Today, the Permanent Missions of Slovenia and Guyana to the UN together with the Permanent Missions of Poland and the United Kingdom convened an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council on persons with disabilities in armed conflict. The meeting was an opportunity to mark the unanimous adoption of UNSC resolution 2475 five years ago and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. The Chair of the meeting, Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, stressed that resolution 2475 must be implemented and no person in armed conflict should be left behind.

Five years ago, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2475. It was the Council’s first resolution ever to address the needs and vulnerabilities of persons with disabilities in armed conflict. In addition, through the recently adopted Pact for the Future, UN members have committed to correcting injustices for persons with disabilities of all ages, for present and future generations.

As emphasized by Secretary-General Guterres on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, “they bear the brunt of the crises scarring our world because of persistent discrimination and barriers to basic rights and services.” Children with disabilities remain one of the most marginalized and excluded groups of the population.

In his address, Ambassador Žbogar highlighted three points in strengthening the protection of persons with disabilities: addressing their specific needs, adopting disability-inclusive measures and advancing inclusion in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

“More attention should be paid to developing warning systems using means that can be understood by people with various disabilities,” underscored the Ambassador, referring to the specific needs of persons that cannot, due to their disabilities, leave their homes during evacuation orders, or might not hear, see or understand the conventional commands.

Furthermore, given that the persons with disabilities are not a homogenous group and remain largely invisible, adopting disability-inclusive measures is of paramount importance. “Imagine a child in a wheelchair or otherwise mobility impaired, stuck in a shelter, without access to food, water, sanitation, much less to education, healthcare and support services. Imagine the living hell of persons with disabilities in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other armed conflicts,” voiced the Ambassador. He called for full implementation of resolution 2475, including for unimpeded humanitarian access.

Additionally, the importance of inclusion cannot be overstated. All persons with disabilities and their representative organizations should be able to participate meaningfully in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. These processes must be more receptive to the voices of the most vulnerable to help assure a sustainable peace for all.

Slovenia has been supporting the rehabilitation of the most vulnerable victims of conflicts and humanitarian disasters since 2004. This fall, it hosted 76 children from war-affected areas in need of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation: 50 from Ukraine, 16 from Armenia and 10 from Gaza. It is our firm belief that only full inclusion of persons with disabilities in prevention efforts, full respect of their rights and full adherence to international humanitarian law during conflict can lessen their suffering.

At the Arria-formula meeting, 43 UN member states participated. Ms. Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Laetitia Courtois, Permanent Observer of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the United Nations, and Ms. Emina Ćerimović, Human Rights Watch, briefed the audience and called for enhanced protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. 

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