A/HRC/44/41 persons are expected to have a disability owing to increased risks of injuries, lack of access to quality medical services and the creation of new barriers in the environment. 10 17. The Special Rapporteur has made a core priority of her mandate the promotion of visibility and effective protection for all internally displaced persons, including those who have become neglected, rendered invisible and vulnerable, and those facing the greatest challenges resulting from their displacement (A/72/202, para. 5). Persons with disabilities may face discrimination before and during displacement and in the search for durable solutions. Internally displaced persons with disabilities encounter physical, environmental and societal barriers to accessing specific displacement-related information, humanitarian assistance and services, including education, employment, health care and social protection, and barriers more generally to the full enjoyment of their human rights, including the right to participate in society on an equal basis with others and without discrimination. Internally displaced persons with disabilities often face multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination based on other grounds, such as gender, age, ethnicity, religion, group affiliation and displacement itself. 18. Forced displacement amplifies the risks for the safety, security and dignity of persons with disabilities. Internally displaced persons with disabilities may share the same challenges as other displaced persons but because of environmental and social barriers they are affected differently. Their challenges may be overlooked, or inadvertently even posed, by aid and development providers. Compounding their marginalization, persons with disabilities continue to be considered primarily as recipients of aid; their potential to make constructive contributions to solving issues linked to displacement is still largely unexplored. The recognition of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations as critical stakeholders in internal displacement situations, both emergency and protracted, is crucial. 19. Certain groups or categories of internally displaced persons with disabilities are especially at risk of violence, isolation or neglect, especially those with high support needs, such as persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, unaccompanied, separated and orphaned children with disabilities or survivors of severe traumatic events. Women and older persons with disabilities also face additional stigmatization and discrimination and protection challenges. 20. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur aims to develop a better understanding of the diverse experiences of displaced persons with disabilities, which is required to effectively protect and promote their rights; empower them to become active stakeholders in the decision processes that affect them; provide inclusive and accessible humanitarian assistance and services; and better support the achievement of durable solutions. 21. In January 2020, the Special Rapporteur sent a questionnaire to all Member States requesting them to recount their experiences, policies and practices with regard to internally displaced persons with disabilities. She sincerely thanks the Governments of Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, Ukraine and the United States of America for their responses. She also would like to thank the United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and organizations of persons with disabilities whose contributions were essential for the report.11 B. Applicable legal and policy frameworks 22. Under international human rights law, the rights of internally displaced persons are neither diminished nor curtailed by their displacement. That includes rights under the core human rights treaties, in particular the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In situations of international or non-international armed conflict, internally displaced persons are also entitled to the protections guaranteed to civilians under international humanitarian law, except insofar as an individual directly participates in hostilities. 10 11 6 See Handicap International, “Disability in humanitarian contexts” (2015). For all contributions, see www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IDPersons/Pages/CallforInputs_InternallyDisplacedPersons.aspx.