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A brief review of the situation concerning refugees and internally displaced people in Syria is presented covering: context; facts and figures; urgent concerns; a snapshot of two camps with particularly dire conditions (Al-Hol and Rukban); safe and principled returns and recommendations

This guide is designed to support UNHCR staff, partners and other stakeholders at field level to:

• Recognize the protection concerns and capacities of refugees with disabilities and other persons with disabilities protected and assisted by UNHCR;
• Apply the principles reflected in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and UNHCR Guidance on Working with Persons with Disabilities to a range of programs and sectors;
• Design immediate and long-term strategies to mitigate protection risks and promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in UNHCR programming.

The four modules include:

• Introductory module - Organizing an accessible and inclusive workshop (Module 1);
• Promoting a rights-based approach to disability (Module 2);
• Raising awareness about the impact of forced displacement on persons with disabilities (Module 3);
• Learning key strategies to foster inclusion of persons with disabilities in forced displacement (Module 4). 

This report evaluates existing data on the Rohingya refugee response. It highlights the key challenges and constraints faced by persons with disabilities (PwD) and older people in accessing essential services and explores how COVID-19 and related containment and risk mitigation measures have affected humanitarian programming for PwD and older people. It also identifies information gaps and challenges linked to disability prevalence in the camps

This secondary data review focuses on the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and combines publicly available secondary data with 11 key informant interviews conducted with age and disability experts working on the humanitarian response. The interviews took place between 1 July–30 August 2020 with experts from the UN, national NGOs, INGOs, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.  

This brief aims to describe the lived experience of persons with disabilities in northwest Syria and highlight needs and key barriers to engagement in personal, domestic and community-based activities of daily living, which includes access to and engagement with humanitarian organisations. The analysis of these difficulties forms the basis of key pragmatic recommendations for humanitarian actors

This brief reviewed evidence-based recommendations on how to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children with disabilities in humanitarian settings. The right to safety for all is enshrined in Article 11 of the CRPD, yet this population has been consistently neglected in the global literature around children affected by disaster and crises, and as such the recommendations made are limited to specific humanitarian settings (e.g., natural disasters, war and conflict) and towards children with physical and mobility challenges. There is a need to further explore their diverse needs and experiences by recognising them as independent actors who can meaningfully participate in and contribute to the development of services and policies targeted towards them

COVID-19 leaves few lives and places untouched. But its impact is harshest for those groups who were already in vulnerable situations before the crisis. This is particularly true for many people on the move, such as migrants in irregular situations, migrant workers with precarious livelihoods, or working in the informal economy, victims of trafficking in persons as well as people fleeing their homes because of persecution, war, violence, human rights violations or disaster, whether within their own countries — internally displaced persons (IDPs) — or across international borders — refugees and asylum-seekers.

The disproportionate impact of the COVID19 pandemic on people on the move presents itself as three interlocking crises, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities: a health crisis; a socio-economic crisis and a protection crisis.

This Policy Brief offers four basic tenets to guide collective response:

• Exclusion is costly in the long-run whereas inclusion pays off for everyone
• The response to COVID-19 and protecting the human rights of people on the move are not mutually exclusive
• No-one is safe until everyone is safe
• People on the move are part of the solution

The Rohingya humanitarian crisis response in Cox’s Bazar (CXB) is a fairly new and complex experience for the humanitarian aid workers in Bangladesh. Aid workers are responsible for responding effectively in a very demanding context and acquire certain skills and competencies to adapt to the extreme workload. Since the current response in CXB began in 2017, local humanitarian aid workers (LHAWs) have gathered tremendous amount of learnings and experiences.

The objective of this LNA is to outline the knowledge, skills, capacity gaps and learning needs of LHAWs working in CXB. 

This LNA focuses on understanding LHAWs’ skills, knowledge and behaviour - both operational & technical. It analyses individuals' ability to contribute and implement response plans and respond effectively to the humanitarian crisis. Analysis focuses on understanding LHAWs’ capacity in addressing the needs of specific beneficiary groups such as children, women & girls, people with disability (PwD), elderly and people with chronic health issues. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected in November 2019.

In five years of war, Yemen has experienced every manner of explosive weapons—aerial bombs and missiles, artillery, mortars, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and much more. The explosions destroy bridges, ports, roads, hospitals, water systems, and generate long lasting civilian harm. When explosive weapons strike roads and bridges, they greatly increase the time it takes to re-supply cities. Such damage cuts deeply into food and water access, and has negative effects on population health.

The report highlights six case studies, showing the extent and impact of such bombings. One case study looks at the long-term impact on specific populations including: internally displaced persons; persons with disabilities; women and children.

In her report, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, provides an account of the activities she has undertaken pursuant to the mandate given to her by the Human Rights Council in resolution 41/15.

In the thematic section of the report, the Special Rapporteur examines the specific experiences of persons with disabilities in the context of displacement. She analyses the obstacles to the equal enjoyment of their rights and recommends actions to ensure inclusive protection, assistance and durable solutions.