On March 11, the MyRight webinar "Peace for All" held on how the situation in crisis and conflict sees how for people with disabilities, and how they can be actively included in peace-building work - topics that are currently highly topical.
During the webinar, participants from around the world took part in important lessons from MyRight's study and project Peace for All from our former project leader Ingela Andersson, they received testimonials and perspectives from Jelena Mišić who is a civil rights activist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and concrete advice on how to best includes and engages people with disabilities in peace-building work from Binasa Goralija who is the national coordinator at MyRight in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Below you can read a summary of the topics covered during the webinar.
People with disabilities are a particularly vulnerable group during crises and conflicts
More than half of all people with disabilities live in countries affected by crises and conflicts. Statistics show that people with disabilities are at greater risk of injury or death in armed, the mortality rate is as much as four times higher than for those without disabilities. Women and children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable groups during crises and conflicts, they are at greater risk of being abandoned or exposed to sexual violence and abuse than those without disabilities.
Despite all this, people with disabilities are often excluded in connection with humanitarian efforts and in peace processes. Several studies show that as few as 6 percent of policy documents and peace treaties even mention people with disabilities.
During armed conflicts, many situations arise when issues of accessibility become crucial. Information must be adapted and made available. When the alarm sounds, it takes time for a person using a wheelchair to get to safety and the person who is deaf only understands when they see other people's reactions that something has happened. Blind people and people with visual impairments have to rely on their surroundings. Finding your relatives in a crisis situation is very difficult and often completely impossible if you are blind, deaf or have no spoken language.
The material and social disturbances that arise in connection with wars and conflicts affect many people with disabilities extra hard when, for example, the physical accessibility of a society is destroyed. Many need health care and other basic community services that are often completely destroyed.
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Here you can read more about MyRight's focus area crisis and conflict.
