News Details

The Institute for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I.P. (IDiPD, I.P.) participated, as a member and national representative of Portugal in the Ibero-American Program on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PID), in the launch session of the Ibero-American Observatory on Disability and the Labour Market, an initiative promoted by the ONCE Social Group, through the ONCE Foundation for Latin America (FOAL), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (BID Lab), the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS) and the Ibero-American Program on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PID).

The new Observatory is a regional platform aimed at strengthening the production, harmonisation and dissemination of statistical data on disability and the labour market, providing comparable information to support evidence-based public policy-making, promote the labour inclusion of persons with disabilities and strengthen cooperation between Ibero-American countries.

During the session it was widely recognised that the availability of reliable, up-to-date and comparable data is an essential tool to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to develop more effective and result-oriented public policies.

Among the main stakeholders were Sabina Lobato, from the ONCE Foundation, who presented the experience of the ODISMET Observatory as a reference in monitoring labour inclusion; Jesús Martín Blanco, President of the Ibero-American Program on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PID), who highlighted the importance of producing scientific knowledge for the definition of public policies and presented the developments of the future Ibero-American Disability Card project; Gina Magnolia Riaño Barón, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Social Security Organisation (OISS), who addressed the challenges of social protection and labour informality; and Nadine Gasman, an expert at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), who highlighted the need to enhance the quality, harmonisation and disaggregation of statistical data to better identify inequalities and guide inclusive public policies.

Topics highlighted included the international harmonisation of disability indicators, the improvement of statistical information systems, the promotion of inclusive employment, the fight against multiple discrimination – with a particular focus on women with disabilities –, the strengthening of social protection and regional cooperation, as well as the development of the future Ibero-American Disability Card, a strategic initiative of the IDP aimed at facilitating the recognition of disability status and the mobility of persons with disabilities between participating countries.

The participation of IDiPD, I.P. in this event, as Portugal's national representative in the IDP, reaffirms the Institute's commitment to strengthening Ibero-American cooperation and promoting evidence-based public policies, contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to building more inclusive societies.