Disability General Assembly

The report provides an update on progress made by the United Nations system in advancing disability inclusion and implementing the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy. Six years since its launch, the Strategy has helped integrate disability considerations into planning, strengthened leadership commitment, and promoted more inclusive programming. However, challenges remain in transforming organizational culture to be fully inclusive of persons with disabilities.

Drawing on progress reports from UN entities and country teams, the report reviews developments from 2019 to 2024, identifies barriers and enablers, and offers recommendations to strengthen coordination, implementation, and monitoring. Together with the findings of the 2025 independent evaluation, these recommendations will guide the next phase of the Strategy to ensure sustainable and system-wide disability inclusion across the United Nations.

The report provides updates on progress and concrete steps to implement the Sustainable Development Goals for persons with disabilities, highlights the impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), shares findings from the Disability and Development Report 2024 and recommends policies for implementing the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It emphasizes accessibility, economic opportunities, assistive technologies, data-informed policies and multisectoral collaboration. Upcoming summits aim to promote inclusive development, partnerships and international cooperation.

The report concludes with policy recommendations to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda for persons with disabilities. It calls for a comprehensive, inclusive approach to address policy gaps, promote accessibility and ensure disability inclusion. This includes facilitating access to assistive technologies, ensuring that policies are informed by data and fostering multisectoral collaboration between Governments, civil society and the private sector to eliminate discriminatory practices and support the socioeconomic development of persons with disabilities.

The Summit of the Future in 2024 and the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025 are opportunities to galvanize further action to promote inclusive development, leverage partnerships and enhance international cooperation to reduce inequalities and include disability considerations in national plans, strategies, programmes, emergency responses and decision-making.

The report provides: (a) an update on the status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto, and (b) an overview of the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, as outlined in article 11 of the Convention.

The report also contains a section on the development, use and implementation of easyto-understand communication as an accessibility resource and tool for persons with disabilities. The report presents initiatives and progress made in these areas by Governments, entities of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations. It concludes with recommendations for action to implement article 11 of the Convention and to promote easy-to-understand communication.  

The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 76/154, in which the General Assembly requested that the Secretary-General submit to it a progress report on steps taken by the United Nations system towards mainstreaming disability inclusion, including implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy.

The report outlines the progress made in 2021, on the basis of an analysis of submissions by United Nations entities and country teams reporting under the Strategy’s accountability framework. The report reflects on opportunities and challenges facing the Organization in relation to disability inclusion, including in the context of humanitarian crises and of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recovery.

In the present report the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, examines the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of military operations. The report focuses on the implementation and application of obligations under international humanitarian law towards persons with disabilities during the conduct of hostilities.