The United Nations is being urged by campaigners round the world to ensure more women with disabilities are elected to positions of leadership. Sightsavers Nigeria is urging their UN representative to vote for diversity in the upcoming UN elections for the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The call is part of Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign which is urging the United Nations and its member states to uphold the rights of persons with disabilities by ensuring their voices are heard in the decisions that affect their lives.
Dr Sunday Isiyaku, Country Director at Sightsavers Nigeria says, “We need to see more women with disabilities in positions of leadership. If women are not welcomed into the spaces where decisions are made – how will their voices ever be heard?”
“People with disabilities are experiencing some of the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and women with disabilities are the hardest hit. Now, more than ever, we need to make sure they are in a position to ensure the rights of women with disabilities are upheld.”
The Committee monitors over 180 countries to examine the extent to which they are upholding the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee then makes recommendations to governments to ensure people with disabilities can access their full range of rights.
As the Committee prepares for its next round of elections in October, the Equal World campaign is highlighting that of the 18 members on the UNCRPD’s monitoring panel, only six are women. Before the campaign began in 2018, only one woman sat on its panel with 17 men.
“The Committee moved forward two years ago when four more women were elected to its panel”, says Dr Joy Shuaibu. “We really want to ensure we continue to make progress to achieve parity and given the situation with the pandemic, now is the time to do that.”
Equal World is calling for people to write to their country’s UN representative before elections close at the end of November. To learn more or support the campaign visit www.sightsavers.org/EqualUN
For further details, interviews and case studies contact Rasak Adekoya, Programme Officer at Sightsavers Nigeria on radekoya@sightsavers.org
