2024-07-03 23:30:34
“We meet today with a shared commitment to the rights of persons with disabilities. We collectively recognize the importance of integrating the rights of persons with disabilities into all our efforts and the need to engage in concrete, disability-inclusive and rights-based actions,” said the Chair of the HRC and Ambassador Permanent Representative of Morocco in Geneva, at the opening of a side-event on the sidelines of the 56th session of the Council.
In Mr. Zniber’s opinion, this meeting, organized under the theme “Developing a roadmap for a post-2030 agenda promoting the integration of people with disabilities”, constitutes the first step in defining concrete commitments in favor of the realization of the rights of this category at the global level, based on national practices and strengthening collaboration with organizations active with people with disabilities.
Citing the case of Morocco, the diplomat stressed the high concern that His Majesty King Mohammed VI grants to people with disabilities.
Mr. Zniber also stressed the need to mobilize multilateral efforts to integrate, expand and realize the fundamental rights of people with disabilities.
“Throughout the discussion, Council members remained united, showing that the rights of persons with disabilities are a common ground for all of us, beyond geopolitical differences. A common ground in the service of good,” said the CDH President.
Reflecting on the outcome of this round table, Mr. Zniber stressed the need to redouble efforts to integrate the rights of persons with disabilities into the United Nations system, to develop care and assistance systems based on human rights so that persons with disabilities are effective agents of development.
It is also, according to the diplomat, about renewing the commitment to the United Nations strategy for the integration of persons with disabilities, by making the United Nations an employer of choice for persons with disabilities, and investing in the empowerment of persons with disabilities of all ages, including women, at the regional and national levels, in order to defend and advance their human rights.
In the same vein, Mr. Zniber stressed the imperative to mobilize resources to help countries implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to mobilize global political support for disability rights, encouraging partner States to take these conclusions into account at the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Inclusion and Disability, scheduled for October under the presidency of Italy.
“As we move forward towards the post-2030 Agenda, let us commit to ensuring that our efforts lead to tangible changes in the lives of persons with disabilities globally,” he added, noting that the Global Disability Summit, to be held in 2025 under the auspices of Germany and Jordan, “offers a unique opportunity to follow through on the G7 commitments.”
Co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Italy in Geneva and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the side-event serves as a preparatory platform for the G7 meeting on inclusion and disability (14-16 October 2024), the World Social Summit and the World Disability Summit, both to be held in 2025.
The side event, which saw the participation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and Alessandra Locatelli, Italian Minister for Persons with Disabilities, aims to initiate dialogue between States, in order to define concrete measures to achieve the inclusion of persons with disabilities at the global level.
2024-07-03 23:30:34