The Federal Chancellor opened the Global Disability Summit
4,000 participants, 100 nations and a single goal: to improve the situation of people with disabilities around the world. This is the focus of the Global Disability Summit that was opened by Federal Chancellor Scholz and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz opened the third summit for people with disabilities in Berlin. In his speech he stressed that inclusion is a human right.
Photo: Federal Government/Steffen Kugler
At the start of the third global summit for people with disabilities (Global Disability Summit) in Berlin, Federal Chancellor Scholz called for the barriers that exist for people with disabilities to be broken down around the world. 4,000 participants, including many people with disabilities, are meeting for two days to promote accessibility and inclusion.
The Federal Chancellor and King Abdullah II of Jordan opened the Global Disability Summit together. Jordan is not only the co-host of the event but is also a pioneer in the area of inclusion of people with disabilities in the Middle East. The two countries cooperate closely. One example of this is a project that aims to enable thousands of Jordanian children with disabilities to attend school in an inclusive environment.
Ensuring participation is a democratic duty
15 percent of people around the world are affected by some form of disability. Federal Chancellor Scholz stressed that to enable these people to participate in decision-making, social life, education and the labour market was more than a humanitarian act, but also economically relevant, a democratic duty and politically vital. He highlighted that he was saying this at a time of mounting pressure in many countries concerning issues of diversity, participation and inclusion.
In Germany it has been enshrined in Article 3 of the Basic Law for over 30 years that “no person shall be disfavoured because of disability”.
Development policy promotes inclusion
The Federal Chancellor also drew attention to the “15 percent for the 15 percent” message of the Amman-Berlin declaration that is to be adopted on Thursday. By joining the declaration, states and organisations undertake to ensure that at least 15 percent of their development policy projects are dedicated to promoting inclusion of people with disabilities.
Germany, the Kingdom of Jordan and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) are the hosts of the two-day summit to advance the rights of people with disabilities being held in Berlin. The goal of the summit is to promote implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the area of development policy, and to encourage participation of people with disabilities around the world. After all, many of the 1.3 billion people with disabilities are affected by barriers and disadvantages on a daily basis.