Disabled refugees

Ihe available guidelines thus betray UNHCR s contradictory and possibly discriminatory position on the issue of disabled refugees resettlement. Contradictions on paper can translate into confusion on the ground. Field reports indicate confusion about resettlement prospects for disabled refugees among applicants as well as resettlement officers (WRC, 2008). 

Amas, N., and Lagnado, J. (2010) Fading London s Disabled Refugees. Forced Migration Review—Theme Issue on Disability and Displacement 35 27-8. 

Harris,]., and Roberts, K. (2004) " Not our Problem The Provision of Services to Disabled Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Pp. 151-61 in D. Hayes and B. Humphries (eds.). Social Work, Immigration and Asylum. London Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refiigees (1996) Community Service Guidelines on Assisting Disabled Refugees A Community Based Approach (2nd ed.). Geneva UNHCR. <> (accessed 19 February 2013). 

Mirza, M. (2010) Resettlement for Disabled Refugees. Forced Migration Review 35 30-1. 

Vulnerable groups. Typically including the elderly, orphans, widows, people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, refugees or internally displaced persons, among others. Vulnerable groups face special difficulties in supporting themselves because of some particular aspect of their situation. 

Similar contradictions and undercurrents of discrimination are mirrored in the resettlement policies of receiving countries. For example, Australia categorically restricts the admission of refugees with disabilities, citing undue costs and encumbrance on the country s healthcare and social service systems (UNHCR 2011 Australia chapter). Countries like Portugal and the UK appear to have discontinued their resettlement quotas for persons with disabilities and medical needs. Even countries generally open to resettling persons with disabilities (e.g. Brazil, Canada, Finland, Iceland,... 

A final issue at the nexus of disability and asylum pertains to asylum claims based on disability-related persecution. A nascent argument is emerging in favour of disability-sensitive interpretations of the Convention definition of a refugee. Preliminary data indicate that disability-related asylum claims fail to meet the fear of persecution criterion (Crock, McCallum, and Ernst 2011). Pejorative treatment of persons with disabilities in their country of origin tends to be construed as discitninatiDn rather than persecution. However, legal advocates argue that discrimination in multiple... 

Crock, M., McCaHum, R., and Ernst, C. (2011) Where Disability and Displacement Intersect Asjdum Seekers with Disabilities. Discussion paper prepared for the Vulnerable Persons Working Group International Association of Refugee Lawjudges World Conference. Bled, Slovenia, 7-9 September. 

Mirza, M. (2011a) Unmet Needs and Diminished Opportunities Disability, Displacement and Humanitarian Healthcare. New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper Series. Research paper number 212. Geneva UNHCR, Policy Development and Evaluation Service. 

Mirza, M. (2011b) Disability and Humanitarianism in Refugee Camps The Case for a Traveling Supranational Disability Praxis. Third World Quarterly 32(8) 1527-36. 

Refugees with Disabilities. OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health 32(1) 6-14. 

---