Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The United Nations is committed to the advancement of persons with disabilities and to disability inclusion.
Over the decades, remarkable progress has been achieved, notably thanks to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda.
Today, many more persons with disabilities are active participants and agents of change in national, regional and global decision-making processes.
However, persisting gaps and challenges remain.
Many persons with disabilities are still trapped in a vicious cycle of marginalization in economic, social and political life.
They form a disproportionately high segment of the poor.
Children, especially girls with disabilities, lag significantly behind in education.
In employment, youth and adults with disabilities fare worse than their non-disabled peers.
And yet, only 28 percent of them can receive a disability benefit.
As this event highlights, technologies, if well-developed, following an inclusive or design-for-all approach, could be great enablers that benefit all people.
Regretfully, although industry pioneers such as The Value 500 members increasingly embrace universal design and accessibility as a smart business, many technologies have yet to catch up.
As a consequence, digital divide and other technological gaps persist, excluding rather than including persons with disabilities.
This, in turn, impedes overall progress towards sustainable development for ALL.
Colleagues,
The world today is at a critical moment in its pursuit of the SDGs and its quest to leave no one behind.
And the COVID-19 crisis has already set back our hard-win progress in many areas.
This set-back has affected persons with disabilities in particular and exacerbated those pre-existing socio-economic and technological gaps.
As we all know, many challenges exist to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build back better; but there are opportunities which must be seized.
I urge you to accelerate actions to address gaps and promote disability inclusion, in all that we do at national and international levels.
The United Nations system is in action.
We are currently implementing the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (a way to coordinate systemwide actions, including UN country teams) to better support Member States in their endeavor to promote disability inclusion.
In this context, I applaud our event organizers for bringing together thought leaders, specialists, policy-makers, civil society and private sectors to raise global awareness about disability inclusion.
I hope your discussion can also showcase good practices, explore ways and solutions to overcome challenges - through sound policies and strategies, including regulatory and incentive measures – to combat discrimination, promote accessibility, improve availability and affordability, and enhance international cooperation.
These are vital building blocks if we are to foster a culture of inclusion and create an Inclusive Future for All.
I wish you every success in the event and thank you.