A/70/297 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 26/20, the Human Rights Council requested the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities to report annually to the General Assembly. 2. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, provides a study focusing on disability-inclusive social protection as a prerequisite for the universalization of social protection. She stresses that social protection is fundamental for achieving the social inclusion and active participation of persons with disabilities, and promoting their active citizenship. She also argues that to achieve disability-inclusive social protection, States must move away from traditional disability-welfare approaches towards embracing the innovative rights based model put forward by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 3. In preparing the report, the Special Rapporteur has reviewed relevant literature and jurisprudence on the topic, held consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities, academia, government officials, civil society and United Nations entities, and analysed the responses to a questionnaire sent to Member States, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations. As of 22 July 2015, she has received 123 responses. 1 Given the limited availability of data and research on the right of persons with disabilities to social protection, these responses provide a valuable overview of social protection initiatives and challenges worldwide, whose main trends are reflected in the present report. II. Social protection and persons with disabilities A. Importance of social protection 4. Social protection constitutes an essential condition for social and economic development for all. In fact, effective national social protection systems can contribute to building inclusive societies and social cohesion by protecting individuals from social risk and deprivation. They are not only a powerful instrument for providing income security and reducing poverty and inequality, but play an important role in enhancing human potential, enabling individuals to access food, health care, education, employment and financial means. 5. While there is no internationally agreed definition of social protection, the term is most commonly used to refer to a variety of public and private interventions aimed at securing the well-being of a person in the event of social risk and need, such as (a) lack of work-related income, (b) unaffordable access to health care and (c) insufficient family and child support. 2 In the present report, social protection is understood broadly to cover a variety of interventions designed to guarantee basic income security and access to essential social services, with the ultimate goal of achieving social inclusion and social citizenship. 3 __________________ 1 2 3 4/25 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/SRDisabilities/Pages/SocialProtection.aspx. See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 19 (2008), para. 2. See report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights ( A/69/297), para. 21. 15-12544