Our member, the “League of Strong”, together with the KRF “Public Alternative” have produced a monitoring report of the situation of the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine, during the war.
The report assesses how the full-scale war since February 2022 has impacted the rights of persons with disabilities in Ukraine according to the standards outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It covers several areas, such as the rights of women and children with disabilities, accessibility and the situation of persons with disabilities during humanitarian crisis.
Main challenges and violations of persons with disabilities in times of war
Persons with disabilities are particularly at risk in times of war. Among the main challenges they face, the report identifies:
- Barriers regarding accessibility of shelters and modular housing for persons with disabilities and for internally displaced persons. The minimum requirements for their accessibility, inclusiveness, and barrier-freeness, are not respected. There are also barriers to access information for persons with disabilities, including inaccessibility of early warning systems, inaccessible official websites, lack of use of Braille, sign language, subtitles, and lack of information in easy-to-read.
- Barriers concerning the evacuation and rescue of persons with disabilities living in residential institutions due to, among others, the lack of clear evacuation plans and lack of appropriate resources.
- The need for targeted humanitarian aid for persons with disabilities.
- Difficulties in accessing medical care and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, especially children with disabilities.
- The risk of abuse and the lack of necessary assistance, especially for women with disabilities, while crossing the border.
- Difficulties for children with disabilities in accessing education, as distance learning does not meet their needs.
Recommendations for the Ukrainian government and the international community
The report includes the following recommendations:
- Ensure meaningful participation of representative organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs/OPDs) in all decision-making processes at all steps of the humanitarian program cycle, including reconstruction and resilience building, also by supporting them with the necessary resources and building the capacity of these organisations.
- Ensure the protection of human rights of persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities, by including them in government and local martial law protection plans.
- Collect disaggregated data by age, gender and disability.
- Urgently update the Ukraine Deinstitutionalisation Strategy and focus on the transition from institutional care to community-based care. Prohibit funding to build, re-build and renovate residential institutions.
- Follow accessibility principles during the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The National Strategy for Accessibility and its action plans should be fully implemented, funded, and monitored with the involvement of organisations of persons with disabilities, and national and international experts. The accessibility strategy should be a key part of the barrier-free strategy.
- Ensure that the Ukrainian government, with support from the international community, prioritise rapid individual assessments of children in institutions evacuated inside Ukraine, who are at the greatest risk of harm due to unplanned evacuation and institutionalisation.
- Ensure that all persons with disabilities are accounted for, protected, and provided with immediate access to humanitarian aid, including all basic needs and any specific requirements.
- Reform emergency response plans and protocols, in consultation with DPOs/OPDs, to make them inclusive of, and accessible to, persons with disabilities in their design and implementation.
Contacts
For more information contact Giulia Traversi, EDF Humanitarian Policy Officer: