People with Disabilities at Added Risk in War, Displacement | WPN World People News

People with disabilities face added risks of abandonment, neglect, and lack of equal access to food and healthcare during conflict and displacement, Human Rights Watch said on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

While governments, donors, and aid agencies are overwhelmed with many competing priorities during emergencies, they should ensure that the needs and concerns of people with disabilities are addressed in humanitarian efforts. Between January and November 2015, Human Rights Watch has interviewed more than 100 people with disabilities, along with their families, and assessed their needs during the current conflicts in Yemen and the Central African Republic, as well as the European refugee crisis.

“Just as women and children are uniquely affected by conflict and displacement, people with disabilities face special challenges when their lives are suddenly uprooted because of war,” said Shantha Rau Barriga, disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “While donors and aid agencies are juggling multiple concerns during conflict, they should ensure that people with disabilities get the help they need.”

Human Rights Watch documented the situation of a young man in a wheelchair locked up in an immigration detention center in Hungary for crossing the border from Serbia. “Ayman,” 28, has a physical disability from an injury incurred when a rocket fell on his home in Damascus. When Human Rights Watch interviewed him in October, he had been locked up for more than 40 days. He told us that his wheelchair had broken at the border, and he spent 23 days lying on a bed until his lawyer was able to get a donated wheelchair for him. “Every two or three days all the others are taken out to the courtyard to get some fresh air, for 15 or 20 minutes,” he said. “I haven’t been out for 42 days because of the stairs. Even animals are treated better. We haven’t done anything wrong, why are we here.”

While anyone affected by a crisis needs help, people with disabilities are especially at at risk. Challenges created by war, natural disasters, and other situations of risk are compounded for people with disabilities by physical, communication, and other barriers.

For example, people with disabilities often have difficulty getting aid because facilities are not designed to allow independent navigation by people who are blind or use wheelchairs, and information is not provided in accessible, easy-to-understand formats.

Jean, a man with a physical disability whom Human Rights Watch met in the Mpoko camp for internally displaced people in the Central African Republic in January, said: “My tricycle doesn’t fit inside the toilet so I have to get down on all fours and crawl. Initially I had gloves for my hands so I didn’t get any [feces] on them but now I have to use leaves.” There are 110 people with disabilities still living in the Mpoko camp.

More than one billion people worldwide, or about 15 percent of the global population, have disabilities. According to the Women’s Refugee Commission, 6.7 million people with disabilities are forcibly displaced as a result of persecution and other human rights violations, conflict, and generalized violence. Children with disabilities in particular are at-risk of abandonment and violence during emergency situations, and yet their particular needs are often not taken into account in aid efforts.

Governments, donors, and humanitarian agencies should ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are addressed as a priority in conflict and displacement situations, Human Rights Watch said. Those providing aid should consult with and engage people with disabilities and organizations representing them to develop a more effective and inclusive response.

The World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016 is a prime opportunity to ensure that the voices of people with disabilities are heard in this debate, Human Rights Watch said. Governments and United Nations agencies should develop and endorse global standards and guidelines on disability inclusion in humanitarian action, Human Rights Watch said, together with CBM, Handicap International, International Disability Alliance, Women’s Refugee Commission, and other partners. The standards and guidelines should address coordination, implementation, monitoring and financing, and further support of inclusive practices in all aid programs and efforts.

To date, 160 countries have ratified the UN disability rights treaty, including Yemen, Syria, and most European countries. In addition to rights to accessibility, healthcare, and education, the treaty includes a specific provision that calls on governments to ensure the safety and protection of people with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies.

“The armed conflicts filling the headlines highlight the need to ensure that thousands of people with disabilities are not forgotten,” Barriga said. “It is vitally important for governments and aid agencies delivering emergency relief to be inclusive when they provide services.”

Source: Human Rights Watch