Conflict and Peace

This page features disability news on Conflict and Peace from the Debrief Library. See also news on other subjects.

International

Mr. Giles Duley appointed as the first United Nations Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding situations. (Dec, UNDP)

Protection measures needed to support children with disabilities in armed conflict. (Dec, OHCHR)

An edition of the International Review that focusses on Persons with disabilities in armed conflict. “thirty thought-provoking contributions, including many authored by persons with disabilities, jointly take stock of the legal protections (and lack thereof) for persons with disabilities in armed conflicts, and reflect critically how to move the legal and policy debates forward in the next few years.” (Nov, International Review of the Red Cross)

Including civilians with disabilities in the aftermath of war. (Nov, ICRC)

Addressing the accountability void: War crimes against persons with disabilities. How obligations in international humanitarian law can help monitor, protect and address disability-based violations of the law. (Nov, International Review of the Red Cross)

Report on the the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of military operations. Raising and exploring the following question: “In widening the lens of international
humanitarian law to become more consciously self-aware of the realities faced by persons with disabilities in conflicts, what realities become salient in the future and what irreducible realities must be considered in planning or pursuing military
operations?” (Sep, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) See a summary of the report on Gerard Quinn's website.

The Role of Accessibility and Funding in Disability-Inclusive Peacebuilding. “Persons with disabilities can be — and have been — the source of solutions in peacebuilding initiatives. Participants in the roundtable emphasized that persons with disabilities are some of the strongest advocates in building peace, especially after experiencing violence themselves.” (Jul, United States Institute of Peace)

Peace, Disability, and the Violence of the Built Environment Reflections on how disability relates to studies of peace. (May, Peace Review)

Lifting the cloak of invisibility: civilians with disabilities in armed conflict. Discussion of how humanitarian law would relate to disability issues and bringing together conversations between people with disabilities and military representatives. “Steps must be taken to ensure that people living with disabilities and their representative organizations can and do shape the interpretation and implementation of International Humanitarian Law norms relevant to them.” (Apr, ICRC)

Africa

Ensuring the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Communities Experiencing Armed Conflict (Sep, Women Enabled International)

Ethiopia

Incoming Tigray interim leader pledges to address grievances of disabled Tigrayan soldiers following protest rally in Mekelle. (Mar, Addis Standard)

Israel

Shalva Center opens bomb shelter for people with disabilities. (Aug, Jerusalem Post)

Nagorno-Karabakh territory

Last to flee: Older people’s experience of war crimes and displacement:

“The renewed fighting in 2020 underscored the unique risks of a particular group: older people. More than half of the ethnic Armenian civilians who were killed were over 60 years old. The oldest was 89. Many faced torture or other ill-treatment in detention. Others are still missing.” (May, Amnesty)