- The rapid evacuation of disabled individuals is demanded.
- People are denied access to basic medical care.
- They are being used as human shields.
The rapid evacuation of disabled individuals residing in institutions in Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia has been demanded by a UN committee.
According to the human rights organization, there have been instances of people being denied access to basic medical care and being used as human shields.
It stated that one of the facilities in the occupied regions had seen at least 12 fatalities.
The Russian Federation provided no supporting documentation for the claim.
The UN Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed “grave concern” during a press conference on the security of disabled people in institutions in both Ukraine and the occupied areas.
According to its vice-chairman, Jonas Ruskus, the already dire situation has become even worse as a result of Russian aggression, putting children and adults with disabilities and those with learning difficulties in particular at risk.
Underweight children
Mr. Ruskus demanded the immediate release of the thousands of crippled persons housed in the orphanages spread throughout Ukraine. After a BBC News investigation revealed widespread exploitation of disabled persons, the committee’s recommendations were made.
The human rights organization demands quick deinstitutionalization and funding for community programs.
We discovered youngsters chained to benches, people living in cots, and terribly emaciated toddlers who had been abandoned and were in anguish.
At one of the sessions last month investigating the experiences of disabled persons in a period of war in Ukraine, the BBC provided testimony.
100,000 children and teenagers, about half of whom had disabilities, were held at this type of facility prior to the Russian invasion. A network of 700 orphanages was receiving an estimated 250 new children per day.
When war broke out in February, thousands of people fled to neighboring countries and thousands of institutions were evacuated.
Mrs. Zelenska stated that she wanted those kids to return to Ukraine and a different way of life, but she also acknowledged that the entire de-institutionalization process would be “difficult.”
In Europe, her nation is home to the most youngsters that are institutionalized. They are the victims of a Soviet-era policy that pushed parents to turn over custody of their crippled child to the government.
Some segments of Ukrainian society still think that the ideal place for a person with a disability is an institution. The majority of children and teenagers in orphanages have families, yet many wind up living in a facility because of a lack of community support.
Concerns regarding how money from the European Union and other international organizations is being used to support disabled persons during the war were also brought up by the committee. It emphasized that funds should be used to ensure that people may live independently in their communities rather than in residential care, not to expand or renovate institutions.
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