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This K4D helpdesk report identifies information since 2013 concerning:

• data on the state of persons with disabilities in Lebanon
• assessments of laws on the rights of persons with disabilities in Lebanon
• analyses of the political, social, cultural, and economic context for persons with disabilities in Lebanon

Issues particular to persons with disabilities amongst Syrian refugees within these aspects are identified where possible.

The state of knowledge and gaps are discussed. 

A K4 helpdesk report, commissioned by DFID (UK), provides a rapid review of literature to provide best estimates of psychosocial disability in specific countries in the Middle East.

Topics discussed include:

Prevalence and different forms of mental health conditions and psychosocial disability

Factors influencing prevalence

Differences across demographics

Provision for those with psychosocial disabilities

Factos and figures are provided in infographic format about:

• people with disabilities in Syria and the host refugee nations
• grave violations against children
• displacement of people
• humanitarian access and siege
• extreme survival measures
• education

Highlights of the UNICEF response are provided

Based on a survey of 205 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and in-depth interviews with 14 Syrian women refugees originally from different towns and cities in Syria, and additional research, this study confirms that the use of explosive weapons in populated areas drives multiple forced displacements and induces a pattern of displacement that increases the vulnerability of civilians. Quantitative data collected during the survey confirms the correlation between multiple forced displacements and the use of the explosive weapons, as almost half of all respondents had been internally displaced prior to seeking external refuge in Lebanon, with an average of 3 internal displacements within their own city. The women interviewed highlighted the deprivation induced by forced displacement. 

In January-October 2016, Handicap International carried out a pilot testing of 3D printing technology for transtibial prosthesis in Togo, Madagascar and Syria. The aim of the study was to explore and test how physical rehabilitation services can be more accessible to people living in complex contexts via innovative technologies (such as 3D printing, treatment processes that use Internet technology and tools) and decentralised services by bringing them closer to the patients. This scientific summary provides the context, the objectives, the methodology, the results of the study, and perspectives for the future.

A number of technical appendices are available

RS/05

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an increased understanding of the perceived and actual challenges humanitarians face in operational contexts as they apply the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. A snapshot is provided of four case studies; Colombia, Nepal, northern Syria and South Sudan. Through a combination of field research, headquarters interviews, desk research, and a webinar, views and observations are presented from the humanitarian community. These observations provide a glimpse into the challenges faced by principled humanitarians. As a result the paper puts forward seven recommendations intended to assist humanitarians and states to sharpen tools and strengthen approaches when implementing principled humanitarian protection and assistance. An addendum to this study provides perspectives from selected members of the donor community. This research was conducted through interviews with state representatives in Geneva, aiming to understand how donors perceive their responsibilities in upholding the humanitarian principles and the Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles. This final chapter highlights challenges faced by states while supporting principled humanitarian action, particularly in conflict zones. On the basis of this research, additional recommendations for both states and humanitarians are proposed to strengthen the adherence to the humanitarian principles

Details are given of the use of explosive weapons in Syria since 2011 and its effects on the population highlighted. The density of explosive weapons use (2013 - 2015) in Syria is mapped and the numbers of affected population by Syrian governorate are provided. Between December 2012 and March 2015, 77,645 incidents were recorded following conventional weapons and IEDs use in Syria. Explosive weapons represent 83.73% of recorded incidents and the distribution of type of weapons use per rural and urban areas is given. The higher risk of developing permanent impairments by people injured by explosive weapons and the long-term impact of explosive remnants of war on services and infrastructure are highlighted.

The vast majority of the world’s displaced people are hosted in the global South, in the poorest countries in the world. This is also a space with the highest numbers of disabled people, many of who live in extreme and chronic poverty. This poverty, alongside deprivation, wars, conflict, and environmental disasters is what drives people to flee, in search of security. This includes disabled people. In spite of this, this population (disabled forced migrants) continues to be cast in a shadow, of epistemological, ontological and practical invisibility. It is hardly theorised in forced migration studies and rarely contemplated in humanitarian intervention. The lives of disabled forced migrants are cast aside in a Eurocentric disability studies that remains global North-centric and focused, while Southern contexts and histories and the geopolitics that envelope them, are forgotten or never known. Migration theory grows without the disabled person, disability studies without the migrant, and practice without the disabled migrant. In this paper, we explore the disability/forced migration nexus with a view to understanding some of the critical intersectionalities that emerge, and their implications for theory and practice. We trace elements of the forced migration trajectory, from exodus, to crossing international borders, to life in protracted refugee camps, the use of networks and smugglers, to those related to national and human security. We argue that forced migration studies, as well as humanitarian practice continue to be premised on and adopting an ableist approach focused on heteronormative productive bodies, while disability studies, with a corpus of work premised on an assumption of citizenship, has failed to critically engage with issues of sovereignty, borders and bodies that lie beyond the protection of the Nation State. In this paper, we also question and contest dominant and hegemonic frames that are historically contextualized, alongside discourses and structures that not only produce forced migration, but also serve to perpetuate the global divide and inequalities. We conclude by calling for a critical interrogation of theoretical perspectives in both forced migration and disability studies, in policy and humanitarian action, and to work towards a praxis geared towards social justice for disabled forced migrants.

Disability and the Global South (DGS), 2015, Vol. 2 No. 1

The Women's Refugee Commission identified and documented positive practices for disability inclusion in community center and outreach programming, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners in Lebanon. Child-friendly spaces are being established at community centers, in order to provide access to a safe environment where children can access psychological support, and health and education initiatives. This article discusses how International Medical Corps is approaching the inclusion of children with disabilities in these child friendly spaces