Spain’s Disability Inclusiveness Highlights

The principles of inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities are enshrined in Spain’s development cooperation law. Much work remains to be done to put these principles into practice across all Spanish development and humanitarian policies and programmes. However, Spain has some promising experiences on which it could build, notably some positive examples of engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs – albeit with scope for further progress, especially in engagement with organisations in the Global South), and its lead involvement in the EU funded Bridging the Gap disability-inclusive development project.

Current Strengths

  • The Law on International Development Cooperation includes “non discrimination and universal accessibility for persons with disabilities” as one of its priorities.
  • AECID and FIIAPP are both members of the GLAD Network, as is ONCE (one of the Spanish DPOs that AECID supports).
  • AECID has published a 250-page guide on ‘inclusion of disability in development cooperation’, and has also offered online courses.

Areas to Improve

  • Spain does not yet have a strategy on disability in international cooperation and humanitarian action.
  • This review did not find any evidence of specific performance incentives for staff work on disability.
  • There does not appear to be a dedicated budget for disability inclusion.

Advocacy Questions

  • How does Spain plan to increase the share of Spanish ODA that has disability inclusion among its objectives in future years?
  • Despite having many staff members assisting on disability inclusion in addition to other tasks, does AECID have plans to create at least one full-time post focused on disability inclusion in the future?
  • What checks might the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC) consider introducing to the process for approving ODA spending, to test whether proposed uses of ODA are disability-inclusive, before spending goes ahead?

More Information – Spain Factsheet [12 KB doc]