United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Request for CRPD Committee meeting and adoption of written statement on persons with disabilities in Ukraine and fleeing the country

16 Березня 2022 by Olga Zhurbenko

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Brussels, 14 March 2022

Ref. EDF-22-24-YV

Re: Request for CRPD Committee meeting and adoption of written statement on persons with disabilities in Ukraine and fleeing the country

Dear Chair,

We are contacting you on behalf of the European Disability Forum, independent organisation that advocate for the rights of over 100 million persons with disabilities in Europe, and National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPD), composed of more than 100 Ukranian organisations, in relation to the urgent situation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine and fleeing the country.

There are 2.7 million persons with disabilities registered in Ukraine. Our contacts in the country have confirmed that the situation for persons with disabilities is appalling. For example, shelters in Kiev are inaccessible, so people with disabilities are forced to stay at home, not knowing where they can go to be safe. Persons with disabilities living in institutions, already cut off from their communities, risk being abandoned and forgotten. In Ukraine alone, at least 82,000 children are segregated from society, with countless more adults with disabilities permanently institutionalised.

The National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPD) published appeal to all organisations of persons with disabilities to support humanitarian aid and join efforts to end the war.

We welcome the condemnation by the CRPD Committee of the indiscriminate attacks perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine, during its opening session on the 7^th of March. As the situation continues to deteriorate, we would like to request the CRPD Committee to issue a written statement on the situation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine and the obligations of States parties under articles 11 and 32. To do so, we propose to facilitate a private briefing between the NAPD and Committee members at your earliest convenience.

We thank you for your kind consideration and remain at your disposal to discuss this matter in more details.

Yours sincerely,

Yannis Vardakastanis

President,

European Disability Forum