Transforming the Convergence between International Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law into Effective Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Armed Conflict Situations

Abstract

This article examines how the convergence between international human rights law and international humanitarian law can be translated into more effective protection for persons with disabilities in armed conflict situations. It starts from the premise that armed conflict affects persons with disabilities in specific and disproportionate ways, including through abandonment, violence, inaccessible evacuation procedures, and barriers to basic services. Drawing on the conceptual framework developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the article understands disability as the interaction between impairments, activity limitations, participation restrictions, and environmental or attitudinal barriers. The analysis addresses three questions: first, the legal basis for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in situations of armed conflict; second, the legal obligations for States, international organizations, humanitarian agencies, and non-State armed groups, including under the evolving doctrine of the responsibility to protect; and third, the extent to which existing legal and operational frameworks adequately respond to the specific needs of persons with disabilities, and what normative and policy developments are required to strengthen their protection in such contexts. The analysis uses relevant international and regional treaties, especially the main international human rights and humanitarian law treaties, relevant jurisprudence from UN human rights mechanisms and regional human rights systems, and studies and other materials prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Received: 20 February 2026  │  Accepted: 10 June 2026  │  Published: 23 July 2026