THEMES

Introduction to disability and equity

Disability equity and rights encompass the fundamental principles of justice for people with disabilities, ensuring their full and equal participation and inclusion in all aspects of society. Taking an approach focused on disability equity and rights means not just providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities, but acknowledging that people with disabilities experience barriers to inclusion. Achieving disability equity and rights therefore requires people to take action to ensure that the barriers experienced by people with disabilities are removed to enable active participation and engagement in society.

Resources provided in this section and the related sub-sections utilises evidence and guidance to highlight how disability equity and rights can be achieved in international development and humanitarian contexts.

UNICEF (2022) Budgeting and mobilizing resources for disability inclusion in humanitarian actions

This resource is a short guide to support humanitarian programs and responses to ensure disability inclusion is adequately budgeted and resourced for.

UNICEF (2023) How to get started on disability inclusion in humanitarian action

This short guide outlines basic steps on how to get started on disability inclusion in a humanitarian context for disability focal points, emergency focal points, and staff engaged in humanitarian coordination.

Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2016) Report on the rights of persons with disabilities to participate in decision-making

This report by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities calls for necessity of strong participation mechanisms to facilitate better policies and services, and more effective governance for people with disabilities.

International Disability Alliance (2022) Not just ticking the disability box? Meaningful OPD participation and the risk of tokenism

This report presents findings from the second IDA Global Survey on the Participation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The key findings from the Survey reveal that increased participation of OPDs has not resulted in meaningful participation.

Inclusion International and Down Syndrome International (2022) Listen Include Respect: How-to guides on including people with intellectual disabilities

The guidelines formed by Inclusion International and Down Syndrome International explain how organisations can make their work more inclusive.

UNCRPD Committee (2018) General Comment on Participation of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention

This legal guidance, issued as General Comment No. 7, upholds the right of all persons with disabilities to participate and be involved in all issues relating to them.

United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (2021) Consulting Persons with Disabilities: Guidelines

These Guidelines provide practical guidance on how to consult people with disabilities and their representative organisations (OPDs) in all disability-specific and general decision-making processes across the UN’s work.

UNDP (2018) Disability Inclusive Development: Guidance and Entry Points

This guide discusses the importance of, and provides entry points for including people with disabilities in development efforts.

UN Special Rapporteur on Disability (2016) Report on disability-inclusive policies

This report explains the economic case for disability-inclusive policies, and provides evidence on the cost that comes with excluding people with disabilities from development.

UN Special Rapporteur on Disability (2020) Report on disability-inclusive international cooperation

This report examines the importance of international cooperation to support the implementation of the rights of people with disabilities.

United Nations (2007) – Easy Read UN CRPD

This is an Easy Read resource to understand what the United Nations CRPD is. It uses simple English with pictures to understand how the CRPD upholds rights for people with disabilities. 

Handicap International (2010) Understanding The UN Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities

This manual is a tool for explaining the content of the CRPD and provides detailed information on what occurred during the negotiation and drafting process.

Disability Rights Fund (2011) Beyond charity: A donor’s guide to inclusion. Disability funding in the era of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This resource provides guidance to donors on promoting disability rights through international cooperation from a human rights perspective, based on the UNCRPD.

CBM Global (2022) Engaging with organisations of persons with disabilities in humanitarian response

This brief captures CBM Global's learnings from engaging with OPDs in humanitarian response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBM Global (2023) Strengthening the voice of Organizations of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities

This resource seeks to document and share CBM Global's learnings about OPD strengthening for people with psychosocial disabilities and mental health conditions.

UNICEF (2022) Engaging with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in humanitarian action

This tipsheet highlights the importance of involving organisations and informal groups of people with disabilities in humanitarian efforts, as outlined in the IASC Guidelines on 'Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action'.

CBM Global IAG & Humanitarian Advisory Group (2022) Organisations of Persons with Disabilities: Making a Difference in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands

This report explores the roles and impact of OPDs in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, and identifies key challenges and enablers constraining and supporting OPDs’ contributions to the disaster preparedness and response sector.

UNPRPD (2024) Guidance Note on Effective and Meaningful Participation of Persons with Disabilities through their representative organizations in UNPRPD Joint programming

This resource provides practical guidance on how to identify and engage Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), including understanding the diversity and structure of the disability movement.

People with Disability Australia (PWDA) (2021) PWDA Language Guide: A guide to language about disability

This guide has been written by people with disability to assist the Australian general public and media outlets in talking about and reporting on disability.

United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (2022) Disability-Inclusive Communications Guidelines

The guidelines provide practical information on how to include and represent people with disabilities in communications, and how to make communications inclusive of and accessible to people with disabilities.

CBM Global (2017) Disability Inclusive Development Toolkit

This toolkit provides a comprehensive introduction to disability inclusion.

CBM International (2022) What Is Disability

This resource provides a summary of what 'disability' is, and how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) frames disability.

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