Commonwealth leaders have endorsed a new disability inclusion action plan at their biennial summit in Antigua and Barbuda to advance the rights and inclusion of more than 450 million people with disabilities across the organisation’s 56-member countries.

The Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan focuses on improving accessibility, expanding access to education and justice, promoting employment opportunities, ensuring participation in political and public life, and strengthening the collection and use of disability-disaggregated data.

The Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum initiated the action plan on November 4 to support implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the national level.

Eswatini has begun taking the plan forward, with its Cabinet adopting it at the national level in September 2026, making it one of the first Commonwealth member countries to do so.

Fikile Shongwe, Disability Programmes Manager in Eswatini’s Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, said the action plan would support the country’s efforts to improve access to education, employment, healthcare and social protection, and promote the full participation of persons with disabilities in society.

The Commonwealth Secretariat said it would support member countries through technical assistance, capacity building and continued engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities.

The Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan will be formally launched on December 3, 2026, to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Justin Pettit, acting Head of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Human Rights Unit, said the plan would help ensure that persons with disabilities could exercise their rights to education, decent employment, participation in decisions affecting them and full involvement in their communities.

He said the plan would help them “go to school, find decent work, have a voice in decisions affecting them and participate fully in their communities.”