Must do actions

‘Must do’ actions are required if persons with disabilities are to be included successfully in all phases of humanitarianaction and need to be taken by every stakeholder in every sector and all contexts.

The four ‘must do’ actions described below should be kept in mind when reading or applying each sector chapter and the sectionon stakeholder roles and responsibilities.

Promote meaningful participation

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)49 affirms the right to participate in decision-making processes. Persons with disabilities are therefore entitled to participatein humanitarian decisions that affect them.

Both on the basis of this right, and because they have knowledge and skills to offer, persons with disabilities can be importantactors and resource persons in a humanitarian response.

Remove barriers

Neither inclusion nor participation can be achieved while barriers remain. Removing attitudinal, environmental and institutionalbarriers is critical to addressing risks.50

Empower persons with disabilities; support them to develop their capacities

Humanitarian stakeholders, including organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), need first to develop their own awarenessof the rights and capacities of persons with disabilities. Then they need to work with persons with disabilities to strengthenand extend their capacities. These steps together empower both groups of stakeholders to cooperate in ensuring that personswith disabilities are fully included in all aspects of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Capacity development may take many forms. Consider, for instance: introducing sensitization, training and learning sessions,and sessions to coach and mentor staff; revising training tools, including induction and training courses; creating communitiesof practice; collecting experiences (lessons learned) and identifying good practices; providing technical support, includingdisability inclusion experts; communicating skills through advice and help desks, etc.

Disaggregate data for monitoring inclusion

To monitor inclusion, data on barriers and on the requirements of persons with disabilities are essential. Humanitarian datashould include disaggregated data on disability to ensure that humanitarian action planning, implementation and monitoringare accessible to and include persons with disabilities. Data and information on risks and barriers faced by persons withdisabilities should also be collected and analysed. This will strengthen humanitarian stakeholders' understanding of the barriersto inclusion, which in turn will enable them to remove them effectively and adopt measures to promote inclusion.

See also the section on Data and information management.