Opening session | Disability—Social Protection—Inclusion: Dialogue for Change

Disability-inclusive social protection systems must ensure basic income security, cover healthcare and disability-related extra costs, provide access to support services, and facilitate participation in complementary services like education and economic empowerment programs; these systems should be designed using human rights-based approaches rather than charity models, with meaningful participation of organizations of persons with disabilities in policy design and implementation, and should move beyond traditional incapacity-based eligibility criteria to focus on inclusion, autonomy, and participation.