{"id":195144,"date":"2019-06-12T14:21:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T18:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/?p=195144"},"modified":"2019-06-12T14:28:20","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T18:28:20","slug":"press-briefing-by-spokesperson-12-june-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/06\/12\/press-briefing-by-spokesperson-12-june-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Briefing by Spokesperson \u2013 12 June 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
PGA TO SPEAK ABOUT FULL INCLUSION AND RIGHTS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n
In a few moments, the President of the General Assembly will deliver opening remarks at the High-Level Luncheon on Disability-Inclusive Development.<\/p>\n
Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa will participate in the event, which is also being attended by the Vice President of Argentina, Ms. Gabriela Michetti, and the President-elect of the General Assembly and\u00a0Permanent Representative\u00a0of Nigeria,\u00a0H.E.\u00a0Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.<\/p>\n
The luncheon takes place on the sidelines of the annual session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD.<\/p>\n
The rights of people with disabilities is one of the seven priorities of President Espinosa\u2019s agenda for the current session.<\/p>\n
Last year, she launched the Steering Committee on Accessibility which is co-chaired by Antigua and Barbuda and the Republic of Korea. The committee seeks the cooperation of Member States, the Secretariat and civil society in order to advance full inclusion for people living with disabilities.<\/p>\n
Ms. Espinosa says that inclusion is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to\u00a0harness\u00a0the full potential\u00a0of\u00a0approximately 1 billion people, who represent 15% of the world\u2019s population.\u00a0Eight\u00a0out of ten people with disabilities live in developing countries.<\/p>\n
This afternoon, at 3 pm., Ms. Espinosa will attend the High-Level Meeting on Women with Disabilities in Political and Public Leadership: Towards Beijing + 25.<\/p>\n
The PGA is drawing attention to the fact that women with disabilities\u00a0experience barriers to participating in politics and leadership,\u00a0for example, a\u00a0woman living with disability\u00a0has a lower chance of being employed than\u00a0a\u00a0man living\u00a0with a similar disability.<\/p>\n
She will also draw attention to\u00a0the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted almost 25 years ago,\u00a0and which includes\u00a0targets of empowering women and girls living with disabilities.<\/p>\n