The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) 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. This webpage has links to the Strategy in various languages and to information and resources related its implementation.

OHCHR has a mandate to ensure the inclusion of the rights of persons with disabilities in the United Nations system. The webpage provides access to guidance on the human rights-based approach to disability, as well as reporting and activities mandated by the Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, among others.

The website of the United Nations Programme on Disability/Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD)has information and resources related to mainstreaming disability and the rights of persons with disabilities in the development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);the yearly Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the United Nations Inter-agency Support Group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (IASG).

The website contains information and resources to promote and support the right of people with disabilities to decent work taking a twin-track approach to disability inclusion. One track allows for disability-specific programmes or initiatives aimed at overcoming particular disadvantages or barriers, while the other track seeks to ensure the inclusion of disabled persons in mainstream services and activities, such as skills training, employment promotion, social protection schemes and poverty reduction strategies.

This guideline developed by UN Women, provides a step-by-step guidance note to produce an in-depth picture of the situation, needs and capacities of women, men, boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to inform recommendations and actions that leave no one behind.

The study is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka to use a gender budgeting framework to examine government plan, policies and budgets and its impact on women with disabilities. In this study, 400 persons with disabilities covering 4 districts were surveyed on difficulties faced in entering and remaining in the labour force. Evidence shows that they encounter multiple barriers in access to economic opportunities and women with disabilities are twice as disadvantaged

the Inter-Agency Standing Committee published Guidelines on the ‘Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action’ which set out essential actions that humanitarian actors must take in order to effectively identify and respond to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities.

The Guide supports key stakeholders to help facilitate the full inclusion and meaningful participation of women and girls with disabilities. It aims to assist in understanding of the intersectionality of human rights and provides practical recommendations for the implementation and monitoring of two key Conventions: the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The Gender Accessibility Audit Toolkit helps practitioners and civil society identify architectural, infrastructural, information and communication barriers that prevent women and girls with disabilities from fully exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms. This toolkit can be used by local governments and service providers, such as social security, health care, education services, etc. in inclusive local planning, budgeting, and the provision of services. It can also guide representatives of civil society and gender equality and disability rights advocates, and women and men with disabilities to advocate for the elimination of identified barriers.

This brief provides a short description of the project "Transforming Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Georgia” implemented by UN Women in partnership with five UN Agencies (UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, UNFPA, OHCRH) with the generous support of the Joint SDG Fund.

The list highlights key recent knowledge products developed by the UN System Coordination Division of UN Women to support the integration of gender considerations into strategic system-wide processes at global, regional, and country levels. It covers topics spanning from gender mainstreaming, UN-SWAP, UNCT-SWAP, Gender Equality Marker, UN Gender Theme Groups, to Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality.

By focusing on the intersection of gender, age, and disability, this brief seeks to raise awareness regarding the situation of older women with disabilities and provides a set of recommendations for actions that stakeholders might consider and implement.
 

The United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Gender and Disability Inclusion (UNWGGDI) collected case studies for the Beijing+30 review process, looking at lessons learned and good practices on gender, disability inclusion, and intersectionality. UN Women received a total 32 case studies from six UN entities (UN Women, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNOPS) and two UN Country Teams represented by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices in India and Honduras.

In reflection of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, violence against women and women in power and decision-making were equally the most addressed critical areas in the case studies, while the critical areas around women and the environment as well as the girl child were equally the least addressed.

This knowledge compendium aims to share reflections for UN entities, Member States, policymakers, and civil society organizations. It synthesizes best practices, innovative approaches, and collaborative efforts to enhance sustainable development and human rights for all. By ensuring that the rights and needs of women and girls with disabilities are adequately addressed, this document reinforces the commitment of the UN system and its stakeholders to a more equitable and inclusive future.

This policy paper is focused on diverse groups of socially marginalized women with diverse disabilities. It highlights how the 12 critical areas of concern from the Beijing Platform for Action have progressed or faced continuing entrenched barriers and dealt with new challenges in the 30 years since the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.

The focus is specifically on how gender inequality and disability exclusion both compound and create unique concerns for women and girls with disabilities. As they are not homogenous, this paper takes an intersectional approach, identifying the impacts for women and girls with disabilities facing numerous forms of discrimination while having different and multiple types of disabilities. Stereotypes and social and cultural norms are discussed in relation to stigma and discrimination.

The paper also features the voices of diverse women leaders with diverse disabilities, with case studies from various low- and middle-income countries.

The paper was produced as part of the development of the global report on accelerating disability inclusion in a diverse and changing world as well as a set of accompanying documents prepared for the Global Disability Summit 2025. Funding was provided by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany through UNICEF.

Preventing and responding to violence against women with disabilities requires a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach. It includes:

• strengthening legal frameworks,
• enhancing support services,
• ensuring that an inclusive lens is applied to prevention efforts,
• raising societal awareness,
• improving data collection, and
• promoting intersectoral collaboration.

It is also crucial to prioritize the voices, experiences, and agency of women with disabilities in developing and implementing policies and interventions.

This publication provides recommendations for policymakers to address the findings highlighted through the project “Addressing stigma and discrimination experienced by women with disabilities (ASDWD)”, which was developed in partnership with researchers from University College London, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women offices, local organizations of people with disabilities, and individual women with disabilities who contributed across Pakistan, Palestine, Republic of Moldova, and Samoa, with funding from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD).

Women and girls with disabilities continue to face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. When it comes to global normative standards for disability inclusion, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) includes provisions and obligations related to gender equality. To date, however, normative standards have not been consistently translated into national, sectoral, and/or local gender-responsive, disability-inclusive policies and corresponding budgets.

Drawing on a selection of country experiences, this policy brief identifies emerging trends and practices on gender- and disability-inclusive budgeting. These include, among others:

• collection, analysis, and use of data and statistics on intersectional discrimination;
• integration of gender and disability inclusion in laws, policies, systems, and institutional practice;
• integration of gender and disability inclusion in the planning and budgeting cycle; and
• enhanced participation of women with disabilities in policy, planning, and budgeting.

The brief aims to address these gaps and promote policy discourse and reforms at global and country level.

One in five women is estimated to be living with a disability, making it crucial to study the increased risks of various forms of violence that they face.  

This synthesis review contains key insights and lessons from the experiences of 22 diverse civil society and women’s rights organizations in various contexts that were supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) special window to end violence against women and girls with disabilities between 2018 and 2023. In particular, it highlights the lessons learned about fostering collaboration, shifting mindsets, empowering women and girls with disabilities, engaging with legal and policy systems, and allowing for flexible adaptation and learning in addressing violence against women and girls with disabilities.  

These findings mean that the review: 

• contributes to developing programming that is disability specific and disability inclusive; 
• promotes the development of a knowledge base that is grounded in the realities of practitioners in the Global South; and 
• offers practical recommendations to practitioners, researchers, donors and policymakers. 

The “Women with disabilities stigma inventory” (WDSI) was developed as part of the project “Addressing stigma and discrimination experienced by women with disabilities” (ASDWD) project, which was jointly led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, with funding from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN PRPD).

The ASDWD project focused on the intersection of disability and gender-based stigma and discrimination. A key objective was to create a survey tool to assess the experiences of women and girls with disabilities regarding stigma, discrimination, and gender-based violence. To this end, alongside developing the WDSI using a participatory approach, a methodological note and ethical guidelines were also produced to ensure a human rights–based approach and minimize harm.

This toolkit includes:

• Women with disabilities stigma inventory (WDSI)
• WDSI methodological note
• Ethical standards guide for the ASDWD project

The WDSI is a stand-alone, self-reporting survey tool that can be used to collect data about the experiences of women with disabilities globally in relation to stigma, discrimination, and violence.

The purpose of the methodological note is to provide an overview of the WDSI, its development process, and how to implement the tool and analyse results.

The “Ethical standards guide” was used throughout the ASDWD project to minimize the risk of harm while engaging women with disabilities. The human rights–based approach and the “Do no harm” principle guided the conceptualization and implementation of these guidelines.

The purpose of the Guidelines is to provide guidance on how to consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in all disability-specific and general decision-making processes across the UN’s work, as mandated in the UNDIS’ entity accountability framework and UNCT accountability scorecard, in order to enhance the participation of persons with disabilities to reach programmatic and operational goals and leave no one behind. This document provides guidance on how to make participation of persons with disabilities meaningful.

The Guidelines are intended to assist all UN personnel, whether they are working in human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, peace and security, or operational functions to consult with and actively involve with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations across programmes and operations – from planning and design to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Disability-inclusive communications will help to fulfill the promise of ‘leaving no one behind’, a key component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Inclusive communications allow persons with disabilities to participate fully and equally in all spheres of society.

The purpose of the Guidelines is to assist UN communications focal points and other UN staff to make all our communications disabilityinclusive and accessible. Inclusive and accessible communications reduce bias and discrimination, and promote inclusion and participation.