By IDA

 - March 31, 2022

 UN (Blue), Disability Movement (Purple, building on the Wethe15 Campaign colours), NGO/broader Humanitarian Civil society actors (Red), and the principles of Coordination, Integration, Inclusion and Diversity of identities and backgrounds of members. On the right hand side: The acronym "drg" in small letters (less aggressive and more stylish than capital letters) refers to the most commonly used name of the group (Disability Reference Group) with the full official name of the group underneath it: Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.

Monthly Newsletter | Issue 19 - March 2022

A man smiling sitting on a wheelchair balancing on 2 wheels in a village and

Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action

Dear DRG members,

Welcome to the 19th edition of the DRG Newsletter!
 
Whilst in February we had been encouraged by the engagement and commitments made by states, multilateral and civil society organisations during the Global Disability Summit, the month of March has been clouded by the Ukraine brutal and senseless war, which is further increasing the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance across the globe. Once again, crisis like this show once again the enormous hardship persons with disabilities go through, the additional battles they need to fight and barriers they have to overcome in such situations in order to evacuate and find the safety and access the protection they need and are entitled to. This crisis is also a reminder of the crucial role grassroot organisations and organisations of persons with disabilities in the frontline play in humanitarian settings and the support they need from humanitarian actors to do so through accessing resources and participating in the decision making and coordination mechanisms.
 
As DRG we use this occasion to reaffirm our commitment to keep supporting the humanitarian sector meet its responsibility of leaving no one behind and ensure disability inclusion is not an add on or an afterthought but a priority in principled and impartial humanitarian action.

Elham Youssefian (International Disability Alliance), Christian Modino Hok (CBM Global) and Kirstin Lange (UNICEF)

© David Constantine

Statement on Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine - GPC

The Global Protection Cluster (GPC) has released a statement calling on all parties to the conflict and humanitarian actors to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in Ukraine. 

-->

Sphere Improves Accessibility and Releases New Demand-Driven Training Products

Sphere has made significant efforts to ensure their products and services are accessible: to make them freely available, and easy to use and understand by everyone.
But how are they doing? To find out, they commissioned an audit of their online content against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
>> Link to the Article

-->

Core Training Humanitarian Standard Revision Targets Greater Accessibility - Sphere

The Core Humanitarian Standard for Quality and Accountability (CHS) was launched seven years ago and has since become a key reference in the aid sector. However, the global context has changed. Accelerating climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, protection and safeguarding concerns, and a growing awareness of unequal power dynamics are all reasons why a CHS consultation and revision process will be launched soon.
>> Link to the Article

-->

CBM Global: Humanitarian Hands-on Tool (HHOT) New Translations

Humanitarian Hands-On Tool (HHOT) has now been translated into Basha, Bengali and Ukraine (available from 1st week of April) and can be found at: Home | CBM HHoT
>> Link to the Download Page

-->

Stakeholder Consultation Survey – ECW Strategic Plan 2023-2026 [EN/FR]

At the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) was established to work with others to provide children and young people affected by armed conflicts, forced displacement, natural disasters and protracted crises with the safety, hope and opportunity of access to quality education.
 
ECW has mobilised US$1.1 billion in contributions via its global trust fund and leveraged a further US$1 billion of funding aligned to its programmes, reaching 4.6 million children, ensuring they have the opportunity to access quality education.

However, there is a huge amount more to do. ECW invite you to be a part of that process through sharing your insights, experience and suggestions via this survey. The survey can be completed by individuals with experience of or interest in the work of ECW and of education in emergencies and protracted crises more broadly.

>> Link to the Survey [Deadline March 31st]

-->

A Shared Learning Agenda for Inclusive Health Research in Humanitarian Settings - EQUAL Project

The recent review published by the EQUAL Project: ‘A Shared Learning Agenda for Inclusive Health Research in Humanitarian Settings’. This review compiles and assesses technical guidance on how to ethically and equitably include marginalized populations in research conducted in humanitarian settings. It identifies gaps in guidance and outlines key recommendations for more inclusive programming and research. This follows from the webinar which took place in December 2021 on Meaningful Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Programming, Response and Research. Reflections from this webinar can be found here.
>> Link to the Review

-->

Registration Open - 13th International Disability Law Summer School [20-24 June 2022]

The Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland Galway is pleased to announce the return of its International Disability Law Summer School from 20-24 June 2022. This year’s event will follow a hybrid approach, enabling speakers and delegates to participate in-person* or online.
The theme this year is ‘Disability in an Age of Conflict, Crisis and Climate Change.’ Underpinned by Article 11 of the UNCRPD, the focus will be on the need to improve emergency preparedness and government responses to armed conflicts, the impact of climate change on disabled people and the resulting forced migration. 
>> Link to Register

-->

Disability Inclusive Rapid Gender Analysis Guide - GCR & LFTW

A Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) provides information about the different needs, capacities and coping strategies of women, men, girls and boys in a crisis situation. Results of a Rapid Gender Analysis are available quickly and are used to design the humanitarian response planning. The Guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to do it. Ready to implement!

The Guide was developed within cooperation by GCR - Girl Child Right and Light for the World; as part of the project CONNECT in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique; funded by the Austrian Development Agency.
>> Link to the Guide

-->

UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution to Uphold Rights of Widows - IAGA

Earlier this week, the GA adopted (without a vote) a draft resolution “Addressing the situation of widows” (document A/76/L.40) introduced by Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the African States. The resolution makes reference to “older widows” as well as “widows of all ages” in addition to reference to indigenous widows, widows with disabilities as well as the role that families can play (see below). Interesting to see that, just as was the case in the GA resolution on ageing, Member States are steering away from reference to “vulnerable groups” towards people “in vulnerable situations.
>> Link to the UN GA Resolution 76/252

-->

SR Disabilities Call for Inputs on Armed Conflict - OHCHR

OHCHR calls for inputs to inform the thematic report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities in armed conflict – conduct of hostilities, military operations, and peacekeeping operations, to be presented to the 77th session of the General Assembly in October 2022.
>> Link to the Call [Deadline May 15th, 2022]

-->

HNPW 2022 - UNOCHA

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) is a unique forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues. During the event, networks and partnerships hold their annual meetings and consultations, share their expertise and collaborate on best practices to address shared problems.

The 2022 edition will be held in a hybrid format in Geneva (Switzerland) from 02 to 20 May and is open to all interested persons. The event will be framed around nine so-called areas of common concern (cross-cutting issues), such as Accountability to Affected Populations,  Climate Change, Inclusion and Localization and coordination.
 
Please refer to the HNPW event portal and the full event programme for an overview of sessions. Register for (or bookmark) sessions of interest in the interactive “Event program”. More information about specific sessions that may be of interest will also be shared in the next Newsletter.

-->

Registration for Ability Summit is Now Open! [May 10th]

Microsoft Ability Summit is a free, community event that brings together people with disabilities, allies, and industry professionals to Imagine, Build, and Include the future of disability inclusion and accessibility.

2022 Microsoft Ability Summit will feature:

  • Keynotes from Microsoft executives, accessibility, industry and disability community experts.
  • Expert panels featuring exciting projects and innovations, and debates on hot topics impacting our community.
  • Product announcements! Learn about the latest in accessibility and disability inclusive products, services and experiences from Microsoft and across industry.
All sessions will include real time captions, transcripts, and American Sign Language (ASL).
>> Link to Register

-->

Vacancies

2 IRC Inclusion Advisors

  • The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is recruiting for two Inclusion Advisors to sit within the Technical Excellence pillar of the Crisis Response Recovery and Development department (CRRD). Technical Excellence is comprised of 5 sector specific Technical Units (TUs) supporting our programming areas (Education, Economic Recovery and Development, Governance, Health, and Violence Prevention and Response), other teams that are part of Technical Excellence include the Measurement Unit, Grants, Operation & Analytics Team and Program Quality Support Unit.

    These new Inclusion Advisors will join IRC’s existing Inclusion Advisor to support these 5 TU's to promote and deliver more inclusive programming rooted in a strong analysis of context, power, gender and how intersecting systemic inequalities may result in discrimination, oppression and exclusion for particular groups of people.

See All Newsletters

Please share any feedback you may have on the content and format of this Newsletter with us. You can send any material you want to be included in the next issues of the Newsletter by the last Monday of the month via email rg.disabilityinclusion [at] gmail.com ()