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🗞️ Driving the news: The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has raised urgent concerns over the severe impact of the Gaza conflict on people with disabilities
• Cases highlight the extreme vulnerability of disabled individuals during evacuations, with some unable to receive alerts or access safety
• A 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was forced to crawl through sand after losing her wheelchair while fleeing Israeli airstrikes
• The Committee concluded that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have failed to uphold their obligations to protect people with disabilities during the emergency
🔭 The context: The conflict in Gaza has exposed systemic failures in humanitarian protection, particularly for the most marginalized
• Deaf parents relying on their young daughter to interpret war terms in sign language is one of many accounts illustrating the daily reality for families with disabilities
• Multiple displacements, lack of assistive devices, and electricity blackouts have left disabled individuals stranded and isolated
• The Committee emphasized that people with disabilities are consistently deprioritized in crisis settings, deepening risks to life and dignity
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The Gaza crisis is not only a regional tragedy but a global wake-up call for inclusive humanitarian response
• As war, climate disasters, and displacement increase worldwide, failure to include disabled individuals in emergency planning is a widespread issue
• The Gaza experience reveals a dangerous gap in rights-based protection during conflicts, with people left behind and exposed to preventable suffering
• It challenges humanitarian actors and governments to embed disability inclusion as a non-negotiable standard in all crisis response frameworks
⏭️ What’s next:
• The UN Committee has issued formal recommendations to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to improve disability protection measures
• Ongoing UN advocacy calls for prioritization of inclusive evacuation planning, accessible communication, and aid distribution
• International agencies are scaling integrated famine responses and meal programs while pushing for increased access to fuel, water, and medical aid
• However, aid convoys continue to face looting and delivery blockades, with only two per cent of food aid reaching intended warehouses
💬 One quote: “She was crawling on the sand and asking her family, telling them ‘you can leave me here’ because she felt that she was slowing them down” — Committee Member Muhannad Salah Al-Azzeh
📈 One stat: Since mid-July, less than 40 per cent of the daily required 2,000 metric tonnes of food aid has reached Gaza through humanitarian corridors
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