Inter-agency working group on trade and disability inclusion

The inter-agency working group on trade and disability inclusion was established following the November 2023 panel discussion “Leaving nobody behind: enhancing disability inclusion across the international trading system”. 

At the event, the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General announced the creation of an informal, technical-level working group to strengthen cooperation among international organizations working on trade, development and disability inclusion.

Initially a joint initiative of UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization, the International Trade Centre and the International Labour Organization, the working group has since expanded to include other international organizations with complementary expertise.

The working group provides a platform for coordination, knowledge exchange and practical collaboration. It improves coherence across the international system and helps ensure disability inclusion is systematically integrated into trade and trade-related policies, programmes and technical cooperation activities.

Its work includes:

• Organizing events and workshops
• Coordinating research and technical cooperation
• Sharing data, studies, methodologies and institutional experience. 

It also helps identify gaps and opportunities, avoid duplication of effort and promote coordinated approaches.

The working group supports dialogue with member states, organizations of persons with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders. This engagement is essential to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognized not only as beneficiaries of policy but also as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, innovators and active participants in both the global economy and the policymaking landscape.