SESRIC, in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of the OIC to the United Nations, organised a Panel Discussion on “Activating the Ability Dividend: Policies for Socio-Economic Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities in OIC Member Countries” on the sidelines of the 64^th Commission for Social Development (CSocD64) on 4 February 2026 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The event convened 35 participants, including Permanent Representatives of OIC countries to the UN, International Organisations, Research Institutions, ECOSOC-accredited NGOs and Academia.

The session commenced with a SESRIC presentation featuring data from OIC countries on persons with disabilities and highlighting the intra-OIC efforts in addressing the existing challenges for more inclusive societies.

The Panel discussions continued with remarks from the following valuable speakers:

• H.E. Ambassador Hameed Ajibaiye OPELOYERU, Permanent Observer for the OIC to the United Nations
• H.E. Ambassador Ahmet YILDIZ, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Türkiye to the United Nations
• H.E Minister Plenipotentiary Tarek EL NABULSI, Director of the Development and Social Policies Department, League of Arab States (LAS)
• H.E. Dr. Sharifa AL EMADI, Executive Director of Doha International Family Institute (DIFI)
• H.E. Ms. Dima AL-KHATIB, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
• Mr. Matthew KELSON, Senior Human Rights Advisor, International Disability Alliance (IDA)

The discussions focused on identifying scalable multi-stakeholder capacity-building and cooperation mechanisms to accelerate disability inclusion. The Panel contributed to global dialogue on social development and justice by aligning OIC-specific insights with the 2030 Agenda and the priority theme of CSocD64 “Advancing social development and social justice through coordinated, equitable and inclusive policies.”

For more information about CSocD64, please visit: https://social.desa.un.org/csocd/64^th-session

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