Overview

Persons with disabilities are often more at risk of poverty and are disproportionately impacted by risks in humanitarian crisis. With this in mind, IOM's work focuses on reducing or removing barriers and risks faced by persons with disabilities, identifying and improving their resilience, safety and protection.

Key Considerations

Persons with disabilities are estimated to represent 15 per cent of the world's population. In humanitarian contexts, they may form a much higher percentage and are among the most marginalized people in crisis-affected communities. Persons with disabilities are a diverse group. They have different impairments and diverse identities (as women, indigenous persons, children, etc.). Due to the intersectionality of these factors and the impact that this has on the barriers they face, persons with disabilities may face multiple forms of discrimination and be at heightened risk of violence and abuse.

The Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms that States Parties must protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities in their laws, policies and practices; and must also comply with the treaty's standards when they engage in international cooperation. Article 11 of the Convention refers to the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including armed conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and natural hazards. The CRPD, along with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, set out other standards that protect persons with disabilities in humanitarian settings.

Humanitarian programming needs to be built on solid evidence and data. Data that is disaggregated by disability, data collection and disability prevalence and information on the barriers that persons with disabilities are facing are crucial at all stages of the humanitarian programme cycle. Programming also needs to be undertaken in partnership with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations and ensure their meaningful participation at all stages and throughout all activities.

Relevance to IOM’s Emergency Operations

Persons with disabilities represent at least 15% of the world's population and in low and middle income countries as well as in humanitarian contexts, they may form a much higher percentage. In this sense, IOM has the responsibility to ensure disability inclusive programmes. In addition, including persons with disabilities in our responses adds value to the quality of our work, ensuring that we are able to reach out to the most vulnerable. Therefore, IOM’s humanitarian programmes need to tackle stigma and discrimination against persons with disabilities, ensuring they access and participate meaningfully in all projects and programmes. Finally, it is also paramount that IOM’ accountability mechanisms are accessible and responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities so we are able to plan and adjust our activities. 

Coordination

At an institutional level, IOM is a member of the Disability Inclusion Reference Group, which is the group tasked to operationalise the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2019). The activities and initiatives taken at this level aim to ensure disability inclusive humanitarian responses, working on 7 different workstreams. In addition of the main DRG, IOM also engages in two workstreams -Workstream 1 for Rollout of the IASC Guidelines and Workstream 6 for Participation of Persons with Disabilities. IOM also reports yearly against the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), which requires internal co-ordination on programming, policy, planning and evaluation matters related to disability inclusion.

IOM is also actively engaged in the Disability Data Advisory Group (formerly under the FCDO Single Business Case). This group was created in 2018 and had initially been tasked to improve data on persons with disabilities in the HNOs and HRPs. With HNOs and HRPs improving its content on disability inclusion, the group has shifted its focus to work on data as a whole and IOM has had a leading role in the content produced by the group due to DTM’s experience on data collection for disability inclusion.

As co-leads of the CCCM cluster, IOM has a role in ensuring that the barriers that persons with disabilities face within collective and communal displacement settings are addressed at a cluster level. Additionally, in the past few years, IOM has scaled up its engagement with the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) and the areas of responsibility (AoR) thereunder giving it the opportunity to ensure that disability inclusion is included within protection cluster activities and co-ordination mechanisms. 

In 2021, IOM has also signed a global MoU with CBM Global, a NGO working on disability inclusion across the globe. Since then, both organisations have been collaborating in a pilot project aiming to improve engagement of OPDs in the humanitarian system in Nigeria, Fiji and Bangladesh. Between 2021 and 2022, both organisations facilitated a training series on disability inclusive cash transfers, which was attended by more than 200 participants.

At a national level, IOM has partnered with organisations such as Humanity and Inclusion and CBM to ensure that they have the internal expertise to train staff, carry out targeted projects on disability inclusion and collect data on disability. IOM also partner with, and fund, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) for project implementation.

Operations

IOM’s main areas of work on disability inclusion are: Data, Development to Supporting Tools, Capacity Development and Participation of Persons with Disabilities, Global Engagement/advocacy on DI.

In terms of “Data”, IOM has taken steps to improve its ability to collect reliable data on persons with disabilities. In 2022, IOM developed a flowchart (soon to be published publicly) with a step by step on how to decide which methodology to use when collecting data on persons with disabilities. IOM is also building a toolbox for data with tools, including training materials. The latest study conducted was done by DTM in Mozambique, where IOM just finalized an assessment collecting data on the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in camps in Cabo Delgado.

IOM has also improved its “Supporting tools” to teams around the globel. A disability inclusion toolbox has started to be set-up in 2022, gathering tools previously developed and newly developed tools on disability inclusion thematic such as data, sector support, introduction to disability inclusion, proposal development. This is a work in progress and is currently being expanded.

In terms of “Capacity development”, IOM has launched an E-Learning in 2021, which is available to anyone working in the UN system. In addition, there have been several efforts at global, regional and country level to improve knowledge and skills of IOM personnel and partners. In 2022, over 600 staff have participated in global and regional trainings on protection, data, shelter, CCCM, Cash Based Intervention, programme development, accessibility etc. Still in 2022, trainings conducted in the field: reached over 1,000 IOM personnel and partners.

“Participation” has also been an important pilar of IOM’s disability inclusion work. There are currently 2 projects with synergies are being implemented at global level: DI in CCCM and the Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) Engagement Project. In addition, participation is also at the core of IOM’s work in the field, with ongoing partnerships with OPDs in South Sudan, Iraq, Tunisia, Niger, Turkiye.

IOM is also moving towards a more strategic and cohesive approach to disability inclusion. In 2022, IOM started drafting a Road Map on Disability Inclusion structured around the 16 indicators of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy. This Road Map was drafted by a consultant, a person with a disability who was recruited in 2022 to conduct a situation analysis and the road map. The Road Map is being prepared to be shared with IOM’s leadership as a strategic document to support a more cohesive approach to DI. IOM plans to start developing its Disability Inclusion Policy in 2023-2024, following the work of the Road Map.

Lessons Learned / Best Practice

Refer to a few case studies produced by country offices on their work on disability inclusion.

Media

Contacts

For more information on Disability Inclusion, please contact Vivian Alt, Global Disability Inclusion Advisor – [email protected].