Disability rights were formally addressed for the first time in Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) history, in July 2025 not only in a dedicated high-level side event but also in one of the main conference panels. EDF welcomes this breakthrough as an important first step.
However, disability inclusion must be embedded across all dimensions of Ukraine’s recovery – from infrastructure and housing to education, employment, health, governance, and justice and not treated as a stand-alone topic.
In the main panel “Strengthening the Fabric of Society: Fostering Inclusion and Social Cohesion in Ukraine’s Recovery,” EDF’s Vice President Gunta Anča emphasised that no recovery can be sustainable without full participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations (OPDs).
The EDF-led side event, “A Human-Centred Recovery: Why Disability Inclusion Matters,” co-organised with the Italian Ministry for Disabilities, brought together Ukrainian and international voices, including wounded veterans, government officials, and donors, to address the urgent needs of persons with disabilities and advocate for inclusive reconstruction strategies.
This increased disability inclusion in URC was the result of months of advocacy, including targeted letters, preparatory meetings with EU and national actors, and coalition building across borders. While the physical venue of the conference was generally accessible, the lack of trained support staff and inadequate communication regarding available services led to serious barriers for persons with disabilities – including unsafe navigation of staircases and exclusionary badge collection procedures. These barriers underscore the need for early and systematic inclusion of accessibility planning and OPD consultation in all future conferences.
EDF remains committed to working with Ukrainian, Italian, and European partners to ensure that disability rights are not only acknowledged but mainstreamed in all recovery and EU accession efforts. A strong and democratic Ukraine must be inclusive of all its people – by design, not as an afterthought.
In July 2025, the European Disability Forum (EDF), together with the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPD) and the League of the Strong, actively contributed to the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) held in Rome. This engagement was part of the Empower Ukraine programme, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) and Christian Blind Mission (CBM), and built on close collaboration with our Italian partners: the Italian Disability Forum (FID), CBM Italia, and FISH – Federazione Italiana per il Superamento dell’Handicap.