Episode Details

Even with one in seven people worldwide living with some form of disability, this group has been largely invisible in the implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) on the conduct of hostilities. Despite increasing recognition and calls for mainstreaming of the multiple and intersectional barriers and risks affecting persons with disabilities in armed conflict, their specific risks have not yet been taken into account when planning and conducting military operations. In this post, Dr Helen Durham, ICRC’s Director of Law and Policy, and Professor Gerard Quinn, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, explore how the complementarity between IHL and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can be used to increase the visibility of persons with disabilities within IHL, and analyze particular measures that can be taken in the conduct of hostilities to enable a more disability-inclusive implementation of the law of armed conflict.