International Disability Alliance

18/08/2026

"Con el apoyo de IDA, he venido a participar de la sesión del Comité de la ONU sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad en Ginebra.

Vine como presidenta de Sindrome de Down Chile y vicepresidenta de Fiadown, pero también traigo mi propia experiencia como persona con discapacidad y desde lo que vemos y escuchamos cada día de las personas con síndrome de Down y sus familias en Chile.

Mi mensaje es sencillo: los derechos no pueden quedarse en el papel.

Quiero destacar el caso de Óscar Walter Díaz, una persona con síndrome de Down que murió en 2020 tras sufrir discriminación y despriorización médica. En junio de este año, un tribunal chileno condenó al hospital y al Servicio de Salud responsable. Su caso llegó a los tribunales, pero no fue el único.

Hay personas con discapacidad intelectual que siguen viendo cuestionada su capacidad para tomar decisiones sobre sus propias vidas. De estudiantes que continúan en una educación segregada. Y de un sistema que destina muchos más recursos a residencias que a los apoyos que permitirían a las personas vivir de forma independiente en sus comunidades.

Necesitamos cambios concretos. Que Chile avance hacia una educación verdaderamente inclusiva. Que reforme su legislación sobre la capacidad jurídica. Que deje de financiar la institucionalización como respuesta y fortalezca los apoyos para vivir en la comunidad. Y que empiece a recopilar datos que permitan conocer la realidad específica de las personas con síndrome de Down.

Nombrar nuestra especificidad no divide al movimiento de personas con discapacidad. Nos hace visibles. Y hace que nuestros derechos puedan ser exigidos.

Diez años después de las primeras observaciones del Comité a Chile, no podemos seguir esperando"- dijo Iglesias.



Down Syndrome International

18/08/2026

“Disability inclusion is not a project to be funded. It is a right to be enforced.”

At the 35th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Prasanna Kuruppu, Secretary of the Disability Organisations Joint Front, brought a clear message from Sri Lanka: persons with disabilities must have a meaningful say in the decisions, budgets and policies that affect their lives.

While Sri Lanka has played an important role in advancing disability rights internationally, significant gaps remain at home. Grassroots organisations of persons with disabilities are still not consistently involved or adequately resourced to participate in decision-making.

Prasanna also highlighted the additional costs faced by persons with disabilities, including transport, communication support, personal assistance and assistive devices, and stressed that these must be recognised as a rights issue, not simply a matter of poverty or welfare.

His call to the Committee was clear: strengthen disability legislation, improve disability data, ensure independent monitoring led by persons with disabilities, create meaningful participation mechanisms at all levels, and recognise the additional costs of disability.

“We are not ‘differently abled.’ We are not ‘persons with difficulties.’ We are rights-holders.”

Organizations Joint Front

14/08/2026

Voices from Sri Lanka. UN CRPD Committee – 35th Session

What does equality mean in everyday life?

It means being able to go to a health centre and know you can enter the building, understand the information you receive and communicate with your doctor.

It means being able to travel safely and independently, not just having an accessible bus, but being able to reach the bus stop, use the pavement, enter the station and get where you need to go.

It means that if you experience violence, you can go to the police, access a shelter, speak to a lawyer and seek justice without accessibility barriers standing in your way.

And it means having a voice in the decisions that affect your life.

For many women and girls with disabilities in Sri Lanka, these things still cannot be taken for granted.

My name is Rasanjali Pathirage, Founder and CEO of the Forum of Women with Disabilities. As a woman with a disability and an advocate, I know that laws and policies matter, but what matters just as much is whether they change our everyday lives.

Sri Lanka has taken important steps towards strengthening disability rights. But too often, there is still a gap between rights on paper and reality.

Women with disabilities continue to face barriers to healthcare, justice, transport, employment and independent living. And we remain underrepresented in the institutions and decisions that shape our lives.

These are not “special” needs.

They are things every woman should be able to expect: to be safe, to be heard, to make decisions about her own body and life, to move freely, to work, and to participate equally in society.

Women with disabilities are not asking for special treatment.

We are asking for equal rights, equal opportunities, equal protection and an equal voice.

That is the promise of the . And it is a promise that must be felt not only in laws and policies but also in the everyday lives of women and girls with disabilities.

Organisations Joint Front

12/08/2026

Twenty years after the adoption of the , the work to turn its promise into reality continues.

Opening the 35th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today in Geneva, Nawaf Kabbara, IDA President, reaffirmed its strong support for the Committee, its independence and its essential role in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.

IDA also expressed its solidarity with the people of Colombia, Venezuela and all countries affected by disasters and armed conflicts, particularly persons with disabilities who face disproportionate risks and barriers during crises.

A central message was clear: organisations of persons with disabilities are not simply stakeholders to be consulted after decisions have already been made. They are rights holders, sources of knowledge, partners in implementation and essential actors in holding States accountable for their commitments under the CRPD.

IDA remains committed to supporting the meaningful, diverse and independent participation of OPDs in the Committee’s work.

This must also guide the development of the forthcoming General Comment on Article 32 of the CRPD on international cooperation. IDA looks forward to a thorough and participatory process that gives OPDs meaningful opportunities to contribute and helps shape stronger, disability-inclusive international cooperation.

But 20 years after the adoption of the Convention, we must also ask: what does the CRPD require of us in a rapidly changing world?

Artificial intelligence and digitalisation are transforming employment, education, health care, social protection and public decision-making, while climate change, armed conflicts, humanitarian crises and growing inequality are creating new forms of exclusion and intensifying existing ones.

The principles of the CRPD remain our foundation, but their application must evolve with these new realities.

As we mark 20 years of the CRPD, our responsibility is not simply to preserve what has been achieved. It is to make it real.

11/08/2026

The 35th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities begins tomorrow, and it comes at a significant moment: the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the .

From 12 to 27 August, the Committee is expected to advance several important pieces of guidance on the rights of persons with disabilities, including:

• Article 11, situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
• Article 29, participation in political and public life
• Multiple and intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities
• Disability-based violence

IDA has provided substantive inputs throughout the processes leading to these documents and will continue engaging with the Committee during the session.

Crucially, we are also supporting the participation of organisations of persons with disabilities from countries under review. IDA is providing financial and technical support to from Chile, Slovakia and Sri Lanka, as well as technical support to OPDs from Lithuania, in coordination with our member, European Disability Forum.

On 27 August, IDA representatives will also participate in the Committee’s panels marking 20 years of the CRPD, an opportunity to reflect on what has changed since the Convention’s adoption and the work still ahead to make its rights a reality for persons with disabilities everywhere.

As we mark , we will continue strengthening OPD leadership and advancing our campaign: ’sMakeItOurs.

10/08/2026

Yesterday, we marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

In line with this year’s theme, “Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being”, IDA reaffirmed that Indigenous women with disabilities must never be left behind.

Indigenous women with disabilities continue to face multiple and intersecting barriers to exercising their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Too often, they are denied accessible information and services, excluded from decision-making, or subjected to harmful practices driven by discrimination. As our new paper highlights, achieving equity requires moving from paternalistic approaches to autonomy, accessibility and the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all health systems.

We are pleased to share our new paper, Advancing equity in sexual and reproductive health and rights for persons with disabilities, which outlines practical recommendations for governments, health systems, donors and organisations of persons with disabilities to make sexual and reproductive health and rights a reality for everyone.

"Protecting and empowering Indigenous midwives means recognising ancestral knowledge, ensuring that no Indigenous woman with a disability is excluded, infantilised or sterilised as a result of prejudice.
Our sexual and reproductive rights are only a reality when care is culturally safe and appropriate, accessible, free from violence and developed with our full and effective participation." - Montufar Contreras. founder of the Movimiento de Personas Indígenas con Discapacidad.

SP
"Proteger y fortalecer a las comadronas Indígenas también significa garantizar que ninguna mujer Indígena con discapacidad sea excluida, infantilizada o esterilizada por prejuicios.
Nuestros derechos sexuales y reproductivos solo son una realidad cuando la atención es culturalmente pertinente, segura, accesible, libre de violencia y construida con nuestra participación plena y efectiva."Olga Montúfar Contreras, fundadora del Movimiento de Personas Indígenas con Discapacidad.



Read paper here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxNV0afHNjGDepjzO-c9ZWdg9eAMtbbP/view?usp=sharing

07/08/2026

“When the earthquake happened, I remembered what I had learned about how to protect myself.”

Freddy Hernández, a deafblind person affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela, remembers things falling around him as he and his wife tried to get out of their home.

Almost a month later, Freddy shares a message of resilience and also one that reminds us why accessibility matters in humanitarian emergencies.

Today, he is able to come together with other deaf people in a space where sign language interpretation is available, sharing experiences and supporting one another after a disaster that has caused loss and life-changing injuries within their community.

“We are here, alive and safe, together with many other deaf people, colleagues and friends.”

Through its emergency response, Fundación Vanessa Peretti | Oficial, with support from IDA, is working with persons with disabilities affected by the earthquakes to identify their needs and help ensure that humanitarian assistance is accessible and inclusive.

Freddy’s testimony is a reminder that persons with disabilities must not only be reached during emergencies; their experiences, knowledge and voices must help shape the response and recovery.

RIADIS World Federation of the Deafblind World Federation of the Deaf Ry

05/08/2026

Webinar on Disaster Risk Reduction for Deaf Communities

As part of the World Federation of the Deaf Ry 75th Anniversary Celebration Series, we invite you to join this panel of outstanding deaf leaders and experts who will share practical solutions, lived experiences, and deaf-led approaches to accessible disaster preparedness, humanitarian response, and climate resilience.

17 August 2026
1 pm CEST
👐 International Sign, spoken English interpretation, and English live captions will be provided

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0o-ZWr6_TIyZiFZ1u4SbcA?fbclid=IwY2xjawTfsHVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE5eGR4bklMcENueU5ONG1xc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHj5eVQdapzuhC3GYS1_V8G6emaKBBOEmMbK5FesMUphUXtEDpmQFZt5qbgQX_aem_H6dRaP4jMuk3Foeoiczlsg #/registration

Meet the speakers of our webinar on Disaster Risk Reduction for Deaf Communities!

How can we ensure deaf people are included before, during, and after disasters and climate emergencies?

As part of the WFD 75th Anniversary Celebration Series, join an outstanding panel of deaf leaders and experts who will share practical solutions, lived experiences, and deaf-led approaches to accessible disaster preparedness, humanitarian response, and climate resilience.

Speakers:
• Dr Joseph J. Murray – World Federation of the Deaf
• Diedre Tanenberg – WFD Expert Group on Disaster Risk Reduction
• Josenel Exalus – National Federation of the Deaf of Haiti
• Karli Dettman – WFD Expert Group on Health and Mental Health
• Emmanuel Jacq – Advocate for emergency needs for deaf people

📅 17 August 2026

🔗 Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0o-ZWr6_TIyZiFZ1u4SbcA #/registration

👐 International Sign, spoken English interpretation, and English live captions will be provided.

31/07/2026

Wilman shares his experience following the emergency in Venezuela and how the support of the OPD Fundación Vanessa Peretti | Oficial, with support from IDA, is helping ensure persons with disabilities are not left behind.

Disability-inclusive humanitarian action means listening to persons with disabilities, identifying their needs, and ensuring they can access assistance on an equal basis with others.


RIADIS

23/07/2026

Evidence is essential to ensuring that humanitarian action reaches everyone

The Venezuelan OPD Fundación Vanessa Peretti | Oficial has been conducting a grassroots assessment to understand the realities, barriers, and priority needs of persons with disabilities affected by the recent emergency in Venezuela.

By collecting data disaggregated by disability, gender, and age, FUNVAPE is identifying who may be at risk of being left behind and generating the evidence needed to strengthen a more inclusive and effective humanitarian response.

Beyond documenting the situation, FUNVAPE is using this evidence to inform planning and advocate for disability-inclusive humanitarian action. The organisation is also making its technical expertise and methodologies available to other humanitarian actors to support the design and implementation of responses that are accessible and inclusive from the outset.

IDA is proud to support FUNVAPE's leadership and its commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities are at the centre of humanitarian action.

The infographic below presents key data from FUNVAPE's assessment, highlighting the barriers and priority needs of persons with disabilities affected by the emergency 👇



RIADIS