Jordan hosts consultation meetings ahead of 2025 World Disability Summit
The Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) held consultative sessions on Wednesday, focusing on "Inclusive Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities" as part of preparations for the Third World Disability Summit, set to take place in Berlin in 2025, Petra reports.
The summit is being co-organized by Jordan, Germany, and the International Disability Alliance. It is recognized as a unique global initiative aimed at improving the lives of persons with disabilities by unifying efforts at global, regional, and local levels for inclusive development.
The sessions, supported by a project funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, brought together the Jordanian Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, representatives from
international and governmental organizations, and various civil society institutions.
Rasha Adwan, Director of the Independent Living Directorate at the Council, announced during the opening session that Jordan will host the regional summit for the Middle East, North Africa, Africa, and Asia in mid-November. The event will see the participation of government bodies, civil society organizations, and representatives from regions including the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, all part of the preparations for the Third World Summit in 2025.
Adwan noted that the regional summit aims to exchange information about the World Summit, validate the topics identified by organizations for persons with disabilities in national consultations, and support the submission of strong commitments, ensuring their implementation.
Khawla Wazni, Managing and Legal Representative of Masarat Development Company and Senior Networking Manager for the "Shamel" Project, highlighted that the project seeks to unify efforts to enhance sustainable and inclusive protection systems in Jordan, serving as a key technical component in the broader program to bolster community and economic resilience.
Madeleine Cretney, an expert in the Shamel Program, addressed the concept of inclusive social security from a global perspective, emphasizing its role in enabling persons with disabilities to live with dignity and independence, allowing them to participate fully in society.
Meanwhile, Mark Kara, a disability expert with the Shamel Project, underscored the importance of comprehensive social security for persons with disabilities, noting that support must include public services such as healthcare, transportation, employment, education, social services, and housing.
Reem Aslan, Gender Specialist and Director of Decent Work for Women Programs at the International Labour Organization (ILO) Regional Office for Arab States, presented international labor standards and strategies to enhance the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the workplace.
The workshop concluded with mini-discussion sessions where participants examined topics such as the additional costs faced by persons with disabilities, the significance of social protection, and the mechanisms required to make systems more inclusive, with a focus on empowering persons with disabilities and their families to live with dignity and independence.