People with disabilities are less likely to have access to education, employment opportunities or health services. They are also more frequently affected by poverty. The inclusion of people with disabilities ensures that they are not excluded from development. We are committed to promoting inclusion and therefore help to reduce poverty.
Numerous barriers, for example in infrastructure and information systems, and the tendency to stigmatise people living with disabilities, often impede participation in society.
Women, children and young people with disabilities are regularly subject to multiple discrimination, making them one of the most disadvantaged groups worldwide. For example, only 46 per cent of boys and 33 per cent of girls with disabilities in our countries of assignment complete primary school.
The inclusion of people with disabilities sends a signal against discrimination and prejudice and promotes social cohesion. It ensures that people with disabilities are not excluded from development. Inclusion is instrumental in reducing poverty.
The signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) are obliged to uphold the human rights of people with disabilities and to ensure inclusion. Germany is also a signatory country to this convention. The obligation applies to its own system of government as well as to development and international cooperation.
The number of people with disabilities approximately worldwide, equating to around 16 percent of the global population.
In order that Germany may realise the 2030 Agenda and its guiding principle to ‘leave no one behind’, the inclusion of people with disabilities must be systematically reflected in German development cooperation. This is based on the human rights principles of
We support our partners in delivering on their obligations under the UN CRPD and the 2030 Agenda, as well as those contained in their own policy documents on inclusion.
We play an active role in networks and promote cooperation arrangements with various partners from the fields of science and academia, the private sector and civil society. In line with the UN CRPD motto of ‘nothing about us without us’, we include organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in all phases of our development measures – from their design through to their implementation and evaluation.
‘Nothing about us without us.’
We are committed to empowering people with disabilities by improving their self-advocacy. We work with local interest groups and thus support the equal and self-determined participation of people with disabilities in decision-making processes. This ensures that their interests are represented. This is how we manage change processes to make German international cooperation inclusive.
We use various approaches to raise awareness of the inclusion of persons with disabilities in development policy, including
Our aim is to create an inclusive political, legal, social and societal framework in our partner countries and thus break down barriers.
We use a two-pronged approach: specific measures to empower people with disabilities and their families and the mainstreaming of inclusion in all German development and international cooperation measures. This includes: