Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories: The situation of Palestinian with disabilities.
By the Palestinan Disability Coalition and the Collective for breaking the silence on Palestinian with disabilities.
This report addresses the situation of persons with disabilities in the occupied Palestinian territories in the current conflict, and the broader context of Israeli settler-colonialism. Besides the growing number of people becoming disabled due to targeted disablement and other attacks by Israeli occupation forces, people who had disabilities pre-October 2023 are experiencing human rights violations which target and potentially exacerbate their disability.
The experience of disablement has given rise to human rights violations related to rights to freedom from violence, torture and ill-treatment, to life and health, as well as specific humanitarian aid needs. It also creates the conditions for lifelong human rights violations well beyond the disabling event, because people with disability are at higher risks of human rights violations across their lives. Disablement of individuals and debilitation of the population can reduce their capacity to physically resist occupation, and in turn to assert their human rights.
Persons with disabilities are an integral part of every society and the struggles, violations and disproportionate and targeted attacks experienced by Palestinians with disabilities serve to shed more light on the all-encompassing nature of the genocidal war. The report is basaed on testimonies of persons with disabilities in Gaza and the West Bank, presented in the webinar Bearing witness: Palestinians with disabilities on their situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza, held with members of the Palestinian Disability Coalition and other activists.
Bearing witness: Palestinians with disabilities on their situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza.
Monday 10 June 2024, 8 am EDT / 2 pm CEST/ 3pm Palestine
There has been a prolonged silence on the situation of persons with disabilities in Gaza and all other parts of occupied Palestine. As a result, very little attention has been given to the abuses they are enduring.
Little has come out in mainstream media about their experiences, despite being disproportionately impacted by Israel's current military campaign. They face additional challenges in staying safe and accessing resources essential for survival, including food, water, medicine, and assistive devices. Children and adults with disabilities are at higher risks of being killed and dying from starvation.
Despite UN Security Council resolutions and other interntional commitments to ensure protection in armed conflicts and disability-inclusive humanitarian action, few steps have been taken to ensure protection and safety of people with disabilities in Gaza and other parts of occupied Palestine.
In this one-hour session, persons with disabilities from Gaza and the West Bank shared personal testimonies of what they are witnessing, the dire situation that their community is enduring, and their appeal to the international community to ensure protection, safety and justice for Palestine and its people.
In English
In Arabic
CALLING FOR SOLIDARITY FOR PALESTINE This COSP2024, let's take every opportunity to speak up about people with disabilities in Gaza & the West Bank. If you are speaking in a panel or from the floor, highlight their challenges, share their stories, and advocate for their rights.
#CRPD4PALESTINE
About us
We are a collective of human rights activists. We are part of the disability rights community. We are united by how we feel about the unspeakable atrocities Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza. As members of the disability rights community, we are deeply worried about the dire situation of Palestinians with disabilities, whose lives depend on an immediate ceasefire, and urgent action to dismantle the blockade imposed by Israel on all access points to Gaza. And we believe that our global disability community is not doing enough. If you feel the same way, join us.