EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue with the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Miyeon Kim and Ms Heba Hagrass

Mr Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. We reaffirm our obligations under Article 11 of the UNCRPD, to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk.

We thank the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Miyeon Kim, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Heba Hagrass, for their important contributions to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide.

Madam Chair,

We welcome your efforts to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, including in situations of risk, armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Your work provides valuable guidance on advancing the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities. 

Madam Special Rapporteur,

We thank you for your report on disability-inclusive humanitarian assistance, which highlights that persons with disabilities continue to be disproportionately affected during humanitarian crises. We share your concern that disability inclusion remains uneven and fragile, particularly regarding disability-disaggregated data, meaningful participation, sustainable funding, and accountability mechanisms.

We agree that reforms to increase efficiency, effectiveness and localisation must strengthen existing commitments to disability inclusion. 

Disability inclusion is not an optional add-on, but an indispensable and core component of principled, effective, and life-saving humanitarian assistance. It requires a twin-track approach: mainstreaming disability across all humanitarian sectors, combined with targeted interventions to address specific barriers and support empowerment.

As part of ongoing humanitarian reforms and localization efforts, our priority is to provide direct, flexible, and predictable funding for organizations of persons with disabilities, thereby fosteringtheir full and meaningful participation and leadership in decision-making processes.

Madam Special Rapporteur, Madam Chair,

Considering these reforms, what safeguards do you consider critical to ensure that disability inclusion remains fully integrated into humanitarian coordination, funding and accountability mechanisms, and that progress is not reversed?

Thank you.