IDDC

Making Development Inclusive: National event series - event 7
Lunch-time Conference “Promoting Inclusive Development: Persons with Disabilities in Belgian Development Cooperation”

6 December 2011 IDDC member PHOS shared the results of their latest research project during a lunch-time conference “Promoting Inclusive Development: Persons with Disabilities in Belgian Development Cooperation”. Chairwoman of the Belgian Senate, Sabine de Bethune, hosted the event.

The event was held at the Federal House of Parliamentarians in Brussels and part of of the Making Development Inclusive project. 

The conference consisted of a panel discussion on inclusive development with four prominent speakers and a presentation of the research that PHOS has undertaken on how persons with disabilities are currently included in Belgian international development programmes. Conference participants were first welcomed by Joost Van Heesvelde, President of PHOS, before Ms. de Bethune provided an introduction for the conference.

The study that PHOS conducted examined the progress that Belgium has made towards implementing more inclusive development practices after ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2009. Professor Geert van Hove of Ghent University presented the findings of this research. The framework used for the study was drawn from articles 11 and 32 of the CRPD. The results were enlightening, showing that there is much left to be done to ensure inclusive Belgian development cooperation in five partner countries: Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Recommendations included: mainstreaming disability in Belgian development cooperation using the twin-track approach, aligning Belgian policy with the EU Disability Strategy, observing good practices in neighbouring countries and adapting them to Belgium’s own development policy. Transferring skills and drawing from Belgium’s own strong record on inclusive education and health care could offer interesting prospects. With the evolving international dynamics, its devotion to equal human rights and commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in mind, Belgian policy makers should adapt their development cooperation efforts to the CRPD commitments. 

A panel discussion followed Professor van Hove, featuring four guest speakers who provided their insight about implementing inclusive development. Alicia Martin, who works for the European Commission's Directorate-General of Development and Cooperation – EuropeAid (DG DEVCO), first introduced the ways that the EU is addressing disabilities in their development cooperation. Another speaker was CBM International Advocacy & Alliances Director, Catherine Naughton, who examined how disability was incorporated into EC Development Cooperation and then produced recommendations for going forward with making disabilities part of the Belgian development cooperation. The third featured panelist was Bhekie Jele, Executive Support Officer for the Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (SADPD), who explained SADPD's involvement in development cooperation and specifically how SADPD has implemented disability policy in South Africa. Greet Van Gool, attaché of Multilateral Relations of the Federal Public Service, was the final panelist, primarily speaking on Belgium's implementation of the CRPD. 

The conference ended with an opportunity for questions and discussion of the information that had been presented followed by a reception.