Other Disability-related International Commitments and Treaties
Page Contents
- Relevant UN Human Rights Conventions
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Disability-Related International Commitments and Agreements
- ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Commitments
- Related Reports
- Publications by UN ESCAP on Disability-Inclusion
- Civil Society Engagement with the United Nations
*Notes:
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its related resources are listed in its dedicated page.
- Resources linked are in English and pdf or webpage format, unless stated otherwise.
Relevant UN Human Rights Conventions
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – Available in English and Chinese
⇒ Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – Available in English and Chinese
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) – Available in English and Chinese
⇒ Note: Malaysia is not a signatory to the Convention against Torture
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) – Available in English and Chinese
⇒ Note: Malaysia is not a signatory to the ICERD
Status of Malaysia’s Ratification of UN Human Rights Treaties – UN Treaty Body Database: Malaysia
Human rights recommendations for Malaysia – Universal Human Rights Index (search by country)
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals – UN webpage with information about each SDG
Transforming our world: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Available as webpage and in pdf and word format in English and Chinese
Sustainable Development Goals and Disability – UN DESA resource page
#Envision2030: 17 goals to transform the world for persons with disabilities, Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities
The “Asia and the Pacific Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG) Progress Report 2026” is published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for #Asia and the #Pacific (ESCAP). Among the 17 SDGs, including the SDG on #DecentWork, there are dozens of indicators to track progress. The report shows, For the 11 indicators for which disability-disaggregated data should be available, mostly they are not. “Disability” ranks last among the seven featured categories in terms of sufficient data availability, at only 4%, and 8 percentage points behind the second “worst” category, i.e., “Income.” Read the whole report
Disability-Related International Commitments and Agreements
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled – Available in English and Chinese language in pdf and word format, Braille, and Full Audio and Daisy Format
The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (1994)
ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Commitments
ASEAN Breaking Barriers, Disability Rights & Inclusion February 2025
ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025: Mainstreaming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – pdf format in English and Bahasa Malaysia
ASEAN Declaration on Disability-Inclusive Development and Partnership for a Resilient ASEAN Community, 5 September 2023
Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) through its resolution 69/13
Beijing Declaration, including the Action Plan to Accelerate the Implementation of the Incheon Strategy, endorsed by the Commission through its resolution 74/7
Jakarta Declaration on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2023–2032, endorsed by the Commission through its resolution 79/5
ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience Towards the Post-2025 ASEAN Community by ASEAN
ASEAN Comprehensive Framework on Care economy by ASEAN
Policy Paper on Digital Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific by ESCAP
Related Reports
UN Flagship Report on Disability and Sustainable Development Goals – Available in English (pdf) and Easy Read (Executive Summary) by UN
UN in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Country Results Report 2021 by UN
UN in Malaysia Country Results Report 2020 by UN
European Disability Expetise Reports by European Commission
Publications by UN ESCAP on Disability-Inclusion
*UN ESCAP = United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Situational Analyses and Lessons from 51 Countries on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by Global Disability Fund
Global Situational Analyses: Synthesis Brief and Strategic Implications by Global Disability Fund
Disability at a glance 2021: The Shaping of Disability-Inclusive Employment in Asia and the Pacific by UNESCAP
A Three-Decade Journey towards Inclusion: Assessing the State of Disability-inclusive Development in Asia and the Pacific (2022) by UNESCAP
Civil Society Engagement with the United Nations
Formal civil society organization engagement with the process of United Nations intergovernmental deliberations:
The first avenue by which non-governmental organizations took a role in formal UN deliberations was through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1945, 41 NGOs were granted consultative status by the Council; by 1992 more than 700 NGOs had attained consultative status and the number has been steadily increasing ever since with more than 6,000 organizations today.
Introduction to ECOSOC Consultative Status
“Working with ECOSOC” is an informational booklet that briefs Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on the benefits of establishing a consultative relationship with ECOSOC, as well as to provide instructions on how to obtain this status within the framework provided by ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31.
Working with ECOSOC: an NGOs Guide to Consultative Status
An example of a CSO that engages with the United Nations in New York:
Since 1972, NGO CSW/NY has created space for women’s rights organizations and feminist advocates to exchange knowledge, build collective power, and bring their voices to the United Nations.
More than fifty years of civil society leadership.