In its Resolution of 3^rd November 2010, the United Nations General Assembly noted with appreciation both the report of the Secretary-General “Keeping the promise: realising the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities towards 2015 and beyond” and its recommendations.  

When the Millennium Development Goals were launched, disability was not considered or mentioned, hence the importance of this Resolution, A.C.3/65/L.12/Rev.1. It has been widely acknowledged that this oversight will impede achievement of many of the MDGs since one in five of the world’s poor is affected by disabilities. In fact the Resolution expresses grave concern about the continued invisibility of persons affected by disabilities, who are often subjected to multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination, despite previous commitments by the international development community* to help ensure that their rights are met.

 

Lobbying by the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), of which ILEP is a member, helped to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Outcomes Document to a High Level Plenary Meeting of the 65^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in September 2010 which led to this Resolution. The Resolution, calls upon Governments to enable persons with disabilities to participate as agents and beneficiaries of development, in particular in all efforts aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals, by ensuring that programmes and policies, namely on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development, are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities.

 

Lack of accurate data and information on disability has hitherto hampered development planning and implementation that is fully inclusive of persons with disabilities. Significantly this Resolution calls on governments to strengthen the collection and compilation of national data and information about the situation of persons with disabilities so that this information can be used to ensure that they are considered and included in all aspects of development planning, policy, monitoring and evaluation. It suggests using the following UN publications: Guidelines and Principles for the Development of Disability Statistics and Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses.

 

Mr Douglas Soutar, General Secretary of ILEP, welcomes this Resolution since there are approximately three million people with impairments due to leprosy and many more who are disabled by their continuing experience of discrimination and prejudice.

Mr Soutar says, “This resolution provides further support to those advocating for a world where the rights of every person affected by leprosy to receive appropriate treatment

and rehabilitation are fulfilled and where all people affected by leprosy are able to participate as fully as they choose at every level of society”.

 

UN General Assembly Resolution Realising the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities towards 2015 and beyond: United Nations General Assembly A/C.3/65/L.12/Rev.1

*

Previous commitments by the international development community to help ensure persons with disability are not excluded from all aspects of development include:

 

1981

International Day of Persons with Disabilities established

 

1982

The goal of full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society and development established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons

 

1983 – 1992

UN Decade of Disabled Persons

 

1993

Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

 

2006

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted

 

 

 

Categories: International Collaboration, News and Notes