November 12, 2019 – 11.30am, New York

The International Disability Alliance, in cooperation with UNICEF and Humanity & Inclusion  was pleased to announce the Global Launch of the Inter-Agency Standing...

The African Disability Forum (ADF), in partnership with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and the International Disability Alliance (co-chair...

The Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities (AOPD), in partnership with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and the International...

The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), in partnership with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and the International Disability Alliance (co-chair...

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the UN mechanism responsible for coordinating humanitarian assistance across the UN system, together with mainstream humanitarian actors.

In 2016, the IASC established the IASC Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (“Task Team”) for a time-bound period (January 2017 – June 2019) to develop IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. The Guidelines will assist humanitarian actors, governments and affected communities to coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate essential actions that foster the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian action.

In 2016, the Task Team was established with a tri-partite co-chairing arrangement comprising the International Disability Alliance (representing DPOs), UNICEF (representing UN agencies) and Humanity & Inclusion (representing humanitarian stakeholders). This co-chairing arrangement is unique within the IASC structure and reflects the Task Team's commitment to CRPD Article 4.3 and the principle of "Nothing about us, without us".

The Task Team is an open coordination mechanism with more than 90 stakeholders across DPOs, mainstream NGOs, UN agencies and governments. It holds  and meets online on the first Wednesday of every month, as well as circulating information via email to inform members on the status of the Guidelines and to develop and sustain multistakeholder input.

The IASC Task Team is guided by its Terms of Reference and work plan. 

  • Read the Terms of Reference in PDF or Word
  • Review the Work Plan in PDF or Word

Support the Development of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action

There are a number of ways to support the development of the IASC Guidelines:

  • Join the IASC Task Team by providing your details directly in the IASC membership google form
  • Contribute to thematic, expert and review groups that will draft sector chapters of the Guidelines
  • Test the draft Guidelines with field staff and partners
  • Provide financial and technical resources to the Guidelines' development process

Please see more information in the three INFORMATION SHEETS below: 

  • Summary of the work plan for the development of the Guidelines (PDF or Word)
  • Call for contributions, which describes in further detail opportunities for engagement including human resource contributions, sharing existing knowledge and tools, and financial contributions (PDF or Word)
  • Overview of the collection of promising/good practice and existing resources and knowledge (guidelines, policy frameworks, data collection tools, checklists, practical examples, sucess stories, case studies) (PDF or Word)