The President of the Arab Forum for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the LUPD, Sylvana Lakkis, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during his visit to Lebanon, at a meeting organized by UNWomen, which included a number of active women activists in the humanitarian, social and political fields.

In the meeting, Lakkis explained the reality of people with disabilities in Lebanon before and during the war, and spoke of the need to encourage Lebanon to implement the steps required to declare ratification and begin implementing the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). She told Guterres: Tell them to tell you that Lebanon has ratified the Convention! She recommended that diversity and disability should be included in advancement and reform plans, “and this requires working to institutionalize inclusion in facilities including political rights.” She emphasized the importance of the role of UN organizations at all stages and the importance of involving associations of people with disabilities in the process.

In her intervention, Lakkis also addressed the situation in Gaza and the need to start taking action to save the Palestinian people from immediate annihilation. As in Lebanon, so in Gaza, there is a need to provide all support to enable people whose disabilities were caused by the war, in addition to the disabilities caused by torture in captivity, which is unacceptable to any sane person. The disabled person must be provided with the appropriate conditions to recover and return to a decent life. Lakkis also called for finding a way to hold Israel accountable for its captivity of civilians and torture of disabled people. Lakkis expressed the Forum and the LUPD respect for Guterres’ positions, counting on his response to provide protection for the people of Gaza and to fulfill justice, and this starts with opening an investigation and starting accountability, as there is a need to move from words to deeds, which is the best way to achieve this, she added: “Human rights are threatened and the UN is concerned. “We want to break out of the dead ends to achieve justice in Palestine and Lebanon. We want a guarantee to make all stages inclusive, under the slogan: Nothing without us. What we are asking for benefits all human beings, not just people with disabilities.”

Organized by UN Women in Beirut, the high-level meeting brought together UN Secretary-General António Guterres and heads of women’s rights and women-led organizations to address the role of women in recovery, reconciliation and reconstruction. At the meeting, women leaders presented their vision for a gender-responsive government and shared their thoughts on recovery, reconciliation, and reconstruction efforts. During the meeting, Guterres emphasized that there is a real opportunity to rebuild Lebanese society with UN support to encourage women’s political engagement and equality.