Multilateral Dialogue KAS Geneva

Navigating turbulent times requires innovative ways of diplomacy and political dialogue to eschew military confrontations and multidimensional global crises and bring about sustained multilateral cooperation.

In order to learn first hand what this could look like in practice, we are more than grateful to United Nations Human Rights, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, International Committee of the Red Cross, World Health Organization (WHO), DiploFoundation, UN Trade and Development, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and several representatives from permanent missions who took their precious time in such an exceptional week for Geneva to share their insights into contemporary diplomatic challenges and multilateral decision-making processes with our young diplomats from the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies MEDAC - University of Malta.

Many thanks also to our colleagues from -Adenauer-Stiftung, Regional Program South Mediterranean for the excellent cooperation and all the very best to our participants for their future careers! May the insights and reflections from Geneva guide you on this journey.

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In a time where universal principles are being tested around the world, populations feel unease and turbulence, the seeks to bring forth the transformative side of human rights. Launched today, it brings together people from various sectors, including from governments, parliaments, academia, businesses, civil society, the media or faith leaders to partner and advance Hashtag globally.

https://globalalliance.un.org

Nearly 20 years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), persons with disabilities—representing approximately 15 percent of the global population—continue to face significant barriers to education, employment, healthcare, and political participation. The promise of the 2030 Agenda to “leave no one behind” cannot be fulfilled without their full and meaningful .

On June 8, on the margins of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD ( ), the Multilateral Dialogue Geneva together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) New York Office hosted the New York launch of Ensuring Dignity, Realising Rights: Strengthening the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through the UN Human Rights System, our latest report produced together with the Universal Rights Group (URG). The event brought together representatives from Member States, the United Nations, civil society, and organizations of persons with disabilities to discuss the report’s findings and their implications for advancing disability rights globally.

The discussion featured keynote remarks by Behindertenbeauftragter der Bundesregierung - Jürgen Dusel, Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Relating to Persons with Disabilities of Germany, and Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for United Nations Human Rights. Marc Limon, Executive Director of URG, presented the report and its key findings.

Drawing on nearly 16,000 disability-related recommendations issued by UN human rights mechanisms between 2007 and 2025, the report examines how effectively the international human rights system is translating commitments into tangible improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities. While the findings point to meaningful progress since the adoption of the CRPD, they also highlight persistent implementation gaps across areas such as accessibility, education, political participation, protection from violence, and the rights of women and girls with disabilities.

Participants reflected on the gap between commitments and implementation and discussed how governments, UN entities, organizations of persons with disabilities, and civil society can work together to strengthen accountability and advance implementation at the national level. Among the report’s findings is that recommendations concerning the rights of persons with disabilities are implemented at lower rates than recommendations relating to many other rights-holders, underscoring the need for stronger institutional support and sustained political commitment.

A central message emerged from the discussion: persons with disabilities must be at the center of every decision-making process that affects them. Their meaningful participation is not only a fundamental right—it is also essential to building more inclusive societies and achieving progress across human rights, development, and governance.

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We are proud to announce that on 20 May, the eve of Global Accessibility Awareness Day ( ), we launched our latest report on the rights of persons with and the engagement of the system on this critical issue in Geneva. During a breakfast discussion, we had the pleasure to look into the main findings of the report with various missions, UN representatives and civil society.

What became evident is that there is a clear need to move decisively from human rights commitments to their implementation, backed by stronger monitoring and follow-up. Although the case studies featured show that the human rights mechanisms can drive real progress in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities - especially where there is the political will to do so and engagement with OPDs, NMIRFs or UN agencies - their impact must be matched by systematic tracking and sustained engagement at country level.

👉 Out now: "Ensuring Dignity and Realising Rights - Measuring the Impact of the United Nations Human Rights System on the enjoyment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities", https://lnkd.in/eyDj6Qx9

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🌍 World Health Day 2026: Together for Health. Stand with Science.

celebrates the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. It reminds us of WHO’s core mandate as a norm and standard-setting multilateral organization guided by science and entrusted with international coordination and cooperation in global health.