The Invisible Victims of Conflict, Children with Disabilities

Staff Reporter

The world has come together to acknowledge the vulnerability of children during humanitarian crises. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified rights treaty globally, commits governments to protecting children in times of peace and war. However, children with disabilities are often the most overlooked and neglected victims of conflict.

UNICEF estimates that nearly 240 million children worldwide, approximately one in ten, live with a disability. In situations of armed conflict, this proportion is likely to increase due to the horrific impact of violence on children. The loss of medical care, food, and water, combined with the trauma of conflict, heightens a child’s risk of long-term physical and mental impairments.

Children with disabilities face exceptional forms of neglect and disregard when violence breaks out. They are more likely to be abandoned or separated from their caregivers, especially during attacks or sudden displacement. Evacuation procedures often neglect the needs of children with disabilities, leaving them at higher risk of death and serious injury.

The threat of rape and other forms of sexual violence soars during armed conflict, with girls being particularly vulnerable. Children with intellectual disabilities are nearly five times more likely to be subjected to sexual violence than their peers. Like all survivors, these children face severe physical wounds and psychological trauma, yet the barriers they encounter accessing support services are tremendous.

International human rights and humanitarian law call for the protection of children with disabilities during armed conflict. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities set out obligations for governments to protect and fulfill the rights of children with disabilities. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols also protect children with disabilities as members of the civilian population and as particularly at-risk individuals.

Despite these legal frameworks, children with disabilities continue to face significant challenges in accessing humanitarian assistance. Organizations like UNICEF need swift, safe access to children caught in conflict, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. The denial of humanitarian access by parties to conflict leads to pronounced suffering for children with disabilities, who often lose critical care when violence breaks out.

To address these challenges, UNICEF operates across sectors to make humanitarian action inclusive. The organization works with local organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) to ensure that children with disabilities have opportunities to participate in assessments and planning for humanitarian response. UNICEF also works to improve the disaggregation of data by disability, so that the organization can better plan for and measure progress towards inclusive humanitarian action.

In various countries, UNICEF has implemented programs to support children with disabilities affected by conflict. For example, in the State of Palestine, UNICEF partnered with OPDs to provide children with assistive devices like hearing aids, wheelchairs, and prosthetics. In Syria, UNICEF’s cash transfer programs have improved access to food, healthcare, and education for thousands of children with disabilities. In Ukraine, UNICEF established mobile response teams to provide psychosocial support to children with disabilities.

Individuals can play a vital role in protecting the rights of children with disabilities caught in conflict. Activists can mobilize support by reaching out to OPDs, raising awareness about the rights violations these children face, and advocating for emergency relief efforts that account for the priorities of children with disabilities. By working together, we can ensure that children with disabilities are not left behind in humanitarian responses and that their rights are protected and fulfilled.