In armed conflicts and crises, children with disabilities face serious threats to their lives and safety, including those related to their inability to flee attacks, risk of abandonment, lack of access to assistive devices, lack of access to basic services and denial of education as well as experiences of stigma, abuse, psychological harm and poverty.
Children with disabilities experience multiple and intersecting forms of human rights violations based on their disability and age. Since 2015, Human Rights Watch has documented the impact of armed conflict on children with disabilities in Afghanistan, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Gaza Strip in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
While international human rights specifically call for the protection of children with disabilities in situations of armed conflict, the United Nations, governments, parties to the conflict and humanitarian actors have long neglected their specific rights and needs.
There is an urgent need for the United Nations and governments to increase efforts to protect children with disabilities as part of their international commitments to protect all children impacted by hostilities.
Their attention and investment in those most at risk of violence during armed conflicts will in turn enhance protection measures for everyone.
War and children with disabilities
War affects all children in countless ways. Their very lives and bodily integrity are at risk; their experiences are shaped by constant fear and terror; their attachments are frequently disrupted due to loss of family members and other adult protection; they might lose years of education, be displaced without a safe place to call home, experience hunger, lose access to health care or proper hygiene and worry about further losses and disruptions to their lives.1 All of this can lead to long-lasting mental health impacts.
For children with disabilities, all these impacts are multiplied. They are at higher risk when their communities are attacked not only because of their young age but also because of their disability. They may be less able to flee attacks, especially if there is no one to help them or if they have limited or no access to assistive devices. They may be left behind: their families sometimes face a split-second decision, either flee with those children who can more easily escape or remain behind to support them.
For children with disabilities, all these impacts are multiplied. They are at higher risk when their communities are attacked not only because of their young age but also because of their disability. They may be less able to flee attacks, especially if there is no one to help them or if they have limited or no access to assistive devices. They may be left behind: their families sometimes face a split-second decision, either flee with those children who can more easily escape or remain behind to support them.
Children with disabilities struggle not only to access the basic necessities required by all children, such as food and shelter, but also the vital services and items they need because of their disability, such as early intervention services (designed to identify and support children with developmental conditions and disabilities), therapies or assistive devices.
Children with disabilities also face increased barriers to accessing public schools and educational services provided by humanitarian organizations. For children with physical disabilities, barriers can include inaccessible roads, inaccessible school facilities and a lack of assistive devices. For children with sensory, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, barriers can include stigma and a lack of both trained teachers and inclusive curricula.
Although the mental health of all children is negatively affected by armed conflict, the impact is aggravated for children with disabilities who fear abandonment, have concerns about how their situation may put family members at risk, are confronted by chronic lack of access to education and mental health services, and who face social stigma.
While there are no accurate figures on how many children with disabilities are affected by war, 15% of the world's population, or one billion people, has a disability, with a higher percentage in developing countries.
These figures usually increase in armed conflicts and crises. For example, approximately 28% of Syria's current population is estimated to have a disability, a proportion that is nearly double the global average.