QADER presents strategic reports and substantive recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Distinguished Participation and International Recognition
QADER for Community Development actively engaged in the 33rd Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held in Geneva from 11 to 29 August 2025. During the session, QADER submitted two comprehensive analytical reports: the first provided responses to the list of issues related to the State of Palestine’s official report, accompanied by concrete and focused recommendations; the second addressed the use of starvation as a weapon of genocide and forced displacement, highlighting its systematic impact on persons with disabilities in Gaza, supported by first-hand testimonies documented by QADER’s field team operating in the Gaza Strip.
QADER also delivered two oral statements before the Committee in Geneva based on its submitted reports, and held strategic bilateral meetings with Dr. Mohannad Al-Azza, Chair of the Working Group on Palestine in the Committee, and other members of Committee, prior to the Committee’s constructive dialogue with the delegation of the State of Palestine in light of the absence of the Palestinian governmental delegation. QADER also submitted an urgent follow-up report to the Committee following the hearing on the State of Palestine.
QADER’s substantive contributions during the session were widely commended by the Committee, which emphasized the importance of the organization’s role in defending the rights and issues of persons with disabilities in the context of the ongoing violations and international crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
1. First Oral Statement: List of Issues
In its oral statement before the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations, Ms. Lana Bandak, Director General of QADER for Community Development, stressed that the State of Palestine has not yet provided clear and comprehensive responses to the List of Issues adopted by the Committee (CRPD/C/PSE/Q/1), and that the official briefing presented by the Palestinian Mission in Geneva disregarded essential obligations under the Convention.
QADER’s oral statement emphasized, among other things, the need to:
- Ensure that the State of Palestine submits a comprehensive report covering all articles (1–33) of the Convention and publishes its Optional Protocol.
- Expedite the adoption of the Draft Law by Decree on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2019) and the National Disability Strategy in Palestine.
- Ensure the effective participation of representative organizations of persons with disabilities in legislative, policy, and programmatic processes.
- Fully implement the 2021 Health Insurance System for persons with disabilities, activate monitoring mechanisms, and publish related reports.
- Undertake a comprehensive review of personal status, criminal, judicial, and labor legislation to ensure the elimination of all forms of discrimination.
- Establish clear timelines and practical mechanisms to ensure the transition from commitments to actual implementation.
2. Second Oral Briefing: Starvation as a Weapon of Genocide
For his part, QADER’s Legal Counsellor, Dr. Issam Abdeen, delivered a powerful briefing an oral statement on the systematic policy of starvation as a central tool of genocide and forced displacement, and its compounded catastrophic impact on persons with disabilities in the Gaza Strip, after nearly two years of ongoing crimes of genocide, starvation and deprivation of water, as well as the blockade and collective punishment imposed on Gaza for nineteen years, in addition to eight successive military aggressions, the latest being the unprecedented aggression since 7 October 2023.
QADER’s oral statement emphasized, among other things, the need to:
- Establish an international commission of inquiry composed of members of the Committee, pursuant to Article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention.
- Call upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations to convene an international conference for the protection and relief of persons with disabilities in Palestine.
- Announce the Committee’s intention to enter Gaza to directly assess the catastrophic situation, in implementation of the ruling of the International Court of Justice.
- Strengthen the Committee’s cooperation with UN bodies and specialized agencies to address disability inclusion gaps in their reports and statements.
- Issue briefings to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly on the catastrophic reality of persons with disabilities amid the ongoing genocide.
- Adopt QADER’s new Guide on Monitoring, Documentation, and Accountability from a disability-inclusive approach as a key reference in the Committee’s work.
3. Urgent Follow-up Report: Close Monitoring and Substantive Recommendations
Following the official session held by the Committee with the State of Palestine’s Mission in Geneva on 14 August 2025, and the briefing of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, and in light of the absence of the governmental delegation - represented by the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - QADER for Community Development submitted an urgent follow-up report. The report contained detailed monitoring of concerns and a set of substantive recommendations to the Committee.
Key points highlighted in the follow-up report included:
- Disregard for Palestine’s obligations: Expressing grave concern regarding the official briefing presented by the Delegation of Palestine in Geneva before the Committee, which ignored the obligations set out in the List of Issues (CRPD/C/PSE/Q/1) submitted by the Committee to the State party.
- Observations on the Independent Commission: Noting the complete absence of any reference to the State of Palestine’s obligations relating to the List of Issues in the oral briefing delivered by the Independent Commission for Human Rights; contrary to its mandate under the Convention and the Paris Principles.
- Parallel responsibility: Reaffirming that the primary obligations borne by the Israeli occupying authorities under article 11 of the Convention and international humanitarian law do not exempt the State of Palestine from its international obligations towards persons with disabilities.
- Call for action: Urging the Committee to send a formal written notification to the State of Palestine requesting a response to the List of Issues submitted by the Committee within three months of the date of notification, pursuant to article 36(2) of the Convention.
- International commission of inquiry: Reiterating QADER’s proposal to establish a special international commission of inquiry, composed of Committee members, regarding the violations and international crimes targeting persons with disabilities, while declaring readiness to fully cooperate and provide the Committee with all data, analyses, and field testimonies on the situation of persons with disabilities under genocide.
- Convening an international conference: Stressing QADER’s proposal for the Committee to call upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations to convene an international conference of States parties, pursuant to articles 11 and 40 of the Convention, to ensure the protection and relief of persons with disabilities.
- Monitoring and accountability: Underscoring the need to strengthen monitoring, documentation, and accountability tools through a disability-inclusive approach, and to utilize the new reference guide prepared by QADER, linking it to a clear roadmap for achieving international justice and accountability.
Reports, Studies, and First-Hand Testimonies
QADER’s efforts extended beyond its formal briefings before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The organization submitted a series of reports, studies, and analytical papers that documented, through dozens of first-hand testimonies, the crimes and violations committed against persons with disabilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. Key findings were presented in QADER’s oral statement before the Committee and were also submitted directly to its members upon their request, reflecting the international community’s confidence in the organization’s professionalism and the credibility of its fieldwork. In doing so, QADER has consolidated its role as a leading reference in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and looks forward to these efforts serving as a fundamental contribution to the Committee’s forthcoming final report.
A Guide on Monitoring, Documentation, and Accountability from a disability-inclusive perspective
QADER unveiled the preparation of a comprehensive Guiding on Monitoring, Documentation, and Accountability from a disability-inclusive perspective - the first of its kind in the region. The manual draws upon UN monitoring standards and those of the International Criminal Court. Members of the Committee have requested copies of this manual to use as a primary reference tool, strengthening the quality of evidence and reinforcing international accountability and effective remedies.
Strengthening Strategic Partnerships
QADER’s participation in the 33rd Session represented a milestone in its international engagement and laid the foundation for strategic partnerships with the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations and with peer institutions active at the regional level. The organization reaffirms its commitment to joint action to implement the outcomes of the Committee’s forthcoming comprehensive final report, thereby ensuring the promotion, protection, and fulfillment of the rights of persons with disabilities in Palestine, and placing their cause at the center of monitoring, accountability, and advocacy mechanisms in pursuit of international justice.
Attachments to this Statement:
Oral Statement on the List of Issues.
Oral statement on the policy of starvation.