By IDA

 - April 9, 2019

The International Disability Alliance, in partnership with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team, is holding a global workshop to support the validation and finalization of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusive Humanitarian Action for Persons with Disabilities. The workshop runs from 8 to 11 April 2019 in Madrid, Spain.

The multi-stakeholder, multi-regional consultation—comprising organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs), governments, UN agencies, and humanitarian NGOs—seeks to ensure that the final draft of the Guidelines meets the expectations of stakeholders, supports inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities, and can be implemented while responding to humanitarian emergencies.

IASC Guidelines workshop participants

Objectives of the workshop include: 

  • Introduction to the current content and feedback on decisions taken during the last revision process for integration and validation.
  • Obtaining final feedback on the applicability and usability of the Guidelines from different regions, humanitarian contexts and among stakeholders.
  • Identification of any final key concerns or red lines within the final draft an agreement on how they can be addressed.
  • Discussion on the launch and dissemination strategy of the guidelines.

The consultation has been made possible through the support of the governments of Australia, Germany and Luxembourg. Participants of the workshop include representatives from Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa region.

IASC Guidelines workshop participants

The IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action will assist humanitarian actors, governments and affected communities to coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate essential actions that contribute to fostering the effectiveness, appropriateness and efficiency of humanitarian action, resulting in the full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities and changing practice across all sectors and in all phases of humanitarian action.

IASC Guidelines workshop participants - one of the roundtables

The Guidelines have been developed through the following processes:

  • A desk review of existing materials, conducted as a first step for the guidelines’ development. The desk review aimed to propose recommendations on the content and structure of the guidelines with particular attention to standards and principles set up by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
  • Multi-stakeholder workshops in Geneva and Brussels to formulate the broad content and outline of the Guidelines, and to review the Guidelines draft.
  • A series of regional consultations in the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Latin and Central America and the Middle East and North Africa to provide inputs related to the content and structure of the guidelines. The workshops brought together humanitarian stakeholders, UN agencies, governments and organization of persons with disabilities to discuss the needs and potential solutions related to the full inclusion and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.
  • Thematic consultations on gender, disability and humanitarian action.
  • A consultation with persons with intellectual disabilities (self-advocates) to ensure their voices and inputs are included in the guidelines.
  • A global online survey.
  • Review and written feedback from the IASC Task Team members on the second draft.

 Additional Information: 

IASC Guidelines workshop participants

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Country: Spain