UN Flagship Report on Disability and Sustainable Development Goals | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

"The UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018 – Realizing the SDGs by, for and with persons with disabilities shows that people with disabilities are at a disadvantage regarding most Sustainable Development Goals, but also highlights the growing number of good practices that can create a more inclusive society in which they can live independently." — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed on 3 December 2018

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, pledging to “leave no one behind,” is an ambitious plan of action of the international community towards a peaceful and prosperous world, where dignity of an individual person and equality among all is applied as the fundamental principle, cutting across the three pillars of the work of the United Nations: Development, Human Rights and Peace and Security. It is critical to ensure, in this regard, the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and create enabling environments by, for and with persons with disabilities, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In 2018 the United Nations launched a first-ever UN flagship report on disability and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Disability and Development Report on the “Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities”. The report demonstrates that persons with disabilities are at a disadvantage regarding most Sustainable Development Goals. Concrete action is needed to include the world’s one billion persons with disabilities – 15% of the world population – as both agents and beneficiaries of development. Against the backdrop of all available evidence, the report identifies good practices and recommends urgent actions to be taken for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities by 2030. In December 2019, Member States took note with appreciation of the report through two resolutions adopted in the General Assembly. The first resolution titled “Promoting social integration through social inclusion” (A/C.3/74/L.17/Rev.1) and the second titled “Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto: accessibility” (A/C.3/74/L.32/Rev.1) note the importance of this report for the continuing work to advance the rights of persons with disabilities in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

>> Download the Full Report on Disability and Development (PDF) Easy read version: Executive Summary (PDF) The Full Report is also available in hard-copy version, by print on demand made available by UN Publications.