Ongoing shortfalls and disparities leave over 1 billion people with disabilities behind by International Disability Alliance, agencies 10:31am 14th Oct, 2024   The International Disability Alliance (IDA) operates as a global advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. IDA brings together over 1,100 organisations of persons with disabilities and their families from across eight global and six regional networks.    Together we promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities across global efforts to advance human rights and sustainable development. We support organisations of persons with disabilities to hold their governments to account and advocate for change locally, nationally and internationally.    With member organisations around the world, IDA represents over one billion people worldwide living with disabilities. Among them are some of the world’s largest – and most frequently overlooked – marginalised group.    UN experts warn of grave abuses against Persons with Disabilities in North Korea    On 3 September the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) issued its findings on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), following the country’s review during the Committee’s latest session.    The CRPD expressed grave concern over credible reports of systematic abuses against persons with disabilities. These include accounts of infanticide of children with disabilities, sometimes carried out in medical facilities with official consent, forced abortions and sterilizations and medical experimentation.    The CRPD condemned the DPRK’s eugenic and discriminatory medical policies, which under the guise of “disability prevention,” infringe on the right to life of persons with disabilities.    The risks faced by persons with disabilities in the DPRK are further compounded by gender and age. Women and children with disabilities are subjected to gender-based and sexual violence, including coerced marriage, abduction, trafficking and rape. The CRPD noted the absence of legal protections, adequate investigative mechanisms, support services and prevention efforts, leaving survivors without access to justice or redress.    Although DPRK authorities have taken some formal steps toward protecting disability rights since 2016, including ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, hosting the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and accepting relevant recommendations during its third and fourth Universal Periodic Reviews, a significant gap remains between its international commitments and domestic implementation.    For instance, national legislation does not explicitly guarantee the right to life for persons with disabilities, including those in detention and healthcare settings, where they face heightened risks of medical neglect, starvation and abuse without independent oversight.    Human rights abuses and restrictions on fundamental freedoms targeting persons with disabilities are inseparable from the DPRK’s broader system of discrimination and persecution.    Julia Saltzman, DPRK expert at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “The systematic enforcement of discriminatory and exclusionary policies affecting persons with disabilities in the DPRK is not incidental but a tool of state repression, embedded within broader patterns of indoctrination, discrimination and persecution. These policies and practices occur within a pervasive climate of gross human rights violations and impunity that often amount to crimes against humanity.”    The DPRK should amend its constitution and domestic legislation to guarantee equality and non-discrimination for persons with disabilities, as well as adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that includes effective remedies and protections. The government must take a gender-sensitive approach, including measures to prevent gender-based and sexual violence, and expand access to support services for women with disabilities. It should also permit independent monitoring and grant full access to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant UN Special Procedures.    http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-449/ http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2795&Lang=en http://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd    Dec. 2024    Women and girls with disabilities are the best champions for upholding their rights. (OHCHR)    UN Experts urged governments to amplify the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future, particularly women and girls with disabilities:    "Despite the fast-approaching deadline for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the promise of full gender equality remains elusive. “For women and girls with disabilities, this goal is even more distant due to compounded discrimination,” the Experts stated.    Women and girls with disabilities are disproportionately affected by poverty, inadequate healthcare including sexual and reproductive health, limited access to inclusive education, employment in the open market, digital devices and technology, increased exposure to abuse and violence, including sexual violence, trafficking in persons, and limited access to justice.    And particularly for those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, denial of legal capacity often strips them of the freedom to make critical choices, including over their own bodies.    “Women and girls with disabilities are too often invisible and their needs and concerns are insufficiently considered in public policies on gender equality and on the rights of persons with disabilities,” noted the Experts.    This is aggravated by the widespread lack of disaggregated quantitative and qualitative data based on disability, age, sex, and gender, and their intersection.    The Experts stressed that the voices and experiences of all women and girls with disabilities must be part of public policy and decision-making priorities and commitments.    “They need to be more represented in leadership roles across all sectors – including within movements promoting and advocating for the human rights of women and of persons with disabilities respectively. Women and girls with disabilities need to be fully consulted on all policies that affect their lives and to be included in all discussions and decision-making processes” the Experts urged.    Further, all aspects of the intersection between gender and disabilities need to be considered, for example how the situation of families – and mostly mothers and other female relatives – impacts the human rights of children with disabilities.    The Experts recalled the need to establish gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and age-sensitive care and support systems.    The upcoming 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration provides a pivotal opportunity for governments to assess progress in advancing the rights of women and girls with disabilities, and all women and girls who are left behind and whose needs are insufficiently addressed. While recent national reports reveal achievements, persistent gaps highlight the need for targeted policies and investment.    http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-disability http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5856-thirty-years-implementation-beijing-declaration-and-platform    28 Oct. 2024    The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issues key recommendations on the rights of persons with disabilities in recent 76th session.    Earlier this month, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its Concluding Observations on Albania, Cyprus, Honduras, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, and Poland, adopted during its 76th session (9th to 27th September). The Committee included recommendations on and explicit references to issues of persons with disabilities in all the 13 concluding observations adopted during 2024, reaching a total of 65 recommendations and references.    The International Disability Alliance has produced its compilations of Disability-Related Extracts from the Concluding Observations for the sessions 75th and 76th held in 2024.    In 2024, the 75th and 76th sessions of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights covered a range of important issues related to the rights of persons with disabilities including: Discrimination and social inclusion; Access to inclusive quality education; Employment; Poverty and economic inequality; Social protection; Infrastructure and accessibility.    The 75th session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in February 2024 reviewed six countries and issued disability-related recommendations for all of them, reaching a total of 31 recommendations. Key issues include:    Indonesia: The Committee raised concerns over the use of shackling on people with psychosocial disabilities and recommended preventing this practice and improve mental health services. The Committee was concerned about the lack of school infrastructure and digital access, with recommendations to enhance education quality and access, especially for children with disabilities.    Iraq: The Committee raised concerns about unemployment, particularly among marginalized groups like people with disabilities. Recommendations included enhancing vocational training and combating poverty, with particular attention to disadvantaged groups including persons with disabilities.    Ireland: The Committee pointed out the lack of disaggregated data on discrimination, calling for better data collection and comprehensive anti-discrimination laws. It emphasized improving employment opportunities and tackling poverty, especially for disadvantaged groups. In particular, it recommended to "take measures to ensure that the minimum wage applies to all workers, all sectors and all forms of employment, including by repealing sections 35 (1), on different rates of remuneration for persons with disabilities, of the Employment Equality Act".    Mauritania: Issues with unemployment, education access, and social security, especially for marginalized groups, were highlighted. Recommendations included improving education quality and infrastructure and to "guarantee access to quality education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular children with disabilities;"    Romania: Concerns were raised about discrimination against marginalized groups, lack of social housing, and high school dropout rates among Roma and rural children. Recommendations included addressing discrimination education, improving employment conditions for vulnerable groups, and to "increase the availability of adequate and affordable housing, in particular by expanding the supply of social housing, paying particular attention to members of disadvantaged and marginalized groups, such as persons with disabilities...";    Sweden: Concerns about discrimination, particularly in employment and housing, were raised. The Committee recommended stronger anti-discrimination measures, including ensuring that "effective judicial remedies and accessible legal aid, in addition to administrative remedies are available to victims of harassment, hate crimes and discrimination on the grounds of disability...", and seeking improvements in education, especially addressing disparities in access for marginalized students.    The 76th Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in September 2024 covered seven countries: Albania, Cyprus, Honduras, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi and Poland. All seven countries received disability-related recommendations, with a total of 34 specific references to disabilities.    A common recommendation to Albania, Iceland, Malawi and Poland was to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Other key issues include:    Albania: Issues with accessible infrastructure and inclusive education were identified. Recommendations included improving public infrastructure by fully implementing Law No. 93/2014 on Inclusion and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and its related by-laws and other measures, and ensuring inclusive education for children with disabilities by " ensuring the provision of accessible and adapted materials, inclusive curricula, and individualised support and accommodation."    Cyprus: Concerns focus on unemployment among persons with disabilities and the lack of support for families with disabled children. Recommendations suggest targeted employment schemes and inclusive education reforms, as well as to "take all the necessary measures to ensure that children with disabilities can enjoy their right to grow up in a family environment".    Honduras: The focus is on combating discrimination against disadvantaged groups, including persons with disabilities. Recommendations stress the need for ensuring access to effective remedies and reparations to victims of discrimination and violence; and inclusive employment strategies and access to social security.    Iceland: High unemployment among persons with disabilities, violence against them, and poverty are significant issues. Recommendations include promoting employment and combating poverty for vulnerable groups, including by enhancing "efforts to increase the amount of old age pension, unemployment and disability benefits to ensure they provide an adequate standard of living for all recipients."    Kyrgyzstan: Persistent structural discrimination, including against persons with disabilities, is highlighted. The country was urged to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, improve social security access and increase efforts to reduce unemployment by implementing public sector employment schemes, vocational training programmes, and partnerships with the private sector, ensuring that its policies tackle the root causes of unemployment, paying particular attention to persons with disabilities..".    Malawi: The country lacks a comprehensive anti-discrimination legal framework, leading to stigma and unemployment for disabled people. Recommendations call for better inclusive education, social protection through the Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) "providing both basic income security and, when necessary, disability-related costs", and adopting "a comprehensive labour strategy with a precise, time-bound action plan to support women, youth and persons with disabilities in accessing decent employment..".    Poland: Issues with non-discrimination, employment for persons with disabilities and insufficient enforcement of accessibility laws were noted. Recommendations encourage "public education programmes on discriminatory norms and beliefs to combat the stigmatization of persons with disabilities," and targeted employment programs and better legal protections.    http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/committee-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-issues-key-recommendations-rights-persons http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/cedaw-committee-releases-89th-session-concluding-observations-nearly-80-recommendations-and http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/committee-rights-child-issued-recommendations-children-disabilities-its-97th-session http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/opds-advocate-disability-representation-global-climate-policies http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/summary-un-disability-and-development-report-2024    http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/global-disability-summit-2025-accelerating-inclusion-opd-leadership-times-change http://www.globaldisabilitysummit.org http://www.educationcannotwait.org/news-stories/press-releases/galvanizing-support-education-the-global-disability-summit http://minorityrights.org/disability-declaration http://www.globaldisabilitysummit.org/resource/global-disability-inclusion-report/ http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/who-announces-launch-global-initiative-health-equity-persons-disabilities-during-global http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2022/missing-billion-report-proposes-pathway-close-major-health-gap-people http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres/international-centre-evidence-disability/missing-billion http://www.globaldisabilitysummit.org/    http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/ida-youth-leader-calls-new-youth-centered-disability-inclusive-development-system-un-hlpf-2025 http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k1ja23zkv9 http://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-disability/annual-thematic-reports http://social.desa.un.org/cosp/18th-session http://news.un.org/en/audio/2025/06/1164366    http://www.inclusive-education-initiative.org/blog/moving-intention-action-disability-inclusion-education http://minorityrights.org/disability-declaration http://www.driadvocacy.org/news/dri-founder-eric-rosenthal-speaks-un-side-event-disability-trafficking http://www.icj.org/africa-african-commission-on-human-and-peoples-rights-calls-for-the-full-continental-ratification-and-implementation-of-the-african-disability-protocol/ http://www.icj.org/resource/africa-bridging-the-gap-to-realization-of-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/ http://www.icj.org/asia-pacific-kathmandu-declaration-launched-calling-for-action-to-ensure-access-to-justice-for-persons-with-disabilities http://www.icj.org/africa-persons-with-disabilities-push-for-inclusive-and-accessible-justice-systems/    http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/03/hc-turk-technology-must-support-people-disabilities-not-deepen http://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/publications/good-practice-in-disability-inclusive-social-security-2/ http://social.desa.un.org/publications/un-flagship-report-on-disability-and-development-2024 http://atscalepartnership.org/ Visit the related web page
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