Protection of Refugees with Disabilities: Uganda Fieldwork Report, August-September 2013

Abstract

<p>According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the agency charged with caring for the world's refugees, in mid-2013 there were over 38 million displaced persons 'of concern' across the globe.¹ This report shares findings from a project which seeks to shed light on the experiences of an often-overlooked subsection of this group: refugees who have disabilities.² The project evaluates the protection and assistance given to persons with disabilities in displacement situations in six different host countries. To assist us in this task we have developed and tested a tool for identifying persons with disabilities within displaced populations. Adopting the functionality approach mandated by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), our tool draws heavily from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).³ The project began in 2012 with fieldwork in Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2013, our team undertook research in Pakistan, before travelling to Uganda in late August for a total of three weeks. We travelled to Jordan and Turkey in 2014 to complete the project fieldwork.⁴</p>