In June 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres committed to achieving transformative change for people with disabilities, launching the first-ever United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy. Central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and leaving no one behind, the Strategy aims to raise the standards and performance on disability inclusion across the Organization’s work both in headquarters and country offices.
Since the Strategy was launched, the UN system as a whole has worked in concert to implement the key goals set therein. The results of these collective efforts are now documented in the Secretary-General’s progress report on the implementation of the Strategy.
The report, which was requested by Member States, was presented this week to the Third Committee by the Secretary-General’s senior advisor on policy, Under-Secretary-General Ana Maria Menéndez. The report provides not only the commitment by the system to foster a greater culture of inclusion within the Organization but also lays down key changes and progress made by departments, offices, agencies, funds, programmes as well as our peace operations and country teams.
Those changes include becoming an employer of choice for persons with disabilities; ensuring that we increase the awareness of the staff towards a disability-sensitive United Nations that can contribute to more inclusive and accessible societies; and ensuring consultation with persons with disabilities and their participation at all stages of decision-making processes.
The role of every staff member, at every level of the Organization, and in every aspect of the UN’s work – across programmes and operations, whether in human rights, in humanitarian and climate-related work, in development, or peacebuilding and peace and security fields – remains crucial to the Strategy’s success.
The Report of the Secretary-General: Disability Inclusion in the United Nations System, is available online, in all UN languages and in multiple accessible formats: Easy-to-Read, ePub and (abridged version).
- For more information, please contact disabilitystrategy@un.org
