Disability Inclusion Strategy
When we secure the rights of persons with disabilities, we move our world closer to upholding the core values and principles of the United Nations Charter.
The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy provides the foundation for sustainable and transformative progress on disability inclusion through all pillars of the work of the United Nations: peace and security, human rights, and development.
The Strategy enables the UN system to support the implementation of the and other international human rights instruments, as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the and the .
I want the United Nations to lead by example and invite you to join me in moving decisively to achieve the goals of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy.
ANT?NIO GUTERRES, United Nations Secretary-General
UNDIS 2.0: A Strategy for action
The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy 2.0 (2026-2030) builds upon the progress made over the last 7 years implementing UNDIS and raises the ambition level for the UN system to embed disability inclusion across all UN operations and programmes.
UNDIS 2.0 includes a policy and an accountability framework, with benchmarks to assess progress and accelerate change on disability inclusion. The policy establishes a vision and commitment for the United Nations system on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The accountability framework is organized around five strategic priority areas and 19 indicators, including new indicators that emphasize disability data and evidence, digital accessibility, and resource tracking.
Why is it important?
Ratification of
the Convention
192
Member States have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Persons with
disabilities
16%
of the world’s population, or one billion people, are persons with disabilities
Developing
countries
80%
of persons with disabilities live in developing countries
Sustainable
Development Goals
7
targets of the Sustainable Development Goals explicitly refer to persons with disabilities
Photo: UN Women
Strategic priorities
UNDIS 2.0 will drive change on disability inclusion through five interconnected priorities. By 2030, it aims for the UN system to:
- Leadership — Embed disability inclusion across the UN through strategic planning, resource tracking, disaggregated data, and investment in disability expertise.
- Inclusive programming and results — Deliver programmes at global, regional and country level that advance the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
- Accessible organization — Make facilities, digital systems, information, communications and events accessible, applying universal design from the start.
- Enabling work environment and inclusive workforce — Create an inclusive workplace through fair employment practices, reasonable accommodation, and ongoing learning.
- Partnerships — Strengthen engagement with persons with disabilities through their representative organizations, and scale up inclusion through partnerships with key stakeholders, including governments.
Photo: UNICEF/Vishwanathan.
Cross-cutting principles that guide our work
These principles apply across all five strategic priorities and strengthen the implementation of disability inclusion under UNDIS 2.0.
- Aligned with the CRPD — Grounded in the UN Charter and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, putting rights holders at the centre.
- Twin-track approach — Mainstreaming disability inclusion across policies and programmes, alongside targeted actions that remove specific barriers.
- Accessibility by design — Physical, digital and communication accessibility built in from the start, based on universal design.
- Co-creation — Engaging persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, early and throughout design, delivery and monitoring.
- Intersectionality — Accounting for how disability intersects with gender, age, displacement and more, so no one is left behind.
- Safeguarding — Tackling stigma and bias, and ensuring reporting and complaint mechanisms are accessible to all.
First edition of the strategy
Download the first strategy
The Strategy was the result of a process launched by the Secretary-General in April 2018 to strengthen system-wide accessibility for persons with disabilities and the mainstreaming of their rights. Its development was informed by an extensive institutional review led by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Contact us:
disabilitystrategy@un.org