Canada endorses the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
The Honorable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, made the announcement at the tenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP) that’s being held at the United Nations, in New York, today. This statement was prepared in coordination with her colleague, the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie.
Camp de réfugié de Kakuma | © P.Meinhardt / Handicap International
The Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action was developed for the World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul on the 23th and the 24th of May 2016. Handicap International organized and co-hosted a special session on disability.
A delegation from Handicap International is present to participate in the workshops surrounding the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP).
Jérôme Bobin, Executive Director of Handicap International Canada, said: "Today, Canada has transformed words into reality by endorsing the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which aims to ensure that the most vulnerable people are no longer forgotten and invisible in the midst of the crises that are shaking the planet. With this charter and the various commitments made in recent months, Canada is clearly positioning itself as the champion of the inclusion of people with disabilities in Canada and around the world and invites the rest of the international community to double their efforts in this matter".
By endorsing the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, stakeholders commit to:
Non-discrimination and respect of the diversity of people with disabilities;
- the participation of people with disabilities in the design of humanitarian programs;
- the provision of inclusive services;
- the implementation of inclusive global policies;
- the cooperation and coordination among humanitarian actors to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities.
