The United States wishes to thank the Special Rapporteur for highlighting Member States’ obligations to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of military operations.
Persons with disabilities are too frequently neither considered nor consulted in matters related to the prevention/conflict/peace continuum, yet they are disproportionately impacted in times of crisis. The United States believes disability-inclusive decision making and implementation is especially critical in humanitarian contexts.
Women and children with disabilities are especially at risk, experiencing elevated incidences of gender-based violence, harassment, and persecution. These barriers hinder their meaningful participation in preventing conflict and promoting stability.
The United States provides essential support to its human rights and humanitarian partners globally, including supporting persons with disabilities in conflicts and humanitarian crises.
USAID advances disability inclusion as a cross-cutting requirement in all development and humanitarian assistance programming. USAID supports the leadership of persons with disabilities in humanitarian and human rights decision-making processes and funds initiatives to strengthen evidence and learning on best practices for disability-inclusive humanitarian action.
Our question is: How can the lessons from the Special Rapporteur’s report apply to the planning and response processes for other humanitarian crises?
Thank you.
Original source can be found here.
