Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons with Disabilities

Links and Resources

IDA-UNHCR Strategic Collaboration in 2022: Key Steps Towards Inclusion and Participation

This report provides a summary of the activities jointly organized in 2022 by the International Disability Alliance (IDA), and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to progress in the objectives outlined in their 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

During the second year of their strategic collaboration, guided by 2021 achievements and lessons learnt, IDA and UNHCR focused their efforts on three main areas:

  • Continuing mutual capacity-building for IDA members and UNHCR staff;
  • Enhanced involvement of forcibly displaced and stateless persons with disabilities in global, regional and national response to displacement and statelessness; and
  • Clarifying and strengthening synergies between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Refugee Law and asylum procedures. 

Summary of Activities in 2022

English in WORD document and PDF version

Strategic collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency

On December 4, 2020, the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate and frame their collaboration. Building on the unique status of UNHCR as the main coordinator of global refugee response, and IDA unique representation of persons with disabilities and their organizations, this MOU has initiated a key collaboration toward enhancing equal protection, inclusion, and participation of forcibly displaced and Stateless persons with disabilities.

IDA-UNHCR Strategic Collaboration in 2021: Achievements, Challenges, and Way-Forward

This report provides a summary of the activities jointly organized in 2021 by the International Disability Alliance (IDA), and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in order to fulfill goals stipulated in their 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Year 2021 was the first year of the two organizations' strategic collaboration with lots of impressive achievements and many precious lessons learned. The summary compiles activities conducted under each of the four main areas of collaboration enumerated in the MOU as well as an overview of the identified gaps under each area and some ideas on how to address them in 2022 and beyond.

Summary of Activities 2021

IDA - UNHCR Webinar Series towards an Annual Consultation with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities

As part of the strategic partnership between the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR and IDA launched a webinar series. The objective of the webinar series was to provide organizations of persons with disabilities as well as forcibly displaced and stateless persons with disabilities a platform to enhance their understanding and engage in an interactive dialogue on means to enhance protection and participation of persons with disabilities under UNHCR's mandate. To ensure equal participation and accessibility, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Sign language interpretation were available during the entire webinar series. 
You can watch recordings of the webinars HERE.
 
You can donwload a report about the webinars in WORD and in PDF.

44th Session of the Human Rights Council Virtual side-event: “Persons with disabilities in the context of internal displacement”

By IDA

 - July 17, 2020

On Monday 13 July 2020, the International Disability Alliance, in partnership with the UN Migration Agency (IOM) and the UN Human Rights Special Procedures presented the webinar "Persons with disabilities in the context of internal displacement" as a side event to the 44th session of the Human Rights Council.

World Refugee Day 2020

IDA-IDDC logo

The International Disability Alliance and the International Disability and Development Consortium, mark the 2020 World Refugee Day recognizing the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees around the world....

IDA attended the first-ever Global Refugees Forum, 17-18 December 2019 in Geneva

The International Disability Alliance attended the first-ever Global Refugees Forum (GRF) held in Geneva from 17 to 18 December 2019. The IDA delegation was comprised of the board member Mr....

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Inclusive Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction