Disability: data creation and management and indicators

The United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York hosted the 11th Conference of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPC). At this meeting, the Bridging the gap project presented its study of the collection and analysis of data on disability and the creation of disability indicators as a basic tool for improving access to their rights for people with disabilities. In particular, it highlighted the application of these data and indicators to one of the most vulnerable groups: women and children with disabilities.

The project, which is financed by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP, contributes to implementing articles 31 and 32 of the Convention, regarding the compilation and breakdown of data, and the inclusion of people with disabilities in international cooperation. This topic was discussed at the event, which was chaired by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and backed by the European Commission.

Inmaculada Plasencia, deputy head of the European Commission’s Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit, acted as the moderator for the session. In her opening speech, she referred to the project as “a unique opportunity for making development cooperation much more inclusive, by bringing together two big agendas: Agenda 2030 for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and that of the Convention”.

The session was also attended by experts in development and disability, including Victoria Lee, one of the managers of Bridging the gap at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She was tasked with explaining the work that had been done during the first year of the project in regard to compiling and breaking down data on disability.

Also taking part were Raúl Montiel and Paola Duarte from the Paraguayan National Commission on Disability (CONADIS), Berhanu Tefera of the African Disability Forum, and Max Rubitsch of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social affairs, Health and Consumer Protection. The last of these shared the improvements made to national disability policies, and the cooperation with Bridging the gap in Ethiopia of the Austrian Cooperation Agency (ADA).

Lastly, one of the management team of the International Consortium on Disability and Development (IDDC), Ola Abu Alghaib, and the vice-chairman of the European Disability Forum (EDF), Patrick Clarke, highlighted the importance of international organizations in influencing social protection policies and promoting the rights of people with disabilities.