UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell remarks at the Forum of Small States Meeting

NEW YORK, 7 June 2022 – "Good afternoon. I am honored to participate in my first meeting of the Forum of Small States.

"I want to thank Ambassador Gafoor for hosting us – and for moderating this critical conversation.  

"Excellencies, the Forum of Small States is a mirror of the world. To paraphrase the Secretary-General, your countries are geographically small, but your voices are powerful. UNICEF is grateful to work with you, collectively and individually, to drive change for the most disadvantaged children.

"Children with disabilities are the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, the most excluded of the excluded. So I welcome this opportunity to speak with you today about what we need to do to reach these children – and to change the systems and structures that fail them.

"Less than a year ago, with support from Norway and other donors, UNICEF launched Seen, Counted, Included -- a landmark global data report that painted a much clearer picture of the lives of children with disabilities.

"The report shows that one in every ten children in the world – 240 million children – are living with a disability. Their lives and situations vary widely.

"Even the most privileged of these children face discrimination, stigma, and exclusion from full participation. And for the least fortunate, access to even the most fundamental services and systems is often denied.

"Children with disabilities are the most likely to be out of school.  They are more than twice as likely as their peers without disabilities to experience violence. Nearly 70 per cent of girls and 30 per cent of boys with developmental disabilities will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.

"These violations of their rights can follow them into their adult lives, limiting their ability to become fully contributing members of their societies. In turn, this increases dependence and poverty.

"Excellencies, every child has the right to grow up in a family, to learn and play with their peers, to be full members of their communities, and to contribute to their economies and their societies.

"Every child with a disability has the right to dream and to achieve, free from stigma and discrimination.

"And every country should recognize how much it has to gain by investing in the systems and services that help children with disabilities to realize these rights.

"UNICEF works with governments and local partners all over the world – including with many members of this forum -- to support children with disabilities.

"More than half of our country offices with a humanitarian appeal – 36 out of 66 – provide disability-inclusive programmes and services as part of their response efforts.

"As the economic impact of the COVID-19 worsened in 2021, UNICEF also reached more than one million children and adults with disabilities via cash transfer programmes.

"During my first month in UNICEF, I visited our Supply Division warehouse in Copenhagen, where I learned about our disability portfolio. Up until that moment I had not known that UNICEF helps reach so many children with wheelchairs, glasses, prostheses, and other assistive products that help them participate. It’s a remarkable operation.

"All told, in 2021, UNICEF reached 4.8 million children with disabilities across 148 countries – more than double from the previous year.

"That’s a significant achievement. But it represents only around 2 per cent of the 240 million children with disabilities.

"We need to take collective action.

"More than half of the 42 countries represented in our report are FOSS members -- including Mongolia, Serbia, Lesotho, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, among others. We need your leadership to achieve an inclusive world for every child.

"UNICEF has placed disability inclusion programming and operations at the center of our Strategic Plan, guided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities -- and grounded in our mission to reach every child.

"Inclusion is our guiding principle – and “leave no one behind” is our shared goal. UNICEF is proudly leading the implementation of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, or UNDIS – and following UNDIS accountabilities in our own operations.

"I know that many of you here were involved in the development of that strategy and are supporting its’ implementation through funding and advocacy. Thank you for this.

"UNICEF is finalizing our own DIPAS to be launched later this year – and we are committed to diversity inclusion across all our programmes and operations.

"We are also launching a global research agenda on children with disabilities to mobilize efforts in the academic sector. The more evidence we have about the lives and needs of children with disabilities, the more effectively we can tailor solutions to meet their needs.

"In everything we do around disability, UNICEF relies on our partnerships with global, regional, and local organizations of people with disabilities – especially youth-powered organizations.

"For example, we partnered with the International Disability Alliance to create a global Network of Adolescents and Youth with Disabilities. In turn, the Network played a central role in organizing the Global Youth Disability Summit in February of this year

"Excellencies, during my first two weeks as UNICEF Executive Director, I had the chance to participate in the 2nd Global Disability Summit, which was co-organized by the Government of Norway.

"It was more than just a high-level event. It was a platform for the exchange of experiences, ideas, and solutions around the disability agenda – and a springboard for commitments.

"All told, 262 organizations made a total of 1,412 commitments to drive disability inclusion – including by UNICEF and by many of you here today on behalf of your governments. I thank you for this as well.

"Now we need to turn commitments into action – and the Forum of Small States can help the way. I am looking forward to hearing from all of you about some of the ways your countries are supporting disability inclusion.

"Before we start our conversation, I want to share two short videos that I recently saw for the first time.

"The first video highlights a UNICEF-supported playground at the Za’atari refugee camp – the first fully inclusive playground ever built in a refugee camp.

"It’s a joyful video, and I hope it infuses our talk today with a sense of what’s possible. 

"The second video shows the passion and commitment of young people with disabilities to confront the reality of climate change – and to call for action. 

"These young people are completely committed to building a better world. We need to empower them and join them. And we need to do it together.

"Before we begin our discussion, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank my colleague, Rosangela Berman-Bieler, who has served for many years as UNICEF’s Senior Advisor on Children with Disability. 

"She is a truly tireless champion for children with disabilities – and she is here to provide deeper insight into our work. 

"So, thank you all for listening – and now I look forward to hearing from all of you."

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