Realizing the Millennium Development Goals for Persons with Disabilities Through the Implementation of the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

A/RES/63/150View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 55e Review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, published in 2009.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2009–2010

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2010	A/65/173	Keeping the promise : realizing the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities towards 2015 and beyond report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/63/150
2009	A/64/180	Realizing the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities through the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/63/150

What’s in this document?

24 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the fifth quinquennial review and appraisal of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons⁶ and his report on the status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto;⁷

⁶A/63/183.

⁷A/63/264 and Corr.1.

Expresses concern about the persistent gap between policy and practice regarding mainstreaming the perspective of persons with disabilities, including their rights and well-being, in the work of the United Nations in realizing the Millennium Development Goals;

Urges States to involve persons with disabilities on an equal basis with other persons in the formulation of strategies and plans, in particular those of most relevance to them;

Encourages States, in cooperation with, inter alia, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as regional and international financial institutions and the private sector, as appropriate, to be guided in their work by the objectives of the United Nations instruments related to disability by, inter alia:

Examining development strategies, policies and programmes aimed at implementing internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and ensuring that they are inclusive of issues concerning persons with disabilities and that they promote the equalization of opportunities for all;

Ensuring accessibility and reasonable accommodation to enable persons with disabilities to realize their right to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, as well as to be agents and beneficiaries of development;

Providing appropriate resources and accessible services and safety nets for persons with disabilities to ensure improved well-being for all;

Ensuring an adequate standard of living and social protection for persons with disabilities, including through equal access to poverty and hunger eradication programmes, inclusive quality education, in particular free and compulsory primary education and the progressive introduction of free secondary education, as well as the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care in order to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities, without discrimination on the basis of disability, and access to full and productive employment and decent work for all;

Promoting and strengthening national capacities for participatory, democratic and accountable processes and mechanisms that further the equalization of opportunities for the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life;

Encourages States to collect and analyse appropriate information, including statistical and research data that are disaggregated by age and sex, on the situation of persons with disabilities, bearing in mind appropriate protection of personal data, for purposes of policy planning, analysis and evaluation that include the perspective of persons with disabilities, and in this regard invites States to avail themselves of the technical services of the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat;

Reaffirms the role of the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability, and encourages States, intergovernmental organizations, concerned non-governmental organizations and the private sector to continue to support the Fund, with a view to strengthening its capacity to support catalytic and innovative activities to implement fully the development goals and objectives of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,1 the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities2 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,3 including the work of the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development, and to facilitate international cooperation, including building national capacities, with emphasis on priorities for action identified in the present resolution;

Calls upon States to consider including in country reports in connection with the forthcoming periodic reviews of progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a review and evaluation of the impact of development efforts on the rights, well-being and livelihood of persons with disabilities;

Urges States to pay special attention to the gender- and age-specific needs of persons with disabilities, including by taking measures to ensure their full and effective enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Also urges States to take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters;

Recognizes the evolution of thought and discourse surrounding disability issues and the importance of aligning terminologies, definitions and models with the Convention, and requests the Secretary-General to update the World Programme of Action in this regard, while maintaining its thrust and objective of addressing disability issues in the context of economic and social development;

Requests the Secretary-General to give higher priority to the concerns of and issues related to persons with disabilities and their inclusion within the work programme of the United Nations system, and, within existing resources, to strengthen the role of the United Nations and its development programmes and agencies in mainstreaming disability issues, in promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities and in taking into account the perspective and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work of the United Nations system by:

Promoting the inclusion of the perspective of persons with disabilities into the policies, programmes and projects of the Secretariat and the other United Nations bodies and agencies on a broader scale and with higher priority, based on a holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination, and in this regard ensuring that the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses is inclusive of the perspective of persons with disabilities;

Further strengthening action in all countries and providing assistance to developing countries, in particular to least developed countries, with special attention to persons with disabilities in vulnerable circumstances;

Assisting Member States in formulating comprehensive and coherent policies and action plans, as well as projects, including pilot projects that promote, inter alia, international cooperation and technical assistance, in particular to enhance the capacities of government agencies, as well as civil society, including organizations of persons with disabilities, to implement programmes on disability;

Encourages States, in their efforts to realize the Millennium Development Goals, to recognize the importance of international cooperation and its promotion in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the World Programme of Action and the Convention, and to undertake appropriate and effective measures in this regard between and among States and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities;

Requests the Secretary-General:

To submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session a report on the situation of persons with disabilities with respect to the realization of all the Millennium Development Goals and on lessons learned and synergies and complementarities achieved, based on the implementation of the World Programme of Action, the Standard Rules and the Convention, in order to provide a framework for Member States in their efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities;

To submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session a comprehensive biennial report on the implementation of the World Programme of Action, and progress and challenges concerning the advancement of persons with disabilities in the context of development and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals;

To request the Inter-Agency Support Group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to integrate the rights of persons with disabilities into United Nations development activities and to provide guidelines for United Nations country teams.

Realizing the Millennium Development Goals for Persons with Disabilities Through the Implementation of the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

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What’s in this document?

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