Disability Rights: UN Special Rapporteur Warns Humanitarian Reform Risks Reversing Gains on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities

Summary

On 23 October 2026, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Heba Hagrass, presented a report to the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on inclusive humanitarian assistance and safeguards for the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of current humanitarian reform processes. According to UN Meetings Coverage (GA/SHC/4449), she told the Committee that persons with disabilities remain among those most disproportionately affected by armed conflict, forced displacement and climate-related disasters, yet are often overlooked in humanitarian planning.

The Special Rapporteur warned that inaccessible information, evacuation procedures that disregard disability-related needs and shelters that cannot accommodate affected persons continue to impede access to assistance, and that "these barriers can have life-threatening consequences during emergencies and increase risks of exclusion, poverty and harm". This report summarises the Special Rapporteur's findings, the statements made during the interactive dialogue, her recommendations and the relevant international standards.

Background: The Mandate and the Report

The report, "Inclusive humanitarian assistance and safeguards for the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of current humanitarian reform processes" (A/81/270), is dated 24 July 2026 and was transmitted to the General Assembly's eighty first session by the Secretary-General in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 62/7. The mandate was established by Human Rights Council resolution 26/20 in 2014, and Heba Hagrass of Egypt has held it since 1 November 2023, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

According to the report, it draws on 61 submissions received in response to a call for inputs addressed to States, United Nations entities, humanitarian actors, organisations of persons with disabilities and civil society, as well as six online expert consultations and desk research. It examines the implementation of article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which requires States parties to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.

Key Findings of the Report

The report states that persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by situations of risk, citing research showing that they are four times more likely to die during a disaster and experience higher rates of abuse, neglect and abandonment during armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies. It attributes this higher risk largely to the inaccessibility of basic and life-saving services and emergency information, combined with a lack of data on persons with disabilities and their needs.

The report acknowledges progress. It notes that the country-based pooled funds managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have shown a commitment to disability-inclusive humanitarian action since 2019, which, according to a study cited in the report, translated into a tripling of the number of persons with disabilities reached through life-saving humanitarian action between 2019 and 2024. It finds, however, that progress has remained "uneven, fragmented and slow" and that visibility and resource allocation within the pooled funds have declined notably since 2024. The report identifies four principal barriers: data, meaningful participation, funding and accountability.

Data

According to the report, the lack of reliable, high-quality disability-disaggregated data was consistently identified by States, humanitarian actors, United Nations entities and organisations of persons with disabilities as the predominant challenge. It notes that the Washington Group on Disability Statistics short set of questions is widely recognised as an important tool, but that it can be difficult to administer during emergencies and provides limited information on specific protection risks and access barriers. The report finds that humanitarian teams have often relied on the global disability prevalence estimate of 16 per cent as a planning assumption, which it says causes assistance to be "reactive rather than context-specific, proactive and evidence-based".

Participation

The report notes measures taken by the pooled funds for Lebanon, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and the occupied Palestinian territories to include persons with disabilities and their representative organisations on advisory boards, review committees and technical working groups. Citing a 2023 global mapping study, it states that of 17 disability-related coordination mechanisms identified in 28 countries, only 7 had organisations of persons with disabilities as members, and only 3 showed evidence of leadership by such organisations. It reports that organisations of persons with disabilities described their participation as often "ad hoc and tokenistic".

Funding and Accountability

The report states that funding reductions across the humanitarian sector since 2024 have significantly constrained operations, and that analyses indicate disability-focused programming is often the first to be deprioritised, scaled back or discontinued when resources become limited. It notes that most humanitarian organisations lack budget systems able to tag and track funding for disability inclusion, unlike gender-related funding. On accountability, it finds that progress has been the weakest and "in some respects has regressed", noting that complaints and feedback mechanisms are not always accessible and that references to disability inclusion previously reflected in the terms of reference for the country-based pooled funds are reported to be absent in some recent versions.

The Humanitarian Reset

The report examines the humanitarian reset announced by the Emergency Relief Coordinator in March 2025, which aims to shift decision-making power and resources to local actors and communities. It records broad agreement among contributors that the reset presents a significant opportunity to advance disability inclusion, including through localisation. At the same time, it states that the absence of persons with disabilities from the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's humanitarian reset road map of 10 November 2025 was widely identified as a significant concern, and warns that unless disability inclusion is explicitly embedded in the reform, the reset risks reversing the gains made since 2019.

Statements During the Interactive Dialogue

According to UN Meetings Coverage, the Special Rapporteur told the Committee that persons with disabilities face heightened risks of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect during displacement, and that the principle of "nothing about us without us" must apply equally in emergency settings. She said disability inclusion "cannot be viewed as an optional component of humanitarian action or a luxury when resources permit. It is a human rights obligation and a prerequisite for effective humanitarian response."

At the same meeting, Miyeon Kim, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, called for accessible warnings, evacuation shelters and continuous support for persons with disabilities in armed conflict, and urged Governments to ensure their participation in peace processes, reconstruction and disaster preparedness. She also addressed artificial intelligence, stating that technologies developed without the participation of persons with disabilities can "reproduce the discrimination, deny opportunities, and undermine privacy and autonomy".

During the interactive dialogue, the representative of Ukraine attributed injuries and disabilities in his country to the war with the Russian Federation, reported that over 3.6 million people in Ukraine now live with disabilities and stated that "disability inclusion cannot wait until a conflict ends". The representative of Myanmar described a worsening situation for persons with disabilities since the military coup and called for international action and accountability. Georgia's delegate raised concerns about persons with disabilities in Abkhazia, and the United Arab Emirates described a programme providing artificial limbs to Palestinian children in Gaza. Pakistan asked how access to assistive technology could be ensured during emergencies, particularly in armed conflict and occupation.

Other delegations described national measures. According to UN Meetings Coverage, Brazil referred to accessibility measures in low-income housing and justice services, Japan to improvements in inclusive disaster preparedness, Papua New Guinea to improvements in disability data and monitoring, and Australia to development projects benefiting persons with disabilities. China's delegate stated that the country is home to over 85 million persons with disabilities and has enacted more than 90 related laws. The Russian Federation's representative expressed concern that assistance to persons with disabilities was absent from the humanitarian reform road map.

Recommendations

The report calls on States to recognise disability-inclusive humanitarian action as a legal obligation under articles 11 and 32 of the Convention and as an essential component of life-saving assistance; to require the systematic collection and use of data disaggregated by disability, sex and age; to provide predictable, multi-year funding, including for accessibility, reasonable accommodation and the participation of organisations of persons with disabilities; to require funded partners to demonstrate disability inclusion; and to use Security Council resolution 2475 (2019) to strengthen accountability in armed conflict.

It calls on OCHA, United Nations entities and humanitarian country teams to institutionalise disability inclusion as a cross-cutting priority, establish a disability marker and common indicators, ensure accessible complaints and feedback mechanisms and appoint dedicated disability inclusion focal points. It calls on donors and humanitarian actors to recognise disability inclusion as life-saving assistance and to establish equitable partnerships with organisations of persons with disabilities, including through direct funding. It urges all stakeholders in the humanitarian reset to ensure that "efficiency and reform measures do not undermine the rights, inclusion and protection of persons with disabilities".

Relevant International Standards

Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States parties to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, and article 32 requires that international cooperation, including humanitarian action, be inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities. The report also refers to articles 4 (3), 19, 21, 31 and 33 of the Convention on participation, independent living, access to information, data collection and national monitoring. Under international humanitarian law, the report cites common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols, which prohibit adverse distinction, including on the basis of disability. Security Council resolution 2475 (2019) recognises the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on persons with disabilities, and the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in 2016.

Taskforce Note

The Global HR Taskforce will continue to monitor the Third Committee's consideration of the report, the implementation of the humanitarian reset and any steps by States and humanitarian agencies to adopt a disability marker and disability-disaggregated data requirements recommended in report A/81/270. Sources: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, "Inclusive humanitarian assistance and safeguards for the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of current humanitarian reform processes", A/81/270, 24 July 2026; UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, GA/SHC/4449, 23 October 2026; OHCHR, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, mandate page; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Security Council resolution 2475 (2019).