The Six Disability Inclusion Initiatives

The Strategic Global Partnership for Disability Inclusion is designed to foster a Public-Private Collaboration that equips, employs, and promotes individuals with disabilities in the workforce across the 131 countries that encompass UN operations. This partnership seeks to harness the UN's extensive capabilities and infrastructure while creating networks and platforms to catalyze systemic transformations within the UN itself and in conjunction with public and private sector allies.

Phase one of this endeavour is underpinned by the Business Operations Strategy (BOS), a framework uniting all UN agencies in cooperative efforts to establish a global alliance on inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace that aligns with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the CRPD across the UN's operational footprint. Leveraging the UN's operational resources, institutional structures, infrastructure, and networks, it also aims to facilitate resource mobilization for partner organizations, foster a consolidated network and capacity-building platform, and orchestrate digital outreach campaigns to advance disability inclusion in alignment with the CRPD and the UNDIS.

Phase two targets the roll-out of UNDIS and serves as a strategic effort to facilitate the systematic adoption of UNDIS principles within approximately 15 countries. It encompasses both programmatic and operational dimensions and addresses considerations related to COVID-19 recovery. This phase builds upon the achievements of the inaugural roll-out over 10 countries in 2021-2022, further aligning with the BOS framework’s disability-inclusive common services. It also aspires to cultivate deeper engagement and collaboration between the UNCT and organizations representing persons with disabilities (OPDs), fostering coherence with concurrent country-level initiatives, such as system-wide strategies concerning gender and youth.

Anticipated outcomes of both phases are enhancements in UNCT performance pertaining to UNDIS implementation across both programmatic and operational spheres, bolstered coordination and delivery of disability-inclusive common services within the BOS framework, elevated synergy regarding disability inclusion across the UNCT's activities, intensified engagement with key disability inclusion partners, notably OPDs, and the documentation and dissemination of insights regarding achievements, prospects, deficiencies, and hurdles encountered during this transformative journey.