Assahafa.com
President of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), Omar Zniber, pleaded on Wednesday in Geneva for concrete action in favor of people with disabilities.
“As we gather here today, we do so with a shared commitment to disability rights. We collectively recognize the importance of mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities in all our efforts and the need to commit to concrete, disability-responsive, and rights-based actions,” said the President of the HRC and Ambassador Permanent Representative of Morocco to Geneva at the opening of a side event held on the sidelines of the 56th session of the Council.
In Zniber’s opinion, this meeting, organized under the theme “Building a Roadmap Towards Disability-Inclusive Post-2030 Agenda,” is the first step to define actionable commitments towards realizing disability rights globally, leveraging national practices and strengthening collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities.
Citing the case of Morocco, the diplomat underlined the high regard in which His Majesty King Mohammed VI holds people with disabilities. He also stressed the need to harness multilateral efforts to embed, amplify, and realize the fundamental rights of people with disabilities.
“Throughout the discussion, the Council members stood united, showing that disability rights are a common ground for us all, away from geopolitical differences. A common ground for good,” the diplomat said.
Commenting on the outcome of the round table, Zniber stressed the need to increase efforts in mainstreaming disability rights within the United Nations system and to develop human rights-based care and support systems for them to be effective agents of development.
It is also a matter of renewing commitments behind the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, making the United Nations an employer of choice for persons with disabilities, while investing in empowering persons with disabilities of all ages, including women, at regional and country levels to defend and advance their human rights, he said.
In the same vein, Zniber stressed the need to mobilize resources for countries to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to mobilize global political support for disability rights, calling on partner states to reflect these conclusions at the Ministerial G7 meeting on “Inclusion and Disability,” scheduled for October under Italy’s presidency.
“As we move forward towards the post-2030 Agenda, let us commit to ensuring that our efforts lead to tangible changes in the lives of persons with disabilities globally,” he added, noting that the 2025 Global Disability Summit (GDS), led by Germany and Jordan, “offers a unique opportunity to follow the G7 commitments.”
Co-organized by Italy’s Permanent Mission in Geneva and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the side event serves as a preparatory platform for the Ministerial G7 meeting on “Inclusion and Disability” (October 14–16), the World Social Summit, and the Global Disability Summit, both to be held in 2025.
The side event, which saw the participation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and Alessandra Locatelli, Minister for Disabilities of Italy, aims to start the dialogue among states to define actionable steps towards realizing disability inclusion globally.
Source: map
