Background

National action plans (NAPs) are policy documents indicating the goals, activities, timelines, and resources needed to achieve specific development objectives. NAPs – as well as other types of national planning instrument - can be an invaluable tool for the advancement of disability-inclusive development and the rights of persons with disabilities. Many countries have initiated or completed processes for developing their own national development or human rights plans or sector-specific plans consistent with human rights obligations. In addition, some countries have adopted thematically focused plans such as national action plans on the rights of persons with disabilities or of women. The present module focuses on disability-specific or disability- inclusive action plans, which provide opportunities for the government and other stakeholders to:

• Review a country’s concerns in the context of disability.
• Mainstream disability across all sectors and services[1].
• Raise awareness of the social and development inclusive issues facing persons with disabilities among government officials, security authorities, civil society organizations, and the general public.
• Mobilize a broad spectrum of society to work on the rights of persons with disabilities collectively and cooperatively (for example, targeting not only DPOs but also mainstream civil society organizations, children’s rights groups, women’s organizations, development organizations and others).
• Propose activities that can be implemented to advance the rights of persons with disabilities and to ensure that development activities are disability-inclusive.
• Set achievable targets to reach disability rights goals, consistent with international standards and the CRPD.
• Determine the necessary budgets and advocate for the need for funding for disability policies, as well as their actual implementation.
• Monitor and evaluate the extent to which existing approaches to advancing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities are successful and to adjust these approaches where they are not.
• Promote linkages and coordination with other national programmes, particularly in the areas of development and education; and
• Generate commitment to action among stakeholders.