Regional Humanitarian Update - January 2012 [EN/AR]

In this issue:
P.2 UN Humanitarian Chief encourages strong Partnership with Oman
P.2 Food Aid continues in Libya
P.2 UNRWA helps poor Refugees in oPt meet basic nutritional Needs

ERC Amos speaks up for People with Disabilities in Emergencies Humanitarian aid workers must do more to care for the needs of people with disabilities during emergencies, the UN humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, said in her keynote address to the fifth International Shafallah Forum in Doha, Qatar, on 22 January.

Ms. Amos stressed that while “the challenges facing people with disabilities in conflict and natural disaster rarely make the headlines... we must find ways to meet everyone’s needs.” During crises, people with disabilities often find themselves left aside as others receive help. Ms. Amos warned that in the Horn of Africa, children and women with disabilities were particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and could be neglected as families made difficult decisions on the use of scarce food resources.

Ms. Amos said that in one area of the Philippines, after December’s flash flood only 10 per cent of people with disabilities found shelter in the evacuation centres, and those who got there were often pushed aside by the crowd. “If that was the case of any other community, there would be outrage,” said Ms. Amos.

In both emergencies, however, she pointed to increasing recognition of the issues facing people with disabilities, and a shift in thinking among aid workers. “Whereas organizations might once have resisted special treatment for specific groups, today they recognize the need for more tailored solutions and are seeking advice on how to provide them,” she said.

She cited the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that “States’ Parties shall take ... all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in... humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.”

(excerpt)