Legal protection for the world鈥檚 most vulnerable
The world is currently experiencing the highest levels of displaced people in recorded history.
According to the :
- 68.5 million聽people around the world have been forced from home, including nearly
- 25.4聽million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.
The findings of the University of Sydney study, conducted between 2014-2016, call on States and relevant humanitarian actors to adopt a contextual, rights-based approach to identifying need and vulnerability in policies and practice.
The 鈥榝orgotten and invisible鈥�
Refugees living with disabilities have been described as the 鈥榝orgotten or invisible鈥� during acute crises of human displacement, even though these refugees face unique challenges.
Until recently, too few people have really thought about persons with disabilities in refugee situations.
鈥淭his is largely due to false assumptions that persons with disabilities are not able to travel, and therefore are not represented amongst refugee populations,鈥� she explained.
Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Professor Crock, together with Dr Laura Smith-Khan, , and , gained unprecedented access to refugees in six countries 鈥� Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uganda, Jordan and Turkey.
Professor Crock meeting the locals in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Capability approach
The team used the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a framework to evaluate how governments and aid agencies engage with and accommodate persons with disabilities in situations of displacement.
The Disability Identification Tool developed by the researchers to collect data on the incidence of impairments in refugee populations was central to the research.
鈥淭he tool is based on the idea that we should not simply label people according to what we observe. We should ask people directly: 鈥榳hat can you do?鈥欌�� said Professor Crock.
鈥湼咔甯＠� is part of a global movement towards a 鈥榗apabilities鈥� approach to human rights,鈥� she continued.
鈥淩efugees may resist volunteering that they are 鈥榙isabled鈥� for a raft of cultural and practical reasons. However, they will answer honestly when asked to describe what they can and cannot do and what they require to access the necessities of life.鈥�
Case in Focus - Findings from Kuala Lumpur
In Malaysia, the team worked alongside the UNHCR to conduct more than 150 individual interviews with refugees in Kuala Lumpur, and with other key stakeholders. They also conducted the first workshop with relevant stakeholders, including leaders from the Malaysia Disabled Persons Organizations.
Findings from the study helped inform UNHCR鈥檚 programming and resulted in improved mechanisms for the identification, prioritisation and delivery of assistance and durable solutions for refugees with disabilities.
鈥淭his project is exemplary in its practical application to improve the lives of refugees and in enhancing support to marginalised populations,鈥� he added.
From 鈥榠nvisible鈥� to 鈥榲isible鈥�
Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda.
The findings of the study have helped influence policy and reform at national and international levels. Notably, the UNHCR has changed its registration and verification procedures, resulting in a dramatic leap in the number of persons with disabilities now recognised as living in displacement populations.
The work has been presented around the world, including at the 8th Meeting of the States Parties to the CRPD at UN Headquarters, New York; the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Forum on Disability; the 10th anniversary conference marking the establishment of the CRPD Committee in Geneva; and the 2018 World Bank Law, Justice and Development week in Washington DC.聽 The team鈥檚 findings are set out in a book,聽,聽four reports and various articles, most of which are accessible .
Protecting migrant childen
For Professor Crock, a natural progression of her work to protect refugees and vulnerable migrants has led to her most recent publication,聽Protecting Migrant Children: In Search of Best Practice, jointly edited with Lenni B. Benson, Professor of Law at New York Law School.
鈥淎s a practitioner, or even more so, as a human being, I was moved by my early experiences working with asylum seekers,鈥� said Professor Crock. 鈥淪eeing children born in detention is what pushed me to write.鈥�
Drawing together an interdisciplinary and multinational group of experts to assess the nature and root causes of child migration in different parts of the world, the book explores the complex legal and human rights issues that arise when children cross borders as migrants.
Examing global case studies, the work lays the foundations for new paradigms in law, policy and practice in the reception and management of child migrants, refugees and victims of trafficking.聽
Professor Crock recently made a series of presentations on the protection of migrant children across the United States, London and at Oxford.
Publications
- (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017)
- (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)