Global Disability Network Urges Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities into Planning for Climate Change and Disaster Management (New York, 30 November 2009) Persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to the dire consequences of climate change and are extremely susceptible to becoming the first victims of natural disasters because of their social situation - being the poorest of the poor - and often residing in areas of precarious infrastructure and housing. Rehabilitation International (RI), a global disability network, is very concerned by the exclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in policy planning related to climate change, which leaves 650 millions people worldwide unprotected from one of the biggest current threats to mankind.
Therefore, in accordance with Article 11 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), dealing with the protection and inclusion of persons with disabilities in situations of humanitarian emergencies, and in light of the increasing occurrence of climate change and the subsequent increase in natural disasters, RI has adopted the following resolution and calls on the international community to take strong action on this issue by effectively including persons with disabilities in climate change planning and policies.
RI urges the following action points:
* the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen - COP
15 in December 2009 must take concrete action on the impact of climate change on PWDs
* the processes of developing climate change policies and plans must
include all stakeholders (Disabled Persons Organizations-DPO's, Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations -NGO's , governments, UN agencies, advocates, local stakeholders and other humanitarian actors)
* these inclusive policies must be implemented by appropriate
international agencies and governments, in partnership with relevant DPOs and NGOs, to reduce the impact of climate change in the fields of disaster preparedness, emergency response and transition phase
* governments and agencies must foster and develop research and
capacity building to provide data and establish best practice guidelines for humanitarian emergencies to specifically include persons with disabilities "Careful planning, research and policy development is crucial to ensuring the safety and lives of persons with disabilities in the face of climate change-related disasters," said RI President Anne Hawker. "It is a human right. Enacting these plans before disasters strike will prevent the deaths of thousands of persons with disabilities."