Brussels, 13th March 2018
Whereas the European Union (EU), as a Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), has a legal obligation under the Convention to promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities;
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted in 2015 by the United Nations, represents a unique opportunity to implement and monitor the UNCRPD;
Whereas the motto of the 2030 Agenda is “leave no one behind”, with the pledge to recognise the dignity of every person and to reach first those further at risk of marginalisation;
Whereas the UNCRPD is an invaluable tool in meeting the EU’s commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda;
Whereas persons with disabilities are fully recognised in the 2030 Agenda, with 11 references to disability;
Whereas at the core of the 2030 Agenda, there are a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are designed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure global prosperity;
Whereas the SDGs will end in 2030 and they therefore constitute a unique platform to fight discrimination and social exclusion for the 12 years to come;
Whereas persons with disabilities are fully recognised in the SDGs, with 19 references to disability;
Where the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs should apply equally to persons with disabilities;
Whereas the EU should seize this exceptional opportunity to become a world leader in mainstreaming the SDGs for persons with disabilities and other groups at risk of marginalisation in Europe and worldwide, pursuing the achievement of the SDGs by means of its budget, policies and laws, including the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights as signed by the EU and all Member States, in November 2017;
Following its SDGs conference on 03rd March 2018, the European Disability Forum adopted the following Resolution:
EDF calls on the EU to fully include persons with disabilities in all policy dialogue regarding the SDGs, in Europe and in the context of international cooperation;
To this aim, European leaders are invited to:
- Become a role model for the implementation and the monitoring of disability-inclusive SDGs in Europe and in the EU international cooperation programmes;
- Ensure persons with disabilities and their representative organisations are involved as partners on an equal basis with other actors so they can play an active role in the working groups of the EU Multi-Stakeholder Platform on the SDGs, and other ad hoc working groups;
- Ensure the EU budget serves the SDGs and is aligned to all human rights conventions and international agreements, in particular the CRPD, which the EU and all its member states are bound to;
- Ensure the EU budget boosts social inclusion and provides financial means to implement disability-inclusive SDGs;
- Require the inclusion of people with disabilities in all projects, in the EU and in all of its external actions, for which the EU grants financial support;
- Make coherent efforts to achieve the SDGs and respect, protect and fulfill human rights when pursuing economic growth;
- Ensure the use of European Funds to fight poverty and social exclsion, so all persons with disabilities can access adequate, affordable and accessible services;
- Ensure relevant data collected by Eurostat is disaggregated by disability using the Washington Group set of questions to ensure comparability;
- Mainstream disability into all efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women with disabilities;
- Ensure all EU funded development activities, expertise and initiatives are disabilility inclusive and fully in compliance with the CRPD, the EU being a world leader in international development and corporation;
- Fully adhere to the motto of the SDGs: “to leave no one behind”, with a real effort to reach persons who are further at risk of marginalisation.
The European Disablity Forum (EDF) is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation that defends the rights of 80 million people with disabilities in Europe. EDF is a unique platform which brings together approximatively 90 organisations of persons with disabilities from across Europe. EDF is run by persons with disabilities and their families.