Written evidence submitted by ADD International A. Executive Summary 1. In this submission we focus on the following points from the TOR: How the Goals will influence DFID s aid programmes, and how the UK s other international policies and programmes will help the Goals to be delivered. The accountability and reporting arrangements for the UK setting targets and indicators for the Goals, and how performance will be reported 2. Disability is explicitly recognised within the SDG outcome document it was not even mentioned in the MDGs. This reflects the growing understanding of disability exclusion as a core development issue, and of the importance of promoting the inclusion of disabled people in all aspects of sustainable development. Those tasked with delivering against the new framework must now catch up by ensuring that appropriate capacity, frameworks and mechanisms are in place to promote disability inclusion. 3. There are 2 aspects to disability inclusion in the SDGs: specific requirement for data disaggregation by disability among other factors across all goals goals and targets, many of which are 'aiming for zero', will require active steps to ensure disabled people 1 are included in all development processes - i.e. they cannot be considered 'met' if disabled people do not benefit equitably. 4. Disability inclusion is an obligation under UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) at local level through national governments development policies and practice, and in international development cooperation (article 32). Summary of Recommendations: 5. A strong DFID Disability Framework: The Disability Framework currently being developed by DFID should be robust enough to ensure that disability inclusive practices are implemented as standard across all areas of international development. 6. Disabled people as agents of change: Engagement and consultation with disabled people through their representative organisations should be standard practice 1 In this submission the term Disabled People refers to disabled peple of all ages, ethnicities and locations, and of both genders, in line with the terminology of the UK disability rights movement. We recognise that in different contexts, people with disabilities is used, while the UNCRPD refers to persons with disabilities
during planning, implementation and evaluation in all development initiatives, with accountability and funding mechanisms to support this. 7. Evidence and learning: DFID should prioritise a focus on disability exclusion/inclusion in their learning: identifying examples of good practice; investing in developing pilots; investing in research to bridge knowledge gaps; drawing on the voice/lived experience of disabled people. 8. Non-aid development cooperation: Mechanisms should be developed within other UK government departments to promote disability inclusion in non-aid development cooperation, and to measure the impact of their work on disabled people. This should draw on practice being developed within DFID. 9. Streamlining with human rights obligations: requirements for UK government delivery against the SDGs should be streamlined with existing accountability requirements against the UNCRPD and other human rights instruments. B. ADD International 10. Since 1985 ADD International has worked with Disabled People s Organisations (DPOs) in Africa and Asia, from grassroots to national level, to strengthen their capacity to bring improvements to the lives of their members, and to advocate for the inclusion of DP in all aspects of political, social and economic life. Drawing on this direct experience we work as an ally to the disability movement in influencing development policy and practice at all levels to become more inclusive of disabled people and disability issues. C. The importance of disability focus Disability in the SDGs 11. Disability features prominently in the final outcome document of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, published in July, which will form the basis for the final set of post-2015 goals. This reflects increasing understanding that disability inclusion represents a core strategy for effective and sustainable development across the board, and draws on the conclusions of the HLP (the leave no one behind agenda), and the Secretary General s 2013 report which stated that no target should be considered met unless met for all social groups, including people with disabilities. 12. This situation represents a marked shift from the MDG framework which did not mention disability in any of the goals, targets or indicators. The lack of disability focus in the MDGs has meant that disabled people are disproportionately represented among those who have not benefitted from progress against those goals over the past 15 years, and whose social and economic marginalization has therefore become more acute.
13. Over the past 15 years since the MDGs were developed, disability has rapidly emerged as a core development issue as social exclusion (including disability exclusion) has been recognized as a major barrier to progress against the MDGs. At the same time, the introduction of the UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007), which has now been ratified by 147 countries, has created a legal framework obliging member states to address disability exclusion at all levels. 14. There are 2 aspects to disability inclusion in the proposed SDGs: There is a specific requirement for data to be disaggregated by disability among other factors (para 17 of the outcome document): This represents a major change, as disability is currently routinely overlooked in data gathering/ analysis, with a tendency for disability data to be gathered only in relation to disabilityspecific interventions. The 17 goals and their targets, many of which are 'aiming for zero', cannot be considered 'met' if disabled people do not benefit: This will require active steps to ensure disabled people are included across all development efforts, as beneficiaries and also as agents of change. This will include creating enabling environments and tackling the barriers which currently marginalise disabled people and exclude them from development processes and interventions. Why is disability inclusion a core strategy for effective development? 15. The disability-poverty cycle: Disabled people, who make up 15% of all populations, (WHO/WB), are disproportionately represented among those still trapped in extreme and chronic poverty, despite progress against the MDGs, because of the close links between disability, marginalisation and poverty (WHO/World Bank 2011, Mitra et al 2012, ). Disabled people experience social and economic exclusion as a result of environmental and attitudinal barriers, including stigma and discrimination. Exclusion is often compounded through the lifecycle: for example, disabled children are more likely to be out of school that any other group of children in most low and middle income countries (UNESCO GMR report, 2014), and this limits their opportunities as adults. Furthermore, the barriers and discrimination faced by disabled people are compounded when combined with other factors which contribute to social and economic exclusion, such as gender, age, geographical location and ethnicity. 16. The cost of disability exclusion: Failure to recognize and address the barriers faced by disabled people also has an impact on development at family, community and national level, and there is evidence that the exclusion of disabled people from labour markets has a negative impact on economies in poorer countries (Buckup, ILO Report 2009). Analysis carried out by the World Bank in Bangladesh (2008) estimated that US$ 1.2 billion annually, or 1.7% of gross domestic product was lost as a result of exclusion of disabled people from economic activity; foregone income of
caregivers; exclusion of disabled children from education; and foregone education of disabled people s children and dependents. 17. The benefits of disability inclusion: Just as there are costs associated with exclusion, so a number of economic and social benefits can also accrue from greater inclusion of disabled people: A recent review of 97 epidemiological studies in low to middleincome countries (The economic costs of exclusion and gains of inclusion of people with disabilities, CBM/ICED/LSHTM, 2014) finds evidence that inclusion in work can lead to increased household and individual earnings; contribute to increasing GDP; lower spending on social protection programmes; and increase profits to businesses. 18. Obligation to ensure inclusion: The UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007) which has now been ratified by 147 countries, represents a legal framework obliging member states to address disability exclusion at all levels. Disability and environmental/ climate change 19. Given the SDGs integrated approach to environmental sustainability, it is important to recognise and consider the relationship between disability and environmental change including climate change: Environmental and climate change affects disabled people in different ways from non-disabled people: A report on The impact of climate change on people with disabilities (GPDD & WB, 2009) concluded that, due to existing inequities and disparities, people with disabilities face a disproportionate impact due to climate change. Increasing natural disasters relating to environmental/ climate change will also result in more disability: According to the World Disasters Report, for every child killed by a natural disaster, three become impaired. 20. In designing interventions to mitigate the impact of environmental/climate change it is therefore important to consider the complex factors which contribute to the disproportionate impact on disabled people and other marginalised groups, for example: In post-disaster situations disabled people face additional difficulties in having their needs met it is important to recognize and address barriers which prevent disabled people accessing support There is also growing evidence of the importance of including disabled people in disaster risk management strategies in order to increase their effectiveness ( Disability and Disasters: The importance of an inclusive approach to vulnerability and social capital Sightsavers 2012).
When building up infrastructure, including after a natural disaster, it is important to make it accessible this is easier and cheaper than retrofitting it. The role of the disability movement 21. Promotion of the voice, participation and empowerment of disabled people in all aspects of development cooperation will be an important element in ensuring that interventions are inclusive and therefore effective in delivering against the SDGs. This includes creating environments and opportunities for disabled people to become agents of change, rather than simply beneficiaries. Effective development processes must also be evidence based, and the voices of disabled people themselves are important in understanding the lived experience of disability, and the complex and varied barriers to inclusion which different disabled people encounter. 22. Participation is a right which is enshrined in a number of human rights instruments. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is clear on the right of disabled people to full and effective participation and inclusion in society (Article 3 General Principles), their right to participate in public affairs, including the work of NGO s, and the obligation of states to encourage disabled people to participate and to promote an environment where they can do this without discrimination and on an equal basis with others (Article 29). The obligation of the UK government to adhere to these principles in all aspects of international cooperation is also clear (Articles 11 and 32). 23. Disabled People s Organisations (DPOs) - representative organisations of disabled people and national disability movements represent the primary channel for the individual and collective empowerment of disabled people by promoting their voice and active participation in all areas of life - social, economic, political and cultural. DPOs played a central role in development of UNCRPD and in getting disability on the agenda during the process which led to the SDGs. The active engagement of DPOs across all aspects of development will be a crucial strategy for ensuring that disability issues and disabled people are included in national and international efforts to deliver the SDGs. D. Implications for UK government How will the goals influence DFID aid programmes? 24. Under the UNCRPD the UK government is legally obliged (Article 32 International Development), to ensure that all international cooperation is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities.
25. There is also a growing awareness within the UK government of the importance of disability inclusion as a core strategy for effective and sustainable international development, as reflected in the active role it played in promoting the leave no one behind agenda. 26. The UK government has taken active steps over the past 18 months to improve its own practice on disability inclusion, as reflected by the IDC inquiry on disability and development (report published April 2014) and the government response (June 2014) which commits to a number of institutional changes to improve disability inclusion in all aspects of DFID s work. 27. A key component of this will be the publication of a Disability Framework (by end November 2014) which will set out DFID s commitment, approach and actions to strengthening disability in their policy, programme and international work, including maintaining pressure to ensure international commitment to disability inclusion within the final post-2015 development framework. Recommendation: The finalised DFID Disability Framework must be robust, with provision to ensure that it is properly implemented and monitored in order to support the UK government in meeting the requirements of the SDGs. To have impact, the framework must include the following key elements: A strategic balance of twin-track approaches: disability inclusion in mainstream programmes supported by disability-specific interventions and inputs Key posts to champion disability inclusion (at senior level as well as at country programme level) / staff training on disability inclusion at all levels Planning and accountability systems across all DFID supported programmes which require disability inclusion, including a requirement for disaggregation of data by disability alongside other factors A requirement for all DFID supported programmes to consult with disabled people in design, delivery and evaluation Investment in learning and evidence on disability exclusion/ inclusion/ good practice 28. The UK Government and DFID have actively supported the voice and participation of disabled people in the post-2015 process. Recommendation: This approach now needs to be scaled up and institutionalised to support delivery against the SDGs, including: Routine consultation/work with local DPOs/ disability movements in all UK government development interventions Support for capacity building of DPOs/ disability movements Learning processes which promote the voice of disabled people and draw on a wide range of different lived experiences of disabled people.
Influencing other development actors and processes by developing and modelling good practice in relation to disabled people s participation in development policymaking and practice. How will the UK s other international policies and programmes help the goals to be delivered? 29. In order to meet their obligations within the SDG framework and under Article 32 of the UNCRPD, the UK government needs to have a clear understanding of whether, and to what extent, disabled people are included in and benefitting equally from all aspects of development cooperation. Recommendation: The equitable inclusion of disabled people in the UK s non-aid development cooperation should be an explicit requirement of all UK international policies and programmes (in line with obligations under the UNCRPD). Mechanisms should be developed to monitor and evidence the impact of the UK s non-aid development cooperation on disabled people (there are currently no such mechanisms). 30. DFID is well placed to support other departments by providing advice on how to identify and address issues of social exclusion, including disability exclusion. Recommendation: DFID has committed to improving staff understanding and skills as a core aspect of the forthcoming Disability Framework, and for other departments to benefit indirectly from this investment would represent good value for money. At country level, for example, FCO staff could benefit directly from training and resources provided within DFID country offices. 31. Within international human rights frameworks, including the UNCRPD, the UK government has a number of obligations which relate to the rights of disabled people, including their right to benefit equitably from the development process. Recommendation: Accountability and reporting against the SDGs should be streamlined with reporting requirements under the UNCRPD and other human rights instruments. These reporting processes should be supported by evidence and input from disabled people, including through parallel reports produced by the disability movement and other civil society actors. 15 October 2014