Disability and development

Check against delivery

 

While we are seeking to "leave no-one behind" after 2015, in today's world people with disabilities – about a billion people – are too often left behind

This is a weakness in the existing Millennium Development Goals

The President of the General Assembly said this morning that it is the responsibility of all member states to ensure that people with disabilities are integrated into the new post-2015 framework. I fully agree

Further, the Secretary General reminded us earlier today that excluding the disabled from labour markets can mean forgoing 7% of GDP, according to ILO

These statistics conceal the fate of countless individuals: mothers, children,  husbands, fathers. This is hard to grasp

This is a human rights challenge. To be explicit: We will never be able to achieve universal access if disabled people are not in our focus

That is why we need to include clear targets for disabled people's access in the new development goals. We will champion this in the on-going process

Norway will work to ensure that disabled people’s organisations are included in negotiations and decision-making to the greatest possible extent

Norway is seeking the establishment of monitoring and accountability mechanisms involving the participation of civil society, parliaments, the private sector and other stakeholders

The Secretary-General has called for universal goals that are measurable and adaptable to both global and local settings. If we are to monitor the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the post-2015 agenda, we need to improve and disaggregate disability data, statistics and monitoring

Norway supports the World Health Organization and the World Bank  in their work to develop a Model Disability Survey. There is also a need for further initiatives that can help to improve data quality

Norway encourages all member states to support the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Multi-Donor Trust Fund (UNPRPD MDTF). We support their initiative to coordinate the efforts of various UN bodies to assist countries in implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

On the nationa level, Norway ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in June. My country is now obliged to eliminate discrimination and build an inclusive society, at home and abroad

Specifically, we are funding disabled people’s organisations alongside other human rights defenders; we are working to improve their access to education and health services for all disabled persons, not least disabled women; and we are also working to include this group in our humanitarian assistance efforts

At my side is Lars Ødegård,  the first person to use a wheelchair in the Norwegian parliament. In 1999 the rostrum was not accessible to him. It has now been rebuilt

When I was appointed minister in 2012, I discovered when meeting with disabled people's organisations that my office was not accessible to them. It is fixed now

I think it is only fair to say: We have all got important work to do. And we must work together

Our goal is not only equal rights, but equal opportunities for all