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The Zero Project Report 2019 focuses on Article 19 (Living independently and being included in the community) and Article 29 (Participation in political and public life) of the UN CPRD, as well as related topics such as Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law) and Article 13 (Access to justice)

For 2019 the Zero Project selected 66 Innovative Practices and 10 Innovative Policies from 41 countries that positively impact the rights of persons with disabilities in their ability to live more independently and to take part in political life

This Report is composed of five main sections, summarizing the annual research, followed by an Annex:

• Executive Summary, including background information on this year’s research topic and the Zero Project methodology

• Innovative Polices and Practices: Fact Sheets and Life Stories

• Description of the Zero Project–Impact Transfer programme

• Description of EU-grant-funded TOPHOUSE projects

• A summary of this Report in easy language

• An Annex listing all Zero Project network members active in 2018–2019

The Zero Project Report is also available on the Zero Project Website in an accessible pdf format.

This guide is intended to support countries in embedding inclusion and equity in educational policy. It supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on education calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. The guide is intended for use primarily by key government education policy-makers working with key stakeholders. The guide provides an assessment framework that can serve to: review how well equity and inclusion currently figure in existing policies; decide which actions are needed to improve policies and their implementation towards equitable and inclusive education systems; and monitor progress. The guide includes evidence that informs the assessment framework, examples of initiatives that are contributing to more inclusive and equitable education systems in different parts of the world, and recommendations for further reading. 

"For the second year, Together 2030 has carried out a survey to collect evidence on stakeholder awareness of, and participation in, national planning and review around the 2030 Agenda. In 2017, the survey was conducted in partnership with the Newcastle University. The survey received 461 responses from a range of stakeholders, including national, regional and global organisations. This perceptions survey asked 20 questions in total (though not all questions were directed to all respondents). It was issued in three languages: English, Spanish and French, and was shared broadly with civil society and stakeholder mailing lists and via social media from March 3 to March 24 2017."

This report addresses two key questions about people’s participation in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development:

• How extensive is stakeholder awareness of, and participation in, the process of country Voluntary National Reviews which are a central component of the High Level Political Forum
• How aware and engaged is civil society and stakeholders across the world in national level planning and review of the SDGs?

This report presents statistical, survey-based evidence that helps to address these two questions. 

The aim of this study was to identify key governance issues that need to be addressed to facilitate the integration of mental health services into general health care in the six participating "Emerald" countries (Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda).  The study adopted a descriptive qualitative approach, using framework analysis. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a range of key informants, to ensure views were elicited on all the governance issues within the expanded framework. Key informants across the six countries included policy makers at the national level in the Department/Ministry of Health; provincial coordinators and planners in primary health care and mental health; and district-level managers of primary and mental health care services. A total of 141 key informants were interviewed across the six countries. Data were transcribed (and where necessary, translated into English) and analysed thematically using framework analysis, first at the country level, then synthesised at a cross-country level.

A Toolkit on Disability for Africa has been developed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD). It is designed for the African context and aims to:

• Provide practical tools on various disability-related issues to government officials, members of parliament, civil and public servants at all levels, disabled persons organizations (DPOs) and all those with an interest in the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development;
• Support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and disability-inclusive development;
• Offer examples of good practices from many countries in the African region.

Toolkit Modules:

• UN DESA toolkit on CRPD – Trainers’ tips
• Introducing the UNCRPD
• Frameworks for implementing and monitoring the UNCRPD
• Disability-inclusive development
• Accessibility
• Building multi-stakeholders partnerships for disability inclusion
• National plans on disability
• Legislating for disability rights
• Access to justice for persons with disabilities
• The rights of persons with disabilities to work
• Inclusive health services for persons with disabilities
• Participation in political and public life
• Information and communication technology (ICT) and disability
• Culture, beliefs, and disability
• Inclusive education

General principles requiring contextual adaptation regarding optimal policy related governance of health related rehabilitation in less resourced settings were developed from a literature review and realistic synthesis. A systematic review of literature published since 2003 was carried out. Multiple reviewers selected articles for inclusion in the realistic synthesis.  A Delphi survey of expert stakeholders refined and triangulated findings from the realist synthesis. Context mechanism outcome pattern configurations (CMOCs) were identified from the literature and then developed into statements for the Delphi survey, whereby 18 expert stakeholders refined these statements to achieve consensus on recommendations for policy related governance of health related rehabilitation. Several broad principles emerged throughout formulation of recommendations: participation of persons with disabilities in policy processes; collection of disaggregated disability statistics; explicit promotion in policies of access to services for all subgroups of persons with disabilities and service-users; robust inter-sectoral coordination; and ‘institutionalising’ programmes.

This report was prepared to inform the discussions at the high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development in 2016. The theme chosen for the HLPF is "ensuring that no one is left behind". The report builds on GSDR2014 and GSDR2015. The approach is of an assessment of assessments, documenting and describing the landscape of information on specific issues or nexuses of issues. Specifically, the report keeps the ‘science-policy interface’ and ‘SDGs as integrated system’ as main threads. Main topics include: ensuring that no one is left behind and the 2030 Agenda; the infrastructure – inequality – resilience nexus; perspectives of scientists on technology and the SDGs; inclusive institutions for sustainable development; and identification of emerging Issues for sustainable development. An annex addresses persons with disabilities specifically, highlighting their over-representation in the "furthest behind".

The committee considered whether the UK Equality Act 2010, a legislative framework, adequately supports the fight against disability discrimination and how it can be made to work better for disabled people. Aspects covered include: the Red Tape Challenge; the Public Sector Equality Duty; leisure facilities and housing; access to justice; the restoration of the Equality and Human Rights helpline and conciliation service; and communication. Major issues identified were the need to include disabled people in the planning of services and buildings and communication concerning this, the need to be proactive rather than reactive or process driven and the importance of enforceable rights. Statistics concerning disabled people living in the UK are presented. The development of the Equality Act, and it's relationship with the UNCRPD and with EU law are outlined.

This survey contributes to the debate on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addressing the specific challenge of building resilience to climate change, the Survey focuses on population groups and communities that are disproportionately affected by climate hazards, whose frequency and intensity are increasing with climate change. It argues that, in the absence of a continuum of policies designed to reduce the exposure and vulnerability of people to climate change, poverty and inequalities will only worsen. To the extent that the differential impact of climate hazards on people and communities is determined largely by the prevalence of multiple inequalities in respect of the access to resources and opportunities, policies aimed at building climate resilience provide an opportunity to address the structural determinants of poverty and inequality in their multiple dimensions.