19 to 21 October 2022
Jakarta & Online
Overview
Asia and the Pacific is home to more than 700 million persons with disabilities who face significant barriers to full and effective participation in society. To realize the regional vision of inclusive development that upholds the rights of all persons with disabilities, ESCAP member States proclaimed in 2012 the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, and adopted the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals. The Beijing Declaration, including the Action Plan to Accelerate the Implementation of the Incheon Strategy was later adopted by member States in 2017 to provide guidance on further advancing disability-inclusive development.
The Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan have inherent synergies with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and key policy instruments that are explicitly inclusive of persons with disabilities, namely the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2015-2030, both adopted in 2015. The Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan constitute a unique set of policy and advocacy tools that have been supporting the advancement of disability rights and the realization of inclusive and sustainable societies, with no one left behind, in the Asia-Pacific region.
As the Decade concludes in 2022, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is organizing the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, pursuant to ESCAP resolution 69/13. The meeting will be hosted by the Government of Indonesia, in Jakarta and online from 19 to 21 October 2022. The meeting will review progress and achievements made in the Decade (2013-2022), foster consensus on new strategic directions, and renew commitments by ESCAP members and associate members to disability rights and disability-inclusive development in the Asia-Pacific region, leading up to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Preparations for the final review
Leading up to the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, ESCAP is undertaking a final review of the implementation of the Decade. A voluntary national survey was disseminated to all ESCAP members and associate members in August 2021 to gather information on the progress made towards realizing disability rights and inclusion across the region, in particular the achievement of Incheon Strategy goals and targets. ESCAP is also organizing a series of consultations with disability experts, organizations of and for persons with disabilities and other stakeholders in the region.
More information about the Final Review can be found here.
Call for proposals of side events
ESCAP members and associate members, organizations of and for persons with disabilities, United Nations partners, international organizations and other stakeholders are invited to submit side event proposals by 3 October 2022 at the latest.
More information on proposals of side events will be made available soon.
