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IMPORTANT NOTE: This page relates to the period mid-2016 (establishment of the Task Team) to late 2019 (launch of the Guidelines).
For more recent information, please refer to the web pages of the IASC Results Group 2 on Accountability and Inclusion and to the new Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.
Persons with disabilities comprise approximately one billion people worldwide, 80% of whom live in developing countries. The Secretary-General has highlighted this population as a critical group for inclusion under Core Responsibility 3 of the Agenda for Humanity. The Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action was one of the key outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit, and called for the development of guidelines on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.
In line with its WHS commitment, the IASC endorsed the establishment of a time bound Task Team (Jan 2017- Dec 2018) in July 2016. Led by a tripartite co-chairing agreement comprising UNICEF, the International Disability Alliance, and Handicap International, the task team is composed of organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs); NGOs; UN Agencies; ICRC; IOM; Governments; ECHO; the IASC Secretariat; and the IASC MHPSS Reference Group. OCHA ensured the Secretariat of the Task Team.
- TT on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action TORs
- TT on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action Work Plan
- TT on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action Progress Report
Results of the Task Team:
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, resulting in the full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities and changing practice across all sectors and in all phases of humanitarian action.
Task Team Timeline:
- Resource Mobilization and Human Resources (Q4 2016 Q1, Q2 2017)
- Data Collection, Mapping and Research (Q2, 2017)
- Development of Initial Draft Guidelines (Q3 2017 – Q3 2018)
- Final Review, Validation and Production (Q4 2018 - Q3 2019
- Launch of the Guidelines: New York, November 2019 and Geneva, February 2020
All tasks listed above are being conducted with the full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations.