This short paper outlines our advisory note to DG ECHO on the Communication on Humanitarian Aid to the European Parliament and the Council. DG ECHO is the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. It is responsible for delivering EU humanitarian aid and coordinating civil protection responses to crises and natural disasters worldwide.
Why contributing to the consultation?
These communications are policy and strategic documents that sets out the Commissions vision, priorities and direction and are considered as having “soft law” impact. It is the foundation upon which future, more formal, legislative acts may be built.
These framework communications can:
- shape future funding priorities under DG ECHO,
- influence how humanitarian principles are interpreted and applied,
- guide coordination with Member States (Team Europe approach),
- justify operational changes, guidance, or funding conditions and even be used politically as a reference point for years, in other words it can set the narrative going forward.
Feedback on early-stage documents like this one has a high chance of being incorporated into the final policy design because it helps avoid blind spots and potential unintended consequences later on.
In short, it is a high-level strategic policy Communication, likely to influence future humanitarian practice and funding.
We made eleven recommendations to DG ECHO on making Humanitarian Aid align with the UN CRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) and to better include persons with disabilities as leaders, decision makers, implementers and as beneficiaries of humanitarian aid.
Read the complete input below:
- (PDF document) DG ECHO Consultation – Communication on Humanitarian Aid European Disability Forum Position Paper, January 2026
- (Word document) DG ECHO Consultation – Communication on Humanitarian Aid European Disability Forum Position Paper, January 2026