The UN Committee of Rights of Persons with Disabilities said in a press release Thursday that the lives of around 2.7 million people with disabilities are at risk in Ukraine.

The committee cited ongoing reports that many are trapped or abandoned in their homes, and care centers and orphanages are left without basic supplies or life-sustaining medicines. Although the committee did not say how it obtained these reports, it did say that few people with disabilities had been able to reach Ukraine’s borders, suggesting that many of them have not been able to flee to safety.

The committee is made up of independent experts that monitor the implementation of a 2006 convention by the state parties. The convention requires states to include people with disabilities when meeting their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. It requires all necessary measures to be taken to ensure the protection and safety of people with disabilities in situations of risk, including armed conflict.  A UN website shows that both Russia and Ukraine have signed and ratified the convention.  

The committee urged all states, UN agencies, civil society, and other stakeholders to recognize and respond to the pleas and requirements of people with disabilities that are caught in the hostilities. The committee said that refugees and internally displaced people with disabilities must be provided with support that is tailored to their individual requirements at border crossings and provided with relocation assistance. Children with disabilities should be provided with support to ensure they are not separated from their families and are protected from institutionalism, such as trafficking.

In concluding, the committee stated: “Above all, the Committee calls upon Russia to immediately end the hostilities and observe and respect the principle of international human rights and humanitarian law.”