Closing speech at the Global Disability Summit

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Norwegian Government, the Government of Ghana and the International Disability Alliance, I want to express our gratitude to all stakeholders for your participation in the 2022 Global Disability Summit.

It was a pleasure to see the UN Secretary General, the many Heads of State and Governments, Ministers, Heads of Multilateral Organizations, Multilateral Development Banks, Civil Society Organizations, and Private Sector Companies committing to lasting change for persons with disabilities over the last two days.  

Without the International Disability Alliance, and the Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, we would not have seen the progress we have witnessed during these two days. These exceptionally engaged representatives of persons with disabilities have been instrumental both in the planning and in the execution of the summit.

And most importantly; they were instrumental in developing the menu of commitments and by that ensuring that commitments meet the gaps on the road to full equality, and to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. A sincere thank you.

I will also take the opportunity to thank Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, UN Organizations, and Civil Society Organizations for organizing side events and regional events ahead of and in the margins of the Summit.

I thank Unicef, Youth Mental Health Norway, the Atlas Alliance and the International Disability Alliance again for organizing the Youth Summit and the Civil Society Forum, and WHO for co-hosting the Pre-Summit on Inclusive Health.

Last but not least, I direct a sincere thank you to the Government of Ghana for its commitment to making this Summit a success.

Together we have mobilized broadly and created a movement that started in London and will not end in Oslo.

During the Summit, participants reaffirmed the "Charter for change" adopted by the 2018 London Global Disability Summit. Further, participants underlined the need for Covid-19 pandemic recovery measures to be inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. Participants underlined the importance of meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities. Participants committed to making Disaster Risk Reduction and humanitarian action inclusive, to support actions that advance inclusive and accessible quality education, to design equitable health program and policies, to eliminate barriers to economic empowerment, and to strengthened community inclusion. These are not just the right thing to do, they are also the smartest thing to do for societies at large.

A Chairs’ Summary is published on the Global Disability Summit Website.

As the Norwegian Minister of International Development I proudly echo the words of Prime Minister Støre from yesterday. Norway has developed its first comprehensive strategy for promoting disability-inclusive development. This strategy will guide our development cooperation moving forward. Our international commitments are rooted in this strategy.

With over 7000 particiants, and approximately 1300  received commitments, and more to come, we expect the Summit to lead to action. As co-hosts we will monitor progress on commitments made in Oslo 2022. London and Oslo and the next Summit are important events, but the real change happens at country level, at community level, and at the individual level.

I am confident that the spirit and inspiration of GDS will lead to lasting change for persons with disabilities in every corner of the world through our joint action. And with these words I close the Global Disability Summit 2022.

Thank you.