Check against delivery

19th Session of the Conference of States Parties

to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

General Debate

Intervention by Delegation of Ukraine

9-11 June 2026

Mr. President,

As this Conference discusses inclusion, accessibility and independent living, Ukraine continues to confront a war that produces the exact opposite: injury, trauma, exclusion and disability on a massive scale.

Russia’s full-scale aggression continues to inflict immense suffering on our people. Since 2022, the number of persons with disabilities in Ukraine has increased by more than 50 percent and now exceeds 3.6 million people. According to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, more than 12,000 civilians were injured in 2025 alone.

Every missile strike on a residential building, every attack on civilian infrastructure, every injury caused by explosive weapons creates new amputations, blindness, mobility impairments and psychological trauma.

In the occupied territories, institutions became deadly traps. Thousands of residents of psychoneurological and geriatric facilities were left behind without opportunities for evacuation. Forced deportations, denial of essential care, exploitation for propaganda, torture and conflict-related sexual violence have been documented, with women and girls with disabilities facing particularly acute risks.

Many Ukrainian prisoners of war return from Russian captivity with severe physical and psychological injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation and support. Russia also continues to hold Ukrainian political prisoners with disabilities despite serious medical conditions and, in some cases, contrary even to its own legislation.

These realities have reinforced an important lesson: disability inclusion cannot be postponed until after a crisis. It must be integrated into humanitarian response, recovery and reconstruction from the outset.

Just two weeks ago, Ukraine marked National Accessibility Week as part of implementing the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment through 2030. Across the country, public institutions, civil society organizations and local communities promoted accessibility, inclusive communication and equal opportunities for all.

Ukraine is also implementing its De-institutionalization Strategy through 2034, replacing outdated institutional models with community-based services, supported living and home-based care.

More than 280 Resilience Centers have already provided psychosocial support to over 738,000 people. We continue expanding early intervention services for children and families. New employment legislation strengthens workplace inclusion through financing of reasonable accommodation. The Government has also approved a roadmap for reforming the prosthetics and rehabilitation system, introducing greater transparency, accessibility and digitalization.

At the same time, significant challenges remain. Today, only 8.9 percent of civilian shelters in Ukraine are fully accessible, demonstrating the scale of investment needed to ensure reconstruction is truly inclusive.

As we continue implementing the Convention, we call on the international community to strengthen support for disability-inclusive humanitarian action, community-based services, accessibility, rehabilitation and independent living.

But support alone is not enough. As long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine, it will continue to create new disabilities, destroy the infrastructure on which persons with disabilities depend and undermine the very principles this Convention seeks to uphold.

It is our common duty to ensure that those responsible for these violations are held accountable and that impunity does not become another barrier faced by persons with disabilities.

Thank you.