WTO Public Forum 2024 session: Disability inclusive trade – leveraging digital technologies to make trade work for all

Persons with disabilities account for one in six adults worldwide, yet this diverse group remains largely overlooked in international trade discussions. Even more so, the impact of international trade on persons with disabilities has been given little consideration in discussions on ensuring inclusive trade.

As such, there is a need to integrate disability inclusion into these discussions, drawing parallels with recent strides made in mainstreaming gender into trade discussions and echoing the imperative of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to "leave no one behind”.

This session will unpack the multifaceted impact of international trade on persons with disabilities, drawing lessons from efforts to promote gender issues in trade. Moreover, recognizing the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital transition, the session will explore how digital technologies, including assistive technologies, can be leveraged to foster inclusive employment practices and help realize decent working conditions and adequate skills for all.

This event represents the first activity organised by the Inter-Agency Technical Working Group on Trade and Disability Inclusion. This newly created Working Group brings together Geneva-based international organizations to focus on integrating and enhancing disability inclusion within trade and development agendas. The group established in early 2024 by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Programme

Moderator

• Ms. Angela Ellard, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation

Speakers

• Ms. Luz Maria de la Mora, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• Mr. Dan Rees, Director, Priority Action Programme on Supply Chains, International Labour Organization
• Mr. Ilkka Saarinen, Director for Trade Policy Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland

Closing remarks

• Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre