February 2026
How IDE's Advocacy Reaches the United Nations
IDE holds no UN status of its own. As an international member of the World Federation of the Deaf, which holds UN ECOSOC consultative status, IDE's field experience can inform the global deaf movement's advocacy at the UN.
International Deaf Emergency is a small, deaf-led organization with 16 years of frontline experience. We are often asked how our disaster risk reduction work reaches United Nations processes.
The honest answer: not directly. IDE does not hold UN consultative status. The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), the global body representing 70 million deaf people through its national member associations, holds UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) consultative status. IDE is an international member of WFD, and our partnership means IDE's position papers and field experience can inform the advocacy WFD presents in relevant UN forums, including processes related to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
For an organization of IDE's size, membership in the global deaf movement is a significant amplifier: the expertise comes from the field, and the voice that carries it is the one that speaks for deaf people globally at the highest levels.