Today, eight disability organisations representing both regional and global interests, sent a formal letter to members of the Paris Agreement criticising the exclusion of the disability movement from UN climate negotiations, mostly due to unnecessary bureaucracy.
The organisations explain that the UN is stalling in the creation of an official constituency of persons with disabilities, which already exists for other groups such as women and youth and for other UN frameworks.
The stalling critically hinders the disability movement’s participation in negotiations. The letter explains that “a disability constituency will give persons with disabilities equal opportunity to participate, including making plenary interventions, receiving informal advance information, ….”
The letter further makes clear that not only are persons with disabilities disproportionately impacted by climate change but that this exclusion goes against UN treaties, especially the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy itself.
Signatories ask Parties to the Paris Agreement to solve the situation by requesting the UNFCCC “to clarify the process of recognition of a disability constituency, and to expedite decisions on this in time for official recognition at COP 29 in Azerbaijan.”
Signatories of the letter include the International Disability Alliance, as well as regional organisations of persons with disabilities from Africa, the ASEAN region, Europe, Latin America, the Arab region, and the Pacific Islands. The International Disability and Development Consortium also signed the letter.
Related Documents
Additional Information
Signatories of the letter:
- International Disability Alliance
- International Disability and Development Consortium
- African Disability Forum
- Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities
- ASEAN Disability Forum
- European Disability Forum
- Latin American Network of NGOs of Persons with Disabilities and their Families (RIADIS)
- Pacific Disability Forum
Contacts
André Félix
Communications Coordinator
Gordon Rattray
Programme Coordinator
The European Disability Forum is an umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities that defends the interests of 100 million Europeans with disabilities. EDF is a unique platform that brings together representative organisations of persons with disabilities across Europe. It is run by persons with disabilities and their families. EDF is a strong, united voice of persons with disabilities in Europe.
