Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, 2020
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all nations. No one has been spared the impact of the pandemic. More than just a health crisis, it is a crisis with socioeconomic, humanitarian, security, and human rights dimensions. Persons with disabilities are among the most marginalized in any crisis-affected community,1 and the COVID-19 crisis has been no different, disproportionately affecting women, men, boys and girls with disabilities. The success of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be measured by the extent to which people, particularly those who are most excluded, are placed at the centre of recovery efforts, and to which the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – to leave no one behind – is answered.
Realizing the rights of persons with disabilities should not remain an aspiration, therefore, but become our pathway to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis should be transformed into an opportunity to build a world that is more equ al and inclusive and to ensure that our societies are more resilient and agile. The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, launched two years ago, in 2019, provides a robust framework for decisive action across the system to include persons with disabilities in the programmes and operations of our Organization, and in any plans for COVID-19 response and recovery. The Strategy has been instrumental throughout this pandemic in coordinating our efforts on disability inclusion, 2 and will remain our compass towards inclusive recovery.
This year’s report reflects on the discernible advancement at all levels of the system, as well as gaps in the mainstreaming of disability inclusion. It also reflects on the continuing challenges and opportunities, in relation both to the pandemic and to the transformation still required to achieve lasting change for persons with disabilities. The progress made despite the pandemic demonstrates the commitment throughout the United Nations system to prioritizing disability inclusion, even at a challenging time. We must therefore maintain our focus in order to realize greater change for persons with disabilities.