Post-MDGs and disability

This blog article highlights the author’s view of the importance of ensuring the inclusion of disabled people in discussions on international development, especially post- 2015 agenda

This report provides an overview "for why and how disability can and should be included in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of MDG related programmes and policies." This report is useful to people working in disability advocacy, programming and outreach efforts, as well as people those working on MDG-related efforts

The purpose of this study was to examine the role and visibility of disabled people in the discourses of various global policy processes related to sustainable development and the Post-2015 development agenda. This article makes several recommendations for strengthening the role of disabled people in these discourses. The research addresses the question of how the disability community and sustainable development community relate to each other in these discourses. This study provides quantitative and qualitative data on three aspects of the relationship. One set of data highlights who is seen as a stakeholder in general and the visibility of disabled people in the social sustainability, sustainable consumption, Rio+20 and Post-2015 development agenda proposals discourses and what participants of the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond had to say about the issues of visibility of disabled people in development discourses. A second set of data illuminates the attitudes towards disabled people evident in the SD discourses including through the eyes of the participant of the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond. The final set of data compares the goals and actions seen as desirable for the advancement of SD evident in the SD literature covered and the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond. This study interpreted the data through a disability studies lens. The study found that disabled people were barely visible to invisible in the SD literature covered, that the goals and actions proposed in the SD discourses are of high relevance to disabled people but that these discussions have generally not been explicitly linked to disabled people. It found further that disabled people have clear ideas why they are invisible, what the problems with development policies are and what needs to happen to rectify the problems. It found also that there was a lack of visibility of various SD areas and goals within the disability discourse. This paper provides empirical data that can be used to further the goal of mainstreaming of disabled people into the SD and Post-2015 development discourses as asked for in various high-level UN documents. However, we posit that the utility of our paper goes beyond the disability angle. Our quantitative data also highlights other forms of social group visibility unevenness in the literature and as such, we argue that the data we present in this paper is also of use for other stakeholders such as youth, women and indigenous people and also for NGOs and policy makers.

Sustainability, Vol 5

This resource presents information and documents related to the high-level meeting on disability and development which focused upon a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond. Related resources include preparatory documents, official documents, submissions, reports and resolutions
High-level meeting of the General Assembly on disability and development
New York, USA
23 September 2013

This report presents a "comprehensive biennial review on the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, and the progress and challenges concerning the advancement of persons with disabilities in the context of development and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals." It consists of an introduction, five informative sections, and recommendations to advance disability-inclusive Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals by member states and other stakeholders. The detailed annexes provide further technical information in support of the recommendations

The Nairobi declaration calls for a more inclusive post-2015 agenda with a specific demand that development agenda targets and indicators explicitly include persons with disabilities. This document succinctly summarises the issues faced by persons with disabilities in Africa and their specific demands to enable greater inclusion in the post-2015 development agenda. It was adopted by persons with disabilities from Africa, representatives of national, sub-regional and Pan-African disabled people’s organisations, on the 8th of March during the Nairobi conference “Inclusive post 2015 development agenda and UN CRPD in Africa”, organised by the International Disability Alliance in partnership with the International Disability and Development Consortium, UNICEF and the UN Partnership to promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

“Inclusive post 2015 development agenda and UN CRPD in Africa”

8 March 2014

Nairobi, Kenya

This report aims to "convey regional experiences and viewpoints on (community based inclusive development) CBID with an aim to provoke thoughts, and to identify key elements for future direction regarding Post MDGs framework from the perspective of persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, in regards to further develop the implementation of CBR, and to reassure the possibility of an inclusive, barrier-free, and rights-based society"
Note: contact publisher for text format

"This report by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) collects the perspectives on the 'world we want' from over 1 million people around the globe. For almost one year, people have engaged energetically in 88 national consultations, 11 thematic dialogues, and through the MY World global survey...The findings of this global conversation contain important messages for governments as they seek to agree on a new development agenda that can build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)"

"This paper was prepared for the ODI/UNDP Cairo workshop on a post-2015 Global Development Agreement. The aim of the Cairo workshop, jointly convened by UNDP and the Overseas Development Institute, is to start a conversation across different regional and institutional perspectives on the future structure and content of a post-2015 global agreement on development, and on the political dynamics likely to bring it about or to act as barriers. This paper sets out the scene and identifies four key questions to be discussed at the workshop"

"To achieve real and sustainable change, the post- 2015 framework must focus on the social transformations required to eradicate poverty and empower the most marginalised and excluded people. This report argues that such transformation cannot happen without tackling the underlying causes of gender inequality which, in turn, will not be successful without the political will and resources that a standalone goal on gender equality can provide"

This background note outlines current thinking on the impact of the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) highlighting successes and weaknesses, and discusses options for a future post-2015 agreement

This position paper calls for the adoption of comprehensive equality legislation to be included as a specific development goal in the framework established to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The paper argues that a failure to address inequality has been one of the undeniable failings of the MDGs. It presents research to illustrate that status-based discrimination is a driver of both income poverty and denial of access to economic and social rights, such as education and health, which are central to the current MDG framework. The paper argues that establishing effective legal protection for the rights to equality and non-discrimination can provide an important mechanism for alleviating poverty and its consequences, and concludes that this is only possible with the adoption of comprehensive equality legislation

"This short briefing paper maps out five scenarios for a post-2015 framework. The scenarios describe different possibilities for how a framework could emerge, together with some brief analysis of the risks and opportunities involved...It is hoped that the scenarios will help in strategy and forward-planning for the Beyond 2015 campaign, and for others pursuing post-2015 work"

This report is a working draft suggesting a framework for indicators for future development goals and builds on the proposals of the UN's Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the conclusion of the UN Secretary-General's Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development (IEAG), among other inputs. The document explores the context and nature of the 17 recommended goals, 169 targets, and corresponding indicators, before focusing in detail on each indicator

This UN report sets out the proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals and accompanying targets, developed for consideration and appropriate action by the General Assembly at its 68th session. These goals were developed by the Open Working on Sustainable Development Goals as a result of the mandate set out in the Rio+20 outcome document

Note: Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals is issued as document A/68/970

The report presents an analysis that begins to systematically quantify the scale of the challenge that the world has set itself with the Sustainable Development Goals for the first time.  The authors selected one target per goal – a total of 17 – and projected forward to 2030, grading them from A-F according to how near they will be to completion in 2030. This was based on available projections of current trends sourced from leading institutions, alongside our own where there were gaps. The resulting scorecard shows that unless significant changes are made, none of the SDGs will be met

This report presents a snapshot of the current stories emerging from the global exercise in listening to people’s perspectives and priorities. This report was published as consultations were still under way, in an effort to reflect on preliminary results for the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the post-2015 Development Agenda, as well as the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals

This synthesis report of the UN Secretary General was written to guide negotiations for a new global agenda centred on people and the planet, and underpinned by human rights, supporting States’ discussions going forward. The extensive document presents information in short numbered paragraphs, within six sections: 1) A universal call to action; 2) A synthesis “taking stock of the negotiations on the post-2015 agenda and reviewing lessons from pursuit of the MDGs; 3) Framing the agenda; 4) Mobilising the means to Implement our agenda; 5) Delivering our agenda; 6) Conclusion: together in a universal compact. It highlights the need to “finish the job,” both to help people now and as a launch pad for the new agenda

A/69/700