Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol Thereto : Situations of Risk and Humanitarian Emergencies

A/RES/78/195View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71a Implementation of human rights instruments, published in 2023.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 2	Inclusive social development	59
	Subprogramme 2	Supporting human rights treaty bodies	28

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 2	Inclusive social development	59	—
	Subprogramme 2	Supporting human rights treaty bodies	28	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2024–2025

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/423	Status of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto : diverse contexts that amplify the barriers faced by persons with disabilities report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/78/195
2024	A/79/233	Disability inclusion in the United Nations System report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/78/195

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Accessibility Anti-Discrimination Measures Disaster Preparedness Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Information Dissemination Persons with Disabilities

What’s in this document?

52 operative paragraphs

Calls upon those States that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto as a matter of priority;

Encourages States that have ratified the Convention and submitted one or more reservations to it to review regularly the effect and continued relevance of such reservations and to consider the possibility of withdrawing them;

Requests United Nations agencies and organizations, and invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to continue to strengthen efforts undertaken to disseminate accessible and easy-to-understand information on the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto, including to children and young people to promote their understanding, and to assist States parties in implementing their obligations under those instruments;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto: protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies and easy-to-understand communication as an accessibility resource and tool for persons with disabilities”,¹² and the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities;¹³

¹²A/78/331.

¹³A/78/174.

Urges States to commit to build back stronger by learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, including by enhancing the resilience of programmes for persons with disabilities during health emergencies, implementing resilient and inclusive recovery plans in consultation with persons with disabilities to reach targets and harnessing innovations such as digital technologies, and recognizing the importance of care and support systems for inclusion;

Encourages Member States and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in processes of monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian assistance, and ensure that they have adequate access to feedback mechanisms during situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters, and increase public resources for disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction;

Calls upon those States that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled;

Emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of relevant sustainable development strategies, and encourages States to apply a human rights-based and gender-responsive approach and to intensify their efforts to advance the rights of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, consistent with their international obligations;

Also emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming the perspective of persons with disabilities in humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction, and recognizes the importance of non-discrimination and their full, equal, effective and meaningful participation in and contribution to design, planning, implementation and review of humanitarian responses, as well as disaster risk reduction, preparedness, emergency response, recovery and transition from relief to development, as well as the implementation of systematic approaches, policies and programmes that are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities;

Encourages States to review and repeal any law or policy that restricts the full and effective participation in political and public life of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others or discriminates against persons with disabilities, including with regard to accessing a service or facility open to the public, and to establish accessible and effective channels of redress for discrimination on the basis of disability;

Urges States to take steps to eliminate multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against all women and girls with disabilities through repealing discriminatory laws, policies and practices, to take all effective measures to remove any other barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities in accessing, inter alia, the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, transportation, health and education, information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and other facilities and services open or provided to the public and to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all rights stipulated in the Convention, including to effectively and fully participate in public life and in the conduct of public affairs;

Also urges States to ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with adequate support in order to participate fully in the labour market and ensure that employment opportunities and the ability to improve the quality of their employment are not lost as a result of situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, through encouraging the use of innovations such as flexible working, teleworking, robotics and artificial intelligence, and other technological advancements, and cooperation between employment, health and welfare policy;

Further urges States to take all appropriate measures to eliminate violence and discrimination against persons with disabilities, including women and girls, in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters, and ensure that their specific needs are addressed, such as access to basic services, including health-care services, rehabilitation assistance, psychosocial support and educational programmes, as well as transportation and information and communications technologies and systems on an equal basis with others;

Calls upon all States to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, on an equal basis with other children, in recognition that discrimination against any child on the basis of a disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the child, to enhance inclusion and address barriers faced by children with disabilities, including addressing discriminatory, attitudinal and environmental barriers to their participation and inclusion in society and in the community, to develop gender- and age-sensitive policies and capacities to ensure the rights and address the particular needs of children with disabilities, including children in vulnerable situations, including migrant children, children without parental care, children in street situations and child victims of trafficking, and those affected by climate change, and to prevent and respond to all forms of violence, including cases of sexual and gender-based violence;

Encourages Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access on an equal basis with others to basic and essential services provided in the context of situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, including education, livelihoods, health-care services, care and support programmes, transportation and information and communications technologies and systems;

Calls upon Member States, the United Nations system, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to fully include persons with disabilities in all stages of addressing situations of risk, including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, especially in areas where they experience additional barriers due to their disability, and recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health without discrimination, including through providing timely and appropriate, quality and free or affordable health-care services and programmes as provided to other persons in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health and population-based public health programmes, and provide health services needed by persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities;

Encourages Member States and relevant stakeholders to work with national emergency committees and mental health support providers in order to include mental health and psychosocial support needs in emergency preparedness and response plans and enable access to age- and gender-responsive and disability-inclusive, safe and supportive services that address psychological trauma (individual and collective), including that caused by situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, for all, including health workers and humanitarian personnel, during and following emergencies, with due attention to the longer-term funding required to build or rebuild community-based, resilient mental health systems after the emergency;

Encourages States to adopt inclusive strategies that address the barriers to the participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations at all levels of decision-making processes, and to adopt a framework for equality, non-discrimination and the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities;

Calls upon States to ensure the full and effective participation of and consultation with persons with disabilities, including through their representative organizations, in the development and implementation of policies and programmes for the implementation of the Convention, as well as in other relevant issues at the national and local levels, including through the inclusion of persons with disabilities in boards, organs and institutions and integrating consultative processes in such policies and programmes as appropriate;

Also calls upon States to promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons with disabilities to ensure their access to information, to provide information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities using accessible formats and technologies useful for persons with different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost, and to expand the availability and improve the affordability of information and communications technologies, as well as to facilitate cooperation in research and access to scientific and technical knowledge to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities;

Urges Member States, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to close the digital divides and promote the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities, addressing the challenges associated with accessibility, affordability, digital literacy and digital skills, and awareness;

Calls upon States to ensure that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement and that persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community;

Also calls upon States to promote and facilitate access to and sharing of accessible and assistive technologies, especially new and emerging ones, including information and communications systems, mobility aids, assistive devices and other assistive technologies, by persons with disabilities, and to promote research and development in this regard, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimal cost and at an early stage;

Urges States to consider laws, policies and procedures relating to public procurement to ensure that persons with disabilities can access any service or facility open to the public on an equal basis with others;

Encourages States to disseminate information to and work with the private sector, including employers and other relevant stakeholders, to implement accessibility measures for any facilities or services that are open or provided to the public that take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;

Urges States to enable the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, including their representative organizations, in humanitarian assistance action, as well as in conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction and peacebuilding, and to ensure that a disability-inclusive approach is prioritized;

Encourages Member States and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, including their representative organizations, in processes of monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian assistance, and ensure that they have adequate access to feedback mechanisms during situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, and increase public resources for disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction;

Encourages States to ensure access to information, services and assistance for all persons with disabilities, including persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, including by producing early and accessible warning systems and providing information and communications about situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies in accessible formats for persons with disabilities, including by using local languages and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities, such as easy-to-understand communications, in a timely manner, and promoting access to basic and essential services, including health-care services, and by strengthening the preparedness of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards;

Calls upon States to strengthen efforts to empower all persons with disabilities and enhance their participation and promote their leadership in society through taking measures to address and remove all barriers that prevent or restrict their access and full inclusion and participation in the community on an equal basis with others, including in the government and public sector, the private sector, civil society and all branches and bodies of the national monitoring system of the Convention, and to work to ensure that persons with disabilities are closely consulted and actively involved, through their representative organizations, in the design, implementation and monitoring of all legislation, policies and programmes which have an impact on their lives;

Encourages States to provide support to existing organizations and promote the creation of organizations, including civil society organizations and networks of persons with disabilities, as appropriate, and to promote and support persons with disabilities in taking leadership roles in public decision-making bodies at all levels, recognizing the importance for States of having an open, inclusive and transparent engagement with civil society in the implementation of measures on persons with disabilities;

Calls upon States to collect and analyse data disaggregated by income, sex, race, age, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographical location and other characteristics relevant to national contexts to assist, inter alia, with the identification and eradication of barriers and all forms of discrimination, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, that prevent persons with disabilities from enjoying all the rights stipulated in the Convention, to guide inclusive policy planning and to be used on an ongoing basis to assess and advance participation, and also calls upon States to improve data-collection systems for adequate monitoring and evaluation frameworks on the implementation of the Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals for all persons with disabilities;

Urges States and other relevant stakeholders, including national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles,¹⁴ where they exist, to continue to support the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by, inter alia, supporting the disaggregation of data by disability, sex and age for specific indicators, using appropriate measurement tools, including, as appropriate, the United Nations Children’s Fund Module on Child Functioning and the Washington Group short set of questions on disability and other data-collection methodologies, to assist States in measuring the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets and programming policies in the context of the Goals;

¹⁴Resolution 48/134, annex.

Encourages States to engage in international cooperation efforts, where required, aimed at enhancing their national capacities 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 disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, and invites relevant United Nations entities, in accordance with their respective mandates, to consider ways to foster international cooperation activities in this regard;

Encourages States, United Nations entities and relevant international organizations, inter alia:

To ensure that international cooperation is gender-responsive and disability-inclusive, including through the implementation of disability markers to monitor the implementation of programmes and the collection of data and statistics on persons with disabilities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, targets and indicators, as well as other international frameworks;

To support, promote and strengthen international cooperation and assistance, and enhance partnerships and coordination, including South-South cooperation, among themselves and with the active participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, as well as other relevant civil society organizations and stakeholders, in strengthening the means of implementation of the Convention and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through the mobilization of financial resources, technical cooperation and facilitation of access to and sharing of accessible and assistive technologies on mutually agreed terms;

To take effective and appropriate steps to facilitate the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, having regard for the measures contemplated by the Convention, and to include persons with disabilities in their planning, response and recovery actions, to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to ensuring their safety;

To build capacity and sensitivity for disability inclusion among personnel involved in disaster and emergency response and humanitarian assistance, including emergency first responders, by raising awareness of the rights and needs of persons with disabilities, holding consultations with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, and including provisions for disability inclusion in government protocols and procedures;

To ensure accessibility, including through universal design in programming, and in all post-emergency reconstruction and rebuilding, particularly during planning and reconstruction of infrastructure and public facilities, including housing, transportation and communication;

To enhance the collection, dissemination and use of data on persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, disaggregated by disability, age, sex and other characteristics relevant to national contexts, using data collection methodologies such as the Washington Group short set of questions on disability, as appropriate, in consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations;

Encourages States to integrate the rights of persons with disabilities into national policies and action plans for the implementation of relevant international instruments addressing situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards;

Encourages the United Nations system, international financial and development institutions, and other international and regional organizations:

To increase assistance to support Member States, upon their request, in substantially enhancing the participation of persons with disabilities, including through their organizations, in decision-making, including through building capacity, training and supporting persons with disabilities in participating in public life, and sharing experiences and best practices;

To provide sustained, long-term support to national partners, including organizations of persons with disabilities, and civil society organizations, in their efforts to become more disability-inclusive and promote the participation of persons with disabilities;

To ensure non-discrimination for all persons with disabilities, and ensure opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in humanitarian preparedness and response;

Recalls its decision on accessible seating for representatives with disabilities in resolution 73/341 of 12 September 2019 on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, and in this regard also recalls the note by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management of the Secretariat implementing the decision;

Invites the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities to address and engage in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly annually, under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”, as a way to enhance communication between the Assembly and the Committee;

Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on the system-wide implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy,¹⁵ and calls upon the United Nations system, including its agencies, funds and programmes, within their respective mandates, to continue to work collaboratively to accelerate the full and effective mainstreaming of disability inclusion into the United Nations system, including by implementing and reporting on the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy across its programmes and operations;

¹⁵A/77/344 and A/78/281.

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session a progress report on steps taken by the United Nations system towards mainstreaming disability inclusion, including implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, within existing resources;

Calls upon Member States, the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to take part in implementing the recommendations endorsed by the Steering Committee on Accessibility in June 2019;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eightieth session a report on how diverse contexts amplify the barriers faced by persons with disabilities, particularly those subjected to discrimination or whose rights, as outlined by the Convention, are not upheld, including good practices and challenges in the implementation of the Convention in that regard, in consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, relevant United Nations entities, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Children’s Fund, taking into account the views of relevant stakeholders and using existing available materials, and to include a segment on the status of the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to maintain the levels of resources required by the relevant offices in the United Nations system for the fulfilment of their tasks with respect to their work on the rights of and inclusive development for persons with disabilities.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?