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Monitoring human rights violations during the war in Ukraine

Monitoring human rights violations during the war in Ukraine

Over 143.600 persons with disabilities are displaced because of the war in Ukraine. Persons with disabilities have been at risk of abandonment, violence, death, and lack access to safety, relief, and recovery support. Women and children with disabilities are at increased risk of sexual violence, abuse, and neglect. Crucial information on safety and evacuation is often inaccessible, and evacuation centres are also rarely accessible.

The European Disability Forum and its members monitor human rights violations occurring during the war.

Some of the ways we are doing this human rights monitoring work:

  • We provided input to the ‘Report on violations of international humanitarian and Human Rights law, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022’ produced by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).  We shared stories collected from persons with disabilities and their families.
  • The European Disability Forum and the International Disability Alliance support Ukrainian organisations of persons with disabilities when preparing submissions to UN human rights treaty bodies. One example is the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in September 2022.
  • Due to our advocacy, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requested the EU to provide information about measures taken to protect the safety of persons with disabilities affected by the hostilities in Ukraine.
  • We have been providing information about the situation of persons with disabilities to the UN coordination mechanism inside Ukraine and are participating in the Regional Protection Working Group focusing on work outside Ukraine;
  • We are producing a new series of reports: ‘EU in the World’. The first issue will focus on persons with disabilities affected by the war in Ukraine.

EDF continues to support persons with disabilities fleeing the war in Ukraine, together with our members in the neighbouring countries. For more information, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Thanks to our donor, CBM, for their significant contribution to our work in Ukraine.

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact:

An-Sofie Leenknecht, Human Rights Coordinator: Ansofie.Leenknecht@edf-feph.org