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IDDC takes discussion forward on Including Everyone in Beyond 2015
IDDC's Development Forum held its first e-meeting on 23 January 2012 to discuss a pressing issue for our member organisations and for the entire development community: the future of development after the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals.
The e-meeting - hosted by CBM's Diane Mulligan - thoroughly explained the process, politics, key events, and actors involved in the post-2015 debate and served as an important step towards deciding how IDDC will fit into the post-2015 process. The Beyond 2015 campaign was also introduced, featuring campaign coordinator Leo Williams as one of the main speakers. The Beyond 2015 campaign aims to create a global forum through which more than 270 civil society organisations are involved in discussing issues around the future of development in the post-2015 period. The campaign focuses on advocating for an inclusive, legitimate process through which the next development phase can be planned. It spells out certain “must-haves” in the creation process for the new framework for it to be legitimate, specifically in the areas of leadership, substance, legitimacy, and accountability. IDDC member Sightsavers is already one of the leading organisations involved in the campaign and representative Elaine Ireland outlined the key issues during the event. Claire Melamed of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) was also featured as a speaker.
According to the World Report on Disability 15% of the global population have disabilities; it is clear that including these millions of people in the development process will only bring the global community closer to achieving the MDGs. The Beyond 2015 campaign and other development agencies, such as DFID (UK's Department for International Development), are already specifically advocating a follow-up development framework that ensures inclusion. IDDC now has the opportunity to use the discussions of a new framework and the momentum for greater “inclusion” in that framework to make sure that the next phase of global development includes everyone.
However, establishing a future development framework will be a delicate process as key actors must plan for the future without taking time or resources away from the achievement of the MDGs that are currently in place. There are also many directions that the new framework could take, assuming a new framework is to be implemented at all. Framework options under discussion include making minor changes to the current goals, creating wider goals with a focus on human rights that are distinguished by context, creating completely new goals, or merely extending the deadline of the MDGs until as late as 2025.
There are also multiple suggestions for how civil society organisations should be able to influence the process, such as organising on a regional or thematic basis. This decision will impact IDDC and the disability rights movement's approach to advocacy during the Beyond 2015 process. For example, if the process is managed thematically, IDDC will have the opportunity to play a prominent role in organising the disability community.
Meanwhile, another debate must be resolved around the way to incorporate disability issues into the MDGs. One option being considered is adding a separate MDG specifically about persons with disabilities alongside the other goals, while a second option would be making sure that each of the goals acknowledge people with disabilities so that inclusion is cross-cutting all of the goals. The latter option would also be a step towards mainstreaming disability issues into the development process and establishing a precedent for including everyone in all aspects of development. It is unclear yet as to what form the post-2015 process will take or the format of the new MDGs, but it is clear that IDDC will be involved in the process and will have the opportunity to make a lasting change in development. |
IDDC 
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