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    Human Rights Critical to Surviving Natural Disasters: World Disasters Report 2007

    By Andrea Shettle, MSW | April 26, 2008

    Sometimes, respect for human rights can be a matter of life and death. This fact is often starkly highlighted during and after natural disasters, when discrimination can leave people with disabilities and other minority groups more vulnerable to risk.

    The World Disasters Report (2007) examines what happens to various vulnerable groups during disaster situations, particularly women, elderly people, minorities, and people with disabilities. This report from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies includes many stories of how discrimination and exclusion has made it harder for some people to survive or meet their needs during and after disaster situations. It also includes guidance and recommendations on how agencies, governments, and communities can improve efforts to ensure that emergency aid reaches the most vulnerable people.

    Discrimination can occur on the basis of ethnic or social origin, language, religion, gender, age, physical or mental disability, and sexual orientation. The World Disasters Report points out that, although discrimination exists before disaster, an emergency can exacerbate it. However, that discrimination is often invisible because official data on older people, ethnic minorities or people with disabilities may not exist.

    Furthermore, aid agencies often do not even analyze the needs of vulnerable people when they carry out emergency assessments. And vulnerable groups are usually not included in the disaster planning process before, during, or after emergencies. This accummulative discrimination can be life-threatening during a crisis. Even after the crisis, people who have suffered discrimination may take longer to recover or to regain their livelihoods.

    The World Disasters Report calls for agencies to do better in planning for the needs of vulnerable populations, saying bluntly, "One-size-fits-all relief planning is unhelpful in overcoming discrimination" (p. 15).

    Read chapter summaries, download individual chapters for free, or order print copies of the report at: http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2007/summaries.asp

    The full report can be downloaded in PDF format (4 Mb) at: http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/disasters/wdr2007/WDR2007-English.pdf

    RatifyNow readers will note that Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) specifically obligates ratifying governments to ensure that people with disabilities are protected and safe during violent conflicts and natural disasters. Learn more about the CRPD and how it is meant to protect the rights of people with disabilities by reading the RatifyNow FAQ.

    This article was originally posted at the We Can Do blog on disability and international development. It is re-posted here, with modifications, with permission of author.

    Topics: Disability Rights -- General, Human Rights -- General |

    One Response to “Human Rights Critical to Surviving Natural Disasters: World Disasters Report 2007”

    1. REPORT: World Disasters Report 2007: Focus on Discrimination « We Can Do Says:
      April 26th, 2008 at 9:50 am

      […] article has been cross-posted, with some modifications, at the RatifyNow web site with permission of […]

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