Recommendations for Action to Advance the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities in the United Nations System

By: Stephanie Ortoleva

April 22, 2011

The recent statement of Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the new United Nations entity, UN Women, noted that women and girls with disabilities must be included in the UN Women action plan. Women and girls with disabilities, including this author, and our Disabled Persons (Womens) Organizations are available to support this work. Under-Secretary-General Bachelet stated: “We will expand partnerships with the private sector, foundations and individuals, including through new electronic giving and internet campaigns. Recognizing that much of our work will be to stimulate and support others to do what needs to be done, we will build partnerships with governments and civil society, with parliamentarians and community based leaders, targeting groups that are most excluded, including HIV positive women, women in minority groups, women with disabilities, informal women workers and rural or urban poor women. UN Women’s research and training agenda will depend upon strong partnerships with academia, think tanks and research centers. This approach will be fully reflected in our Strategic Plan, which we will bring to you at the annual session in June. The process of preparing this plan will provide important opportunities to continue our dialogue with Member States, and within the UN system, on how we can best add value.”

This paper enthusiastically takes on Under-Secretary-General Bachelet’s invitation for partnership with women with disabilities and offers concrete suggestions for the meaningful inclusion of women and girls with disabilities as UN Women develops its plans of action and in all of the publications, programs and activities of UN Women. This paper also invites UN Women to specifically and concretely include women and girls with disabilities in the Strategic Plan to be presented to the UN Women Executive Board in June 2011 and to specifically include women with disabilities as part of the NGO Advisory Group appointed by Under-Secretary-General Bachelet.