Opening speech by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio at the UNPRPD side event “Shaping an Inclusive Future: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities” at UNGA79 in New York on 21 September 2024

Your Excellency, dear partners and friends,

Thank you for the invitation to speak at today’s event. I am especially delighted to be here, since disability inclusion is a key priority in Finland’s foreign and security policy, and in development cooperation.

Promoting the rights of persons with disabilities is a crosscutting objective across all our development cooperation. This means we emphasize a human rights based approach, strive to strengthen the capacity of the disability movement, and want to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, we have supported disability inclusion in countries like Tanzania, Nepal and Iraq through different UN organizations.

We have also worked for years to improve the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. We need to make sure that humanitarian aid reaches everyone, including those in the most vulnerable position. At the same time, we need to recognize persons with disabilities as key actors in humanitarian action and conflict resolution, in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2475.

Furthermore, digitalization offers significant potential to advance the rights of persons with disabilities. In this regard, we have collaborated with UNICEF Learning Innovation Hub in Finland to address the global learning crisis through educational technology. For example, the hub is developing Accessible Digital Textbooks, to make them available, affordable and accessible for children with disabilities in all contexts. We expect that the hub will be able to expand these solutions to several countries, reaching children with disabilities around the world.

The UNPRPD has a key role in supporting developing countries to implement the CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). Finland has funded the UNPRPD since its establishment, and we are proud to be the largest donor of this unique mechanism within the UN system. We have been very pleased to note that more partners have decided to support the fund, and we hope that the number will keep on increasing in the future.

We cannot plan for inclusive climate action, humanitarian response, or development cooperation, if we work in silos. Too often, when we talk about women’s participation, we fail to mention women with disabilities. Similarly, when we talk about disability inclusion, we should remember that this is a diverse group of people, with each individual having their own needs and talents.

One of the crosscutting approaches of the UNPRPD is addressing gender inequality and advancing the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Finland has been a strong supporter of this objective, and we have consistently advocated for projects that address the intersection of gender and disability. 

Dear guests,

We have gathered here to mark the Summit of the Future, with the ambitious goal of “delivering a better present and safeguarding the future.”

Many of us would have wished to see persons of disabilities feature more prominently in the Pact for the Future. However, let me highlight one mention of persons with disabilities in the text. It specifically asks us to ensure accessibility and disability inclusion at the United Nations to allow for the full, meaningful and effective participation and equality of persons with disabilities in all aspects of the United Nations’ work.

To fulfil this objective we must continue the effective implementation of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy. After five years, we have seen a lot of progress and increased awareness. Yet 67 % of its targets are not met. What we need now is adequate, sustainable funding for the UNDIS team to continue their work. If the UN itself becomes more inclusive and accessible, it can better assist Member States to do the same.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Although we are in the middle of the Summit of the Future, we must already prepare for the next meetings to come. COP29, the Global Disability Summit, and the World Summit for Social Development are around the corner. At some of these events, disability inclusion is at the heart of discussions, while others might need a reminder.

The best way to make the voice of persons with disabilities be heard is to bring them to the decision-making tables. Persons with disabilities and their representative organizations should be included before, during and after negotiation processes.

In Finland, we have a long tradition of consulting the civil society. Before this High-Level Week of the General Assembly, for instance, our Minister for Foreign Affairs and I held a consultation with the Finnish NGOs to discuss our priorities for the week. We regularly cooperate with organizations of persons with disabilities, some of whom are also implementing partners of our development cooperation.

I look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can shape a more inclusive future. Thank you.