European conference on disability-inclusive development cooperation

On Dec 3, CBM along with other organisations is co-hosting a conference entitled 'Leave no one behind - Tackling inequalities of persons with disabilities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' in Brussels.

2015 is the European Year of Development, an opportunity to explain to European citizens how EU development aid works and to demonstrate that it makes a real and lasting difference. On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on 3 December, the European Disability Forum(EDF), the European Commission, the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), CONCORD and CBM co-organise a European conference on disability-inclusive development cooperation.

The conference is entitled “Leave no one behind. Tackling inequalities of persons with disabilities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and will take place in the Berlaymont building of the European Commission.

This year, the EU was reviewed by the UN Committee on its work to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) that the EU ratified in 2010. In its concluding observations, the UN Expert Committee recommended the EU to “adopt a harmonised policy on disability-inclusive development and establish a systematic approach to mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in all European Union international cooperation policies and programmes, to appoint disability focal points in related institutions, and take the lead in the implementation of disability-inclusive 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

The aim of the conference is to bring policy makers together with organisations of persons with disabilities from the EU Member States and from developing countries to reinforce the EU's commitment to the UN CRPD and the inclusive 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to get the opinion of relevant stakeholders about the way forward for implementing the UN’s concluding observations related to disability-inclusive development.

The conference will include presentations and discussions on: 

  • Disability in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
  • The inclusion of disability in EU development cooperation – the way forward for the implementation of the Concluding Observations in the 2030 Agenda era
  • Monitoring the implementation of the SDGs
  • The role of disabled persons’ organisations in international cooperation.