Annex: Action Plan to Accelerate the Implementation of the Incheon Strategy

I. Introduction

1. On the basis of experiences in implementing the first five years (2013– 2017) of the third Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013– 2022, the Action Plan to Accelerate the Implementation of the Incheon Strategy has been endorsed by the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013–2022, at sessions held between 2014 and 2017, and has been informed by expert input and responses to the surveys conducted by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on the midpoint review of the Decade in 2017. 

II. Objectives

2. The Action Plan provides for strategic policy measures to accelerate the implementation of the Incheon Strategy, the world’s first regional disabilityspecific development agenda, during the period from 2018 to 2022. It contains recommendations for policy action towards achieving the 10 goals of the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. Putting policy into place, and translating policy into effective implementation, involves political will, good governance, multi-ministerial cooperation, and the allocation of adequate budget and human resources equipped with technical capabilities, which are crucial to the success of the implementation of the Incheon Strategy.
3. The main actors of the Action Plan are Governments. However, pursuant to the Incheon Strategy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach is to be noted, including partnerships with civil society, the private sector and international organizations.
4. In the Action Plan, with a view to fulfilling the pledge by member States in the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind, the operational synergy between the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan and the 2030 Agenda, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other development agendas is underscored.
5. To demonstrate this synergy between the Incheon Strategy, the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan and other development agendas, linkages are presented between the recommended action and the Incheon Strategy, the Sustainable Development Goals and, as necessary, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. III. Guiding principles 6. The Beijing Declaration and Action Plan reaffirm the key principles and policy direction contained in the Incheon Strategy, and place special emphasis on inclusive and shared development towards the goal of leaving no one behind. IV. Advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development from a disability perspective 7. The 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals are disabilityinclusive. Five of the Goals contain an explicit reference to disability, and another

III. Guiding principles

6. The Beijing Declaration and Action Plan reaffirm the key principles and policy direction contained in the Incheon Strategy, and place special emphasis on inclusive and shared development towards the goal of leaving no one behind. 

IV. Advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development from a disability perspective

7. The 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals are disability inclusive. Five of the Goals contain an explicit reference to disability, and another six are indirectly linked to disability-related issues.¹ Included in the Goals is the disaggregation of data by disability status, where relevant. In addition, persons with disabilities are one of the 12 major groups recognized by the United Nations to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.²;

Action to be taken by Governments

8. In accordance with national circumstances and priorities, Governments should, as appropriate, develop, adopt and implement national Sustainable Development Goal implementation plans and relevant monitoring and indicator frameworks that address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. This includes leveraging data collected for the Incheon Strategy core indicators, as well as disaggregating data by disability across the Sustainable Development Goal indicators as necessary. Furthermore, Governments should involve persons with disabilities, their representative organizations and disability experts throughout all stages mentioned above. 

Action to be taken by ESCAP

9. ESCAP should:

1. As appropriate and in collaboration with other United Nations entities and development organizations, support the technical capacity-building of Governments in the collection and analysis of disability-inclusive statistics and data for the tracking of progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals;
2. In collaboration with the Working Group, develop a mechanism for sharing good practices on disability-inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda through regional platforms such as the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, the most comprehensive regional intergovernmental forum supporting the implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda.

V. Advancing the implementation of Incheon Strategy, in particular through the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan

Goal 1: Reduce poverty and enhance work and employment prospects (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.1, 1.2, 4.4, 4.5, 8.5, 8.6 and 10.2, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 27 and 28)

Action to be taken by Governments

10. Governments should:

1. Develop and implement comprehensive poverty reduction measures for persons with disabilities, including through enhanced access to financial services and capacity-building programmes;
2. Develop and implement enabling schemes to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and increase their opportunities with respect to livelihood, decent work and entrepreneurship, particularly by promoting the inclusion of persons with diverse disabilities and women with disabilities, keeping in mind the provision of reasonable accommodation, including by:
   1. Creating a one-stop system of employment services for persons with disabilities to avoid fragmentation;
   2. Providing financial or other incentives to employers to hire persons with disabilities and construct accessible facilities in the workplace;
   3. Promoting disability-inclusive business as a new business model, as distinct from the corporate social responsibility approach to disability, and incorporating disability perspectives into all stages of the business cycle;
   4. Promoting the establishment of business-to-business networks and improving coordination across the disability employment services system to increase job opportunities, vocational training and skills development for persons with disabilities;
   5. Promoting the provision of disability support services for employees such as job coaching, job matching, pre-employment counselling and the provision of information in accessible formats, reasonable accommodation and assistive technologies to sustain the employment of persons with disabilities.

Goal 2: Promote participation in political processes and in decision-making (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 5.5, 10.2 and 16.7, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 29)

Action to be taken by Governments

11. Governments should:

1. Develop, adopt and implement legislation and measures to ensure political participation by persons with disabilities, including by:
   1. Prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities as voters or candidates in elections
   2. Requiring election management bodies to provide accessible polling stations and voting procedures, including through measures such as utilizing accessible technology for voter registration and conducting accessibility audits of polling stations on a regular basis; 
   3. Building the capacity of persons with disabilities as voters and as candidates; 
2. Develop, adopt and implement legislation and measures to ensure participation by persons with disabilities at all levels of decision-making, including by requiring the inclusion of women with disabilities as members of the national gender equality mechanism and the provision of support services for their meaningful participation.

Goal 3: Enhance access to the physical environment, public transportation, knowledge, information and communication (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 9.1, 11.1, 11.2, 11.7 and 16.10 and means of implementation 4.a and 9.c; Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, paragraphs 7, 19, 30, 32 and 36; and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 9 and 21)

Action to be taken by Governments

12. Governments should:

1. Develop, adopt and implement laws and regulations to promote universal design and accessibility in the built environment, information and communications technology ecosystems, facilities and services at all levels of government and in the private sector, including by:
   1. Establishing enforcement and coordinating bodies, with sustained budgets, that have the authority to oversee multi-ministerial implementation of accessibility and enforce punitive measures for noncompliance;
   2. Establishing accessibility requirements for constructing and renovating the built environment and as a criterion for granting business permits;
2. Develop, adopt and implement technical standards, based on universal design and in line with international standards, for making the built environment – including toilets, changing areas and transportation – information and communications technology ecosystems and other services accessible;
3. Ensure that technical standards on accessibility highlight seamless connectivity between destinations and guarantee the safety of persons with physical, mental, intellectual, sensory and other impairments, and that standards in a country or area are the same across ministries and governance levels, including by:
   1. Adopting a procurement policy to ensure that all government devices, goods, services and software that are accessible to persons with disabilities are in line with accessibility standards, and promoting the adoption of the policy in the private sector;
   2. Taking steps to make government websites and their contents accessible, in accordance with World Wide Web Consortium standards;
   3. In collaboration with academic institutions, providing training programmes on universal design for policymakers, building inspectors and contractors, and integrating universal design and accessibility into higher education curricula related to architecture, urban planning, transport, civil engineering and other relevant academic branches;
   4. Devising and implementing a system to conduct regular accessibility audits of key public buildings and transportation hubs, key government offices, schools, hospitals and emergency shelters, business centres, houses/places of worship and any other public places before construction and periodically once in use;
4. Strengthen the provision of information accessibility and services, including by:
   1. Establishing and implementing systems to make all published materials, in particular public documents and textbooks, accessible for persons with disabilities;
   2. Engaging the private sector to develop text-to-speech software for local languages to ensure digital literacy;
   3. Developing, adopting and implementing a plan to increase the number of professional sign-language interpreters, and to integrate realtime captioning, sign-language interpretation, audio description and other forms of communication into broadcasts at national and international meetings and programmes implemented by Governments;
5. Establish and implement a system for the provision of affordable assistive devices in response to the needs of persons with disabilities³;
6. Actively consider ratifying and implementing the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, and amending copyright laws to allow the conversion of published materials into accessible formats for persons with print disabilities and the international exchange of the converted materials without the need for permission from copyright owners.

Goal 4: Strengthen social protection (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.3, 3.7, 3.8 and 10.4, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 19, 25, 26 and 28)

Action to be taken by Governments

13. Governments should develop, adopt and implement disability-inclusive and disability-specific social protection measures to cover all categories of persons with disabilities, including those with invisible disabilities. Specific measures include:

1. Providing benefit schemes, health coverage, screening and early detection and comprehensive rehabilitation services;
2. Establishing and maintaining community-based centres to provide rehabilitation, respite care and nursing services to promote deinstitutionalization and community-based living;
3. Considering providing social assistance, including direct cash transfers to persons with disabilities to meet the additional costs associated with disabilities so that they can exercise self-determination in their lives;
4. In collaboration with local governments and authorities, civil society and the private sector, establishing, maintaining and supporting a system of personal assistance and peer counselling to enable and empower persons with disabilities to live independently in the community;
5. Training and investing in the capacity-building of community level service providers and health-care providers, midwives and others to identify and detect disability at the earliest possible stage and provide the necessary referral and access to services;
6. Ensuring the inclusion of issues concerning persons with disabilities, including women and children with disabilities, in health education, health promotion and public health campaigns.

Goal 5: Expand early intervention and education of children with disabilities (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 4.1, 4.2 and 4.5 and means of implementation 4.a, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 7, 24 and 30)

Action to be taken by Governments

14. Governments should:

1. Introduce and strengthen national and local programmes, including training, to improve the knowledge and skills of families, caregivers and service providers regarding child development and early detection of and intervention with respect to developmental delays and disabilities, as well as regarding the rights of children with disabilities and the means to receive coordinated services within their own communities;
2. Review mainstream education policies, schemes and approaches to make them disability-inclusive, at the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, and to promote a barrier-free learning environment and educational approach for all learners at all levels, including by:
   1. Conducting accessibility audits of school facilities, including water and sanitation facilities, educational materials and teaching methods;
   2. Developing and implementing pre-service and in-service training programmes on inclusive education for professionals and staff working across the education sector, and on information-sharing among them, including professional training of educators that takes into account the needs of diverse learners to enable learning-friendly environments;
   3. Making all education-related data disability-inclusive, including in education management information system,⁴ with particular attention to out-of-school children with disabilities;
   4. Developing and maintaining school-readiness and bridge course programmes for first-generation learners, out-of-school children and school dropouts with disabilities, including adolescents and adults with disabilities;
   5. Developing, adopting and implementing scholarship programmes that are available and accessible to persons with disabilities;
   6. Promoting disability-inclusive and disability-specific sports and cultural programmes as an approach to integrating children with disabilities into the activities of their communities and promoting their health and well-being;
   7. Enhancing community awareness-raising activities in support of disability-inclusive sports and cultural programmes.

Goal 6: Ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 16.1 and 16.2 and means of implementation 5.a, 5.b and 5.c, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 6)

Action to be taken by Governments

15. Governments should:

1. In developing and implementing national action plans, legislation and programmes on gender equality and women’s empowerment, accord priority to incorporating the perspectives of girls and women with disabilities, particularly concerning sexual and reproductive health, protection from sexual exploitation and violence, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and participation in decision-making bodies at all levels; 
2. Disseminate information and enhance knowledge on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, as well as on protection of girls and women with disabilities from violence, abuse and exploitation. 

Goal 7: Ensure disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and management (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.5, 9.1, 11.2, 11.5, 11.7, 13.1 and 13.3 and means of implementation 11.b and 13.b; Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, paragraphs 7, 19, 24, 30, 32, 33 and 36; and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 11)

Action to be taken by Governments

16. Governments should:

1. Develop, adopt and implement programmes, plans, systems and procedures to ensure that persons with disabilities, and their representative organizations, actively participate in the planning, implementation and monitoring of disaster risk reduction and humanitarian emergency responses at all levels, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015– 2030 and the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action,⁵ including regional and subregional initiatives affecting persons with disabilities;
2. Establish a system of collaboration between disaster risk reduction focal points, disability focal points and others in Government, as necessary, to ensure that all information related to disaster risk, including early warning systems and information, is accessible, clear and understandable to all;
3. Conduct regular audits to ensure that all services related to disaster risk, including evacuation routes and shelters of early warning systems and information, are accessible and usable and respect the dignity of all, by involving planners, engineers and architects who are knowledgeable about universal design and persons with disabilities;
4. Require practitioners in the field of disaster risk reduction and humanitarian emergencies to be trained on the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, in the context of implementing disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction, and train and include persons with disabilities in first response teams, by utilizing existing learning tools;
5. Recognizing the link between climate change and disaster risk and considering the particularly severe impact of disasters on persons with disabilities, consider the need to develop the climate change resilience of systems supporting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, taking into consideration the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Goal 8: Improve the reliability and comparability of disability data (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 17.18 and 17.19; Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, paragraph 19; and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 31)

Action to be taken by Governments

17. Governments should map the status of disability statistics across ministries, and develop and implement national action plans in order to improve the reliability and usability of disability data, including ensuring the availability of an integrated database of data disaggregated by age, sex, disability, ethnicity and rural and urban residential status, as well as by educational and employment status. Specific measures include:

1. Examining the concepts, purposes, targets and advantages of existing disability data collection tools and instruments, including the tools developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics for measuring disability, those developed by the Washington Group and the United Nations Children’s Fund for measuring child disability and the World Health Organization’s model disability survey;
2. Establishing or improving civil registration and vital statistics systems to ensure that newborn babies with disabilities, where their disabilities are identifiable, are registered;
3. Developing or strengthening national registers as a viable source of disability data;
4. Ensuring sustainable resource allocation for building the capacities of disability statistics personnel, and strengthening national capacities with respect to disability data;
5. Supplementing quantitative data on disability with qualitative information such as narrative stories of the lived experience of persons with disabilities, as well as introducing best practices;
6. Considering the use of the ESCAP Guide on Disability Indicators for the Incheon Strategy⁶;
7. Promoting and conducting research on how policies and programmes, including those that are culturally appropriate and locally developed, can effectively address the issues faced by persons with disabilities and their need for services, thereby enhancing evidence-based policymaking;
8. Considering active participation in ESCAP technical support to member States with respect to the collection of disability data for the Incheon Strategy indicators.

Goal 9: Accelerate the ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the harmonization of national legislation with the Convention (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 10.3 and 16.3 and means of implementation 16.b, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 4)

Action to be taken by Governments

18. Governments should develop, adopt and implement anti-discrimination laws on disability, with stringent mechanisms, including some form of penalty, for those who discriminate against persons with disabilities.

Action to be taken by States parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

19. States parties should pursue harmonization of domestic legislation with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including nullifying disqualification provisions in existing laws that discriminate against persons with disabilities, such as those that prevent persons with disabilities from obtaining professional licences.

Action to be taken by ESCAP

20. ESCAP should facilitate inter-agency dialogue on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the regional level for the purposes of exchanging information, identifying possible areas of collaboration and leveraging the strengths of each entity.

Action to be taken by United Nations entities

21. United Nations entities should:

1. Support State party reporting to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by encouraging the use of data and information generated for reporting on the implementation of the Incheon Strategy;
2. Promote further ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto.

Goal 10: Advance subregional, regional and interregional cooperation (in support of Sustainable Development Goal targets 17.9, 17.16 and 17.19, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 32)

Action to be taken by Governments

22. Governments should promote mainstreaming of disability in development agendas at national, subregional and regional forums.

Action to be taken by ESCAP

23. ESCAP should:

1. Take further initiatives to enhance regional social and economic cooperation with a view to accelerating the implementation of the Incheon Strategy, in particular through the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan, in partnership with subregional intergovernmental organizations, other United Nations entities and other stakeholders;
2. Conduct regional and subregional analysis of the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan, in collaboration with subregional intergovernmental organizations.

Action to be taken by the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013–2022

24. The Working Group should invite subregional intergovernmental organizations and development organizations to share good practices with respect to their support for the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan at relevant forums.

Action to be taken by regional civil society organizations

25. Regional civil society organizations should engage in the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan, including by liaising and sharing information with global civil society organizations that are active in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other development agendas, to accelerate concerted and effective action to promote disability-inclusive development.

VI. Modalities for effective implementation of the Incheon Strategy (in support of Sustainable Development Goals 10, 16 and 17, and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 4, 32 and 33)

Legislative and institutional frameworks

Action to be taken by Governments

26. Governments should:

1. Continue to develop, adopt and implement both disability-specific and disability-inclusive laws, policies and regulations that cover all Incheon Strategy goals;
2. Establish, where necessary, and strengthen the national coordination mechanism on disability through provision of adequate human and financial resources, inclusion of diverse stakeholders and its active engagement in national policymaking and decision-making processes, and by requiring the mechanism to conduct annual reviews on the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan;
3. Establish, where necessary, and maintain coordination mechanisms on disability at the local level to coordinate policy implementation with the central level, in order to effectively address the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities and their families.

Action to be taken by ESCAP

27. In collaboration with other United Nations entities, ESCAP should support the strengthening of the national coordination mechanisms on disability.

Multi-stakeholder approach to implementation

Action to be taken by Governments

28. Governments should develop and implement, as appropriate, a plan to engage civil society, including representative organizations of persons with disabilities, their families and their supporters, and international organizations and development agencies in the implementation of the Incheon Strategy, in particular leveraging the strengths of community-level civil society entities as advocates as well as providers of technical assistance and services.

Action to be taken by ESCAP

29. ESCAP should provide a regional platform to further strengthen the engagement of diverse stakeholders.

VII. Tracking the progress of the Action Plan

30. The Working Group will play a key role in reviewing and supporting the implementation the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan. Working Group sessions are held annually as per its rules of procedure, and will discuss the progress of the implementation of select Incheon Strategy goals, as decided by the Working Group at its fourth session, and of relevant action in this Action Plan. To better support policy development and implementation, the reports of the Working Group on each of its sessions held between 2018 and 2022 will be submitted to the Commission for its consideration.
31. In addition, the secretariat will submit a report containing a review of the implementation of the Incheon Strategy and the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan to the Committee on Social Development at its session that is expected to be held in 2020. In advance of the concluding year of the current Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in 2022, the final review of the implementation of the Incheon Strategy will be conducted to measure progress made during the period from 2018 to 2022. The findings of the final review will be compared with information and data collected from the ESCAP midpoint review conducted in 2017. The final review will be informed by the abovementioned Working Group reports and a dedicated report on the implementation of the present Action Plan in 2020.