A/HRC/42/43 human rights abuses, including violence, exploitation and abuse; as well as restrictions on the right to work and the right to health. 33. The displacement of older persons may often become protracted displacement because of their lack of physical strength to return or rebuild the shelter or other facilities necessary for their livelihood, or because, even if they do return, they will be excluded from cash assistance, microcredits or other recovery schemes because of their age. 34. Moreover, the specific needs and human rights concerns of internally displaced persons, including those of older internally displaced persons, do not automatically disappear when a conflict or natural disaster ends; instead, the displaced – whether they return to their homes, settle elsewhere in the country or attempt to integrate locally – usually face continuing challenges requiring support until a durable solution has been found for their displacement.9 35. On the other hand, the generalization of older persons as a vulnerable group in need of protection from the impact of disasters fails to recognize their important contribution to disaster risk reduction, post-disaster management and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that older persons are already making. 10 Even though older persons play an important role in displaced communities, including in preserving cultural heritage, social cohesion and connection with countries of origin, the response to forced displacement often focuses on vulnerability and does not recognize that role or the capacities of older persons, or allow for their participation in decision-making. 36. Despite the heightened risks that they face, older persons are often less visible in assessment and planning processes also owing to a focus in humanitarian action on younger age groups and a lack of disaggregation of data of higher age brackets. These challenges to the inclusion of older persons in humanitarian action may be exacerbated by limited explicit requirements specified by donors for reporting on how projects and programmes benefit the older age group. B. Legal and policy framework 37. In the absence of a dedicated instrument on older persons and although not applicable to all older persons, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities offers some guidance. Article 11 of the Convention establishes that persons with disabilities have an equal right to humanitarian relief following a natural disaster or conflict. States parties are required to take “all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters”. Article 25, which addresses the issue of health, specifically refers to older persons, recalling that States parties are required to provide health services for persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as appropriate, and “services designed to minimize and prevent further disabilities, including among children and older persons”. 38. In its general comment No. 27 (2010) on older women and the protection of their human rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recognized that climate change has a different impact on women, especially older women who, owing to their physiological differences, physical ability, age and gender, as well as social norms and roles and an inequitable distribution of aid and resources relating to social hierarchies, are particularly disadvantaged in the face of natural disasters. The Committee also noted that their limited access to resources and decision-making processes increased their vulnerability to climate change. 9 10 8 See IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, The Brookings Institution – University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement, April 2010. See International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, A practical guide to Gendersensitive Approaches for Disaster Management, Geneva, 2010.