UN officials, ministers, government representatives, civil society members and private sector allies from across Asia and the Pacific will gather in Jakarta next week to chart a new path for over 700 million persons with disabilities in the region.
According to the UN Information Centre, Dhaka, the high-level intergovernmental meeting on the final review of the Asian and Pacific decade of persons with disabilities will be held on October 19 – 21.
Ten years ago, the Asia-Pacific region pioneered the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals – the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities. However, persons with diverse disabilities continue to face significant barriers to their full and effective participation in society.
The high-level meeting, co-hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Ministry of Social Affairs of Indonesia, will review progress and achievements made in 2013-2022, foster consensus on new strategic developments, and renew the region’s commitments to disability rights and disability-inclusive development.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility and Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia will speak at the event, among other high-level dignitaries.
Source: United News of Bangladesh