to reinforce the disability perspective in reviews of progress and challenges encountered in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and updates progress on the World Programme of Action, offering examples of and guidelines for mainstreaming disability in monitoring and evaluation of the MDGs. It also reviews the rapid adoption and bringing into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its optional protocol

Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and optional protocol

AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON A COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRAL INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
December 2006

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The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities acknowledges their rights to education, health, work and more. It provides a platform for action and activitism on inclusion and equity in countries which ratify and strive to implement it

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