Persons with disabilities and older persons, defined as 60 years of age and above, represent two of the most significant constituencies for achieving global development. Less than 1% of official foreign aid, however, reaches persons with disabilities and older persons despite their human right to development being clearly defined in international law and policy. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted by the United Nations in 2006 and currently has 186 States-Parties, mandates the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of development through Article 32 on International Cooperation. In regards to older persons, Michelle Bachelet used her term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to make the argument that “older people should be able to actively participate and contribute to sustainable development,” and their marginalization from development constitutes a human rights violation.

The call to include persons with disabilities and older persons in international development, however, is not only a human rights issue, but also basic common sense: Meaningful development cannot be achieved when certain groups of people are systematically excluded, especially when those excluded groups represent two of the world’s largest minority groups. Indeed, the World Health Organization estimates that 15% (1.3 billion) of the global population are people living with some form of disability, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that currently 10% (800 million) of the global population are people over 60, a share of the population that is predicted to double by 2050 based on increases in life expectancy and a falling fertility rate. The majority of both groups live in developing countries. To that end, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, was developed to address this situation. The 2030 Agenda specifically states “the vulnerable must be empowered” and specifies “children, youth, persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants” as populations requiring the greatest attention. In fact, the very motto “Leave No One Behind” of the Sustainable Development Goals was formulated with both groups in mind.

Read the full article about persons with disabilities and older persons by Stephen Meyers at Global Washington.