Serious about Inclusive Development? Do Not Leave Persons with Disabilities Behind.
A.H. Monjurul KABIR, Ph.D
Knowledge driven leader focusing on: Impactful Leadership | Accessible Management | Intersectional Governance | Human Rights based Rule of Law | Disability Inclusive and Engendered Development
This year’s [International Day for Persons with Disabilities: 03 December 2018) theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda pledges to “leave no one behind”.
Persons with disabilities, as both beneficiaries and agents of change, can fast track the process towards inclusive and sustainable development and promote resilient society for all, including in the context of disaster risk reduction and humanitarian action, and urban development. Governments, persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, academic institutions and the private sector need to work as a “team” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
While impact of disabilities on all segments of humanity i.e., men, women, LGBTI etc. is often severe, it is estimated that 19.2 percent of the of women live with disabilities, compared to 12 percent of men. Women and girls with disabilities suffer the “double discrimination” of sex and disability This is too significant of a population to be overlooked or not factored in with special consideration when designing policy or operational interventions. Hence, UN Women is launching today – 03 December 2018 – a dedicated UN Women’s Strategy: ‘The Empowerment of Women and Girls with Disabilities: Towards the Full and Effective Participation and Gender Equality.’ The strategy aims to promote a more systematic response to inclusion.
This year, the UN Secretary-General will launch on the Day a flagship report, entitled “UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development | 2018 – Realizing the SDGs by, for and with persons with disabilities”. Building on many decades of UN’s work in the field of disability, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, has further advanced the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other international development frameworks, such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, the New Urban Agenda, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development.
UN Women’s corporate strategy on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities, shall consists of:
? mainstreaming gender, and the rights of persons with disabilities, in all initiatives,
? Targeted action to ensure their inclusion and participation.
? An inclusive approach which will promote accessibility, innovation for ensuring both voice and agency of the PWDs.
To effectively implement the Strategy, UN Women will continue to leverage its triple mandates, expertise in the area of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, operational presence as well as its longstanding relationship with civil society.
While as a System we have made some modest progress – thanks to all UN agencies, funds, and programmes, it remains uneven within and across entities. We see better results where there has been leadership from the highest level, accompanied by funding and accountability mechanisms.
Accessibility and reasonable accommodation, including ad hoc funding processes, remain major challenges for the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities at all levels, including as personnel, participants in meetings and programmes.
While there is no silver bullet it is when we work together with various stakeholders toward a common goal, we have seen results. We have the unique opportunity to effectively mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in all their diversity in all aspects of life and at all levels, so that no one is left behind.
We must lead by example to demonstrate our own internal commitment and willingness to do more. This is a matter of justice, human rights, and equal opportunity, as well as economic growth. The costs of exclusion are simply too high.
We cannot afford the same status quo or level of rhetoric that the world has seen before.
What do you think? Will you act?
Team Financial Advisor
6 年Thanks for sharing this important work. Currently I am supervising two Phd students here at the University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia. One is looking at Financial Inclusion and Economic and Social Empowerment of Persons with Disability (PwD): The Case of BRAC's microfinance initiatives for PwDs in Bangladesh - the bulk of the target population are expected to be women; and the other is, Combating Violence Against Women in Conditions of Governance Deficits: The Case of éve Teasing' in Bangladesh. Work on both of these studies are in progress. We look forward to sharing findings at relevant forums including publications in the coming days.
On a mission to improve intentional inclusion of neurodistinct people in the workplace
6 年Agree wholeheartedly! I work in the area of neurodiversity inclusion in the workplace. I recently wrote that mindset is the most important accommodation - one of "Inclusion for Abilities and Acceptance for Differences".? See https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/mindset-most-important-accommodation-ranga-jayaraman/. I believe it is equally applicable to all forms of inclusion.
Founder & Managing Member @ Iterators LLC | Federal Awards
6 年Im with you, we were just published in the Globe,?https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/11/28/companies-tap-into-underused-but-highly-capable-workforce/6JyOew103lGJVq9ajfjrOI/story.html. You'll like the story