EU Statement – UN Security Council Arria-formula Meeting: Persons with disabilities in armed conflict

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Mister Chair,

Excellencies, Colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its 27 Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, as well as Andorra and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

Thank you to Slovenia, Guyana, United Kingdom and Poland for bringing us together today to discuss this very important topic, especially as we mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities this week (NB: 3. December). Some 16 % of the world’s population, or 1,3 billion people globally, live with a disability - and this proportion increases sharply in conflicts and emergencies. In armed conflicts, persons with disabilities face increased threats to their physical and mental health, and often cannot access humanitarian assistance, basic services and shelter. Women and girls with disabilities are also more vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. The EU and its 27 Member States are committed to protecting persons with disabilities, and to ensure they are included as both the designers and beneficiaries of humanitarian responses.  

As others before me have said, it has been five years since the unanimous adoption of UN SC Resolution 2475 (2019) on persons with disabilities in armed conflict, a landmark achievement of the SC. However, its implementation remains inadequate. We have yet to see tangible progress, such as an increase in persons with disabilities serving as briefers at the UNSC, decisive steps to eliminate discrimination and marginalization on the basis of disability in situations of armed conflict, or specific requests for data, monitoring, or reporting mechanisms on persons with disabilities within UN peacekeeping missions.

The EU is doing its part to this end: Making humanitarian aid inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities has been a longstanding priority for the EU. Over the years, we have progressed towards mainstreaming disability inclusion in all EU-funded humanitarian operations, as reflected in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, in EU thematic policies, as well as in the Operational Guidance on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in EU-funded Humanitarian Aid Operations. .

The EU is also party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which also covers the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including humanitarian emergencies (article 11). We are committed to implement it and report periodically on it. We are proud to have Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, representing the EU, elected as a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this year. 2021 also saw the publication of a 10-year European Disability Strategy, to ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are adequately addressed through inclusion, cooperation with civil society, and capacity building.

Regarding our assistance, we work both towards mainstreaming inclusivity in all projects, as well as providing targeted assistance. Over the past few years, we have observed a steady progress regarding inclusiveness of our projects, as demonstrated by the OECD DAC Marker on Disability Inclusion. Last year, 50% of the funded projects took into consideration and mainstreamed the needs of persons with disabilities among other beneficiaries, and 6% of the funded projects specifically targeted persons with disabilities in armed conflict.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Disability inclusion is a collective responsibility. Implementing SC resolution 2475 is a collective responsibility. The EU and its Member States are committed to make all efforts to reach these objectives, and we call on all those involved to work together in order to ensure that an inclusive and participatory human rights based approach towards persons with disabilities in humanitarian action becomes a reality.

Thank you.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.