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Finland has strengthened the position of persons with disabilities through humanitarian assistance

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The annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) will be held on Monday 3 December. Finland has strengthened the rights of persons with disabilities especially in the humanitarian assistance sector. Progress has been made in recent years at both the political and project levels. The results are presented in the Development Policy Results Report 2018, which was published in November.

Finland played a central role in the adoption of the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action at the World Humanitarian Summit 2016 in Istanbul. Based on the Charter, the UN's central humanitarian organisations decided to strengthen their efforts to improve the position of persons with disabilities. Finland has also supported forthcoming important global and international EU-level policies, which aim to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are systematically taken into account in humanitarian work.

"The implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities is among the priorities of Finland's human rights policy and development policy. In crises, persons with disabilities, especially women and girls, are often in the most vulnerable position. Finland has wanted to take the lead in efforts to strengthen their rights," says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

Finland has funded several projects promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, carried out by the UN and various non-governmental organisations (CSO). For example, Finnish CSOs have taken into account the needs of persons with disabilities for example in the building of refugee camps, in the training of teachers specialising in children with disabilities in Uganda, and in special-needs training in refugee camps in Jordan. Finnish organisations have actively participated in advocacy work in international disability forums.

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Foreign Ministry's Development Communications and the Finnish Red Cross will publish a 360-degree video "At home in Dadaab" for virtual viewing. The six-minute video has been filmed at a refugee camp in Kenya and, together with its supplementary material, it is suitable for use is schools, for example. The video can be viewed at www.maailma2030.fi/dadaab.

Inquiries: About persons with disabilities in humanitarian crises: Claus Lindroos, Director, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance and Policy, tel. +358 40 132 1416
About 360-degree video production: Eija Palosuo, Communications Officer, Unit for Development Communications, tel. + 358 295 351 961

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.