UfM Secretary General attends a High-Level Event on the rights of persons with disability and multidimensional poverty

25 January 2023, Doha – The Secretary General travelled to Doha to take part in the High-Level Event “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Multidimensional Poverty”, which was organised by the Arab League and under the initiative of the Ministry of Social Development and Family of the State of Qatar.

The Secretary General participated in the Official Opening of the event, where he stressed the importance of fostering direct dialogue between organisations addressing the situation of disabled people and governments. He also mentioned the growing interest during UfM events and meetings in establishing a regional dialogue platform on this issue.

The UfM is determined to increase the scope of action in this thematic area, whereby extending the network of involvement and collaboration is fundamental. The recent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the League of Arab States last November in Barcelona, therefore, provides an essential opportunity to contribute together to improve the rights of persons with disabilities and multidimensional poverty conditions. In this line, during the last quarter of 2023, the UfM strives to organise together with the Arab League, the ONCE Foundation, and the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities, the 2nd edition of the EuroMed Conference on Disability, which the Secretary General suggested, in his speech, that hosting it in an Arab country is an opportunity to be envisaged.

Furthermore, to start launching cooperation in this sector, the Secretary General had bilateral meetings with Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League, Ms. Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity, and Mrs. Nevin Riad el-Kabbaj, Qatari Minister of Social Development and Family.