20 May 2020
At the beginning of May, the UN Secretary-General released a policy brief titled “A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19” aiming to offer key recommendations to implement an inclusive response to the current global health crisis. On May 18, 138 member states and observers have published a joint statement to welcome the policy brief and the guidance by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Health Organisation.
All the signatories also acknowledge the initiatives by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility as well as by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Some of the issues the joint statement highlights are: the need for accessible information, meaningful consultation and active participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations and collection of disability-disaggregated data. Those are some of the key steps to be taken to ensure that all countries provide a proper and inclusive response to COVID-19 emergency situation, making sure that the rights of persons with disabilities are fully protected.
