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Zambia has reaffirmed its strong and unwavering commitment to advancing the rights, dignity, and full inclusion of persons with disabilities during the 19th Session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP19) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Delivering Zambia’s national statement, Deputy Permanent Representative Stenah Shampile called for accelerated global and national action to build inclusive societies where persons with disabilities are fully empowered to participate in all aspects of life.
She highlighted Zambia’s continued progress in expanding social protection, improving access to essential services, and strengthening participation through targeted welfare support, inclusive community-based rehabilitation and social cash transfer programmes aimed at supporting vulnerable households.
Shampile further underscored Zambia’s deliberate efforts to mainstream disability inclusion across key sectors, including education, health, labour, governance, and community development, as part of a whole-of-government approach to inclusive development.
She emphasised that Zambia had already taken a transformative step to enhance political inclusion through the recent Constitutional Amendment, which introduced a Mixed-Member Proportional Representation electoral system.
“This reform provides for the guaranteed representation of persons with disabilities in the National Assembly, marking a major milestone in ensuring that persons with disabilities are not only beneficiaries of policy but active participants in shaping national decision-making processes,” Shampile said.
She assured that Zambia remained firmly committed to strengthening policies, institutions, partnerships, and accountability mechanisms that promote equality, safeguard rights, and ensure that no one is left behind.
“I wish to reaffirm Zambia’s vision of a society in which persons with disabilities can fully participate, lead confidently, and live with dignity across all spheres of life, including social, economic, and political domains,” Shampile stated.
The Conference, held from June 9 to June 11, 2026, focused on three key priorities: fostering violence-free environments, strengthening resilient and inclusive care and support systems that promote autonomy and independence, and advancing the transition from participation to active political representation and leadership for persons with disabilities.
The Zambian delegation was led by Maximillian Bwalya, the Social Cash Transfer Deputy National Coordinator at the Ministry, Frankson Musukwa, Director General of the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, alongside other Government officials.
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