The Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in EU-funded Humanitarian Aid Operations

This guidance developed by the European Commission's humanitarian affairs department (Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – DG ECHO) is conceived as a tool to reach the goal of combatting discrimination based on disability. The main objectives of this guidance are more specifically:

• To foster disability inclusion, i.e. the effective access and participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian aid.
• To ensure mainstreaming of disability, i.e. the process of incorporating protection principles and promoting meaningful access, safety and dignity of persons with disabilities in all EU-funded humanitarian operations.
• To provide DG ECHO partners and DG ECHO staff with the operational tools to ensure the above in the design, implementation and monitoring of EU-funded humanitarian projects.

To do so, this guidance builds on international standards and principles already agreed upon among humanitarian actors, Disabled Peoples’ Organisations (DPOs) and other key stakeholders, including the CRPD and the Charter. It also draws on existing and draft guidelines under development at the global level, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines on inclusion of persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.

As such, this guidance is conceived as a living document that may be revised as global guidance evolves. In addition, and critical to its development, this guidance was also the outcome of several consultations with DPOs and DG ECHO partners.