GFDMD
Easy Read

Forum recap · 23–24 September 2026

Two days. Five sessions. What we heard.

Persons with disabilities, organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), UN agencies, governments, researchers and civil society met online to examine how migration and refugee systems disable people — and what it will take to change them. The forum was convened and led by OPDs.

  • 2 days
  • 5 sessions
  • 20+ speakers and moderators
  • 7 recorded testimonies
  • 10 languages, plus International Sign and live captions

Highlights from the five sessions

  • Session 1 · The foundations

    “Addressing the complexities of migration, disability, and forced displacement cannot be done by one entity on its own.”

    Opening remarks from the Philippines, in the year the CRPD turned twenty.

    USEC Atty. Darlene R. Pajarito · Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Philippines

  • Session 1 · The foundations

    “The language changed. Many underlying assumptions persisted.”

    On how disability shaped the origins of modern immigration restriction — and why the work now is moving from fixing people to fixing systems.

    Ben Thatcher · Disability Migration Network (DMN)

  • Session 1 · The foundations

    “Although the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does not contain a specific article, all the rights set out in the Convention are relevant to migrants, refugees, and displaced persons with disabilities.”

    On how the CRPD applies throughout the migration journey.

    Amalia Gamio · Vice-Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

  • Session 1 · The foundations

    “A person may have a very strong claim for international protection and still struggle to make that claim heard.”

    Accessible information, qualified interpretation and adjustments at interview are what make asylum procedures fair.

    Leana Podeszfa · UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

  • Session 1 · The foundations

    “One person has several layers of protection.”

    On reading the CRPD, international labour standards and the Migrant Workers Convention together — so that a workplace injury does not become a chain of exclusion.

    Katerine Landuyt · International Labour Organization (ILO)

  • Session 2 · Labour migration in practice

    30.9%

    of migrant workers with disabilities reported experiences consistent with forced labour — against 8.4% of those without disabilities.

    Ben Thatcher · Disability Migration Network (DMN), citing the ILO–IOM survey of 2024

  • Session 2 · Labour migration in practice

    “People with disabilities who have the skills and means are being screened out into failure by a test that counts costs but not contribution.”

    On Australia’s migration health requirement, which weighs projected health costs but not economic contribution.

    Matthew Hall · Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO)

  • Session 2 · Labour migration in practice

    “Access to justice is not a courtesy — it is the substance of the right to a fair hearing.”

    Migrants with disabilities in South Korea fall into the gap between the migration and disability justice systems.

    Ju-eun Lee · DUROO – Association for Public Interest Law

  • Session 2 · Labour migration in practice

    “The intersection between migration, disability of a child and gender and care makes it very problematic for the migrant mother to engage in paid work.”

    From research with Ukrainian mothers in Poland caring for children with disabilities.

    Dr Eva Anna Duda-Mikulin · University of Wrocław

  • Session 3 · Lessons from the disability movement

    “Inclusion is a long-term investment and a long-term need.”

    Keynote from the International Disability Alliance, on leadership for refugees with disabilities twenty years after the CRPD.

    José Maria Viera · International Disability Alliance (IDA)

  • Session 3 · Lessons from the disability movement

    “Geographical borders shouldn’t be the borders of law and borders of our rights.”

    On the “double invisibility” facing migrants with disabilities in South America.

    Rosa Maria Juarez · RED GIRDD-LAC and RIADIS

  • Session 3 · Lessons from the disability movement

    “When migrant people with disabilities and overseas workers return to their home country, they often face challenges in their own society.”

    On supporting migrants with disabilities before, during and after migration.

    Mak Monika · Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization (CDPO)

  • Session 3 · Lessons from the disability movement

    “You have to equip your members with the necessary tools in order for them to participate meaningfully.”

    On building a network of refugees with disabilities from the grassroots to the global level.

    Julius Ntobuah · Global Network of Refugees with Disabilities (GNRD)

  • Session 4 · Refugee camps in the Global South

    “We must be united and see how or where to knock [on] the door so that this world can understand our voice.”

    From lived experience as a refugee with a disability in Mozambique.

    Ibrahim Basubi · Africa Disability Center (ADC)

  • Session 4 · Refugee camps in the Global South

    “Albinism is not contagious, but people have this wrong belief. So stigma and discrimination, insecurity, fearful life continues sometimes even in the camps.”

    On persons with albinism who are refugees, displaced or on the move.

    Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond · UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism

  • Session 4 · Refugee camps in the Global South

    “Being asked for your views is not the same as influencing what happens next.”

    On what the humanitarian system must do with what was heard over the two days.

    Leana Podeszfa · UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

  • Session 5 · Resisting disabling systems in the Global North

    “Racism actively disables people. It created hierarchies around who is deemed deserving or undeserving and this very much organises the world we live in.”

    On how racism shapes the relationship between disability and migration.

    Disability and Migration Network (DAMN)

  • Session 5 · Resisting disabling systems in the Global North

    “If the system is designed to cause suffering and to be disabling, then inclusion is not going to change that.”

    On building justice and solidarity rather than seeking inclusion in disabling systems.

    Dr Rebecca Yeo · Disability and Migration Network (DAMN)

Thank you to everyone who spoke, moderated, interpreted, captioned and took part.

Slides, further reading and the recorded testimonies are in Resources. Session recordings will follow.

Resources

Slides, reading and testimonies

Download the slides from each session and follow up on the reading the speakers recommended. Session recordings will be added here once they are on YouTube.

Recorded testimonies

Each session opened with migrants and refugees with disabilities telling their own stories. All seven testimonies are on YouTube.

Watch the testimoniesYouTube playlist (opens in a new tab)

  1. Session 1 · Wednesday 23 September

    Disability in Migration and Forced Displacement: The Foundations

    Recording coming soon

    Further reading (7)

  2. Session 2 · Wednesday 23 September

    Labour migration governance and disability in practice

    Recording coming soon

    Further reading (7)

  3. Session 3 · Thursday 24 September

    Lessons from the disability movement for labour migration and refugee justice

    Recording coming soon

    No further reading was shared for this session.

  4. Session 4 · Thursday 24 September

    Disability in refugee camps in the Global South

    Recording coming soon

    Further reading (5)

  5. Session 5 · Thursday 24 September

    Understanding and resisting disabling immigration and asylum systems in the Global North

    Recording coming soon

    Further reading (1)

The slides are shared as the speakers presented them.

About the forum

Migrant workers and refugees with disabilities remain marginalised within mainstream migration and refugee governance. The intersection of disability and migration is insufficiently understood and inadequately addressed across policy, programming and global review processes.

Persons with disabilities face compounding barriers: legal status, the medicalisation and stigmatisation of disability, and access to regular pathways, decent work, essential services, protection and justice. These are structural barriers, not individual misfortunes — and without disability-responsive approaches to how disability is conceptualised and legislated for, they will deepen.

A young man in a checked blazer sits at a table in conversation with a woman, both gesturing as they talk at a disability employment event.
An employment event bringing jobseekers and employers together · Photo © International Labour Organization

A newly formed transnational consortium of four disability-led and disability-focused migration networks — spanning Asia, Africa and Europe — convened this forum to advance evidence, social dialogue and practical solutions that support implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), International Labour Standards, refugee-related initiatives, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).

Why now

A gap between commitment and lived reality

International frameworks provide foundations for protecting persons with disabilities on the move, including the CRPD, International Labour Standards, the Migrant Workers Convention and the 1951 Refugee Convention, alongside the GCM and the GCR. Yet disability remains inconsistently integrated and routinely deprioritised across governance frameworks and operational practice.

Too often, disability is treated as an individual vulnerability rather than a crosscutting governance issue requiring structural reform. Across both labour migration and forced displacement, persons with disabilities can face barriers in recruitment, admission, employment, protection, assistance and access to services. Coordination between disability, labour migration and refugee actors remains fragmented, while disability-disaggregated data is inadequate, weakening evidence-informed policy and accountability.

Disability can also be acquired or exacerbated during migration and displacement, including through violence, detention, trafficking, disrupted healthcare and precarious working or living conditions. For refugees, both the journey and the restrictions imposed on people on arrival can be disabling. Migration and refugee systems do not always recognise or respond to these experiences, while people with pre-existing and acquired disabilities can face different barriers throughout their journeys.

16 in every 100 people worldwide have a disability — about 1.3 billion people.

People on the move

304 million international migrants worldwide

167.7 million are international labour migrants

38 million refugees displaced across borders

Figures drawn from International Labour Organization (2026) Technical report on fair recruitment of migrant workers with disabilities (opens in a new tab). The overlap between these populations is unknown, and remains under-recognised in policy design, data systems and global review processes.

Two women talk across a table at a job fair. One uses a powered wheelchair; both are smiling mid-conversation.
Recruitment is one of the first places disability barriers appear · Photo © International Labour Organization

The timing was deliberate. The twentieth anniversary of the CRPD coincided with the International Migration Review Forum in May 2026, the Global Refugee Forum cycle that follows it, and the annual International Labour Conference. That convergence is a strategic window to move from recognition to implementation.

Objectives

What the Forum set out to do

Central to the forum was addressing how disability discrimination and ableism become embedded in labour migration and asylum laws, procedures and institutions — and identifying the practical reforms that remove them.

  • Connect international frameworks

    Explore how the CRPD, International Labour Standards, refugee frameworks and other migration governance frameworks relate to persons with disabilities.

  • Make the disabling impact visible

    Share evidence and lived experience of how labour migration and refugee policies, procedures and systems affect persons with disabilities.

  • Centre lived experience and OPD perspectives

    Support the meaningful participation of OPDs — including those led by migrants and refugees with disabilities — across labour migration and refugee governance.

  • Generate actionable measures

    Highlight approaches, practical reforms and areas for future action across labour migration and refugee governance.

Agenda

Five sessions across two days

Each session included contributions from experts by experience and people working in solidarity, with time for discussion. Interpretation, International Sign and live captioning ran throughout.

Two men sit facing each other on a stage. One holds a microphone and a walking crutch rests against his chair; the other takes notes.
Sessions pair lived experience with policy expertise · Photo © International Labour Organization

All times are UK time (BST, UTC+1).

Day 1 Wednesday, 23 September 2026

08:00–10:00 Session 1 · Disability in Migration and Forced Displacement: The Foundations

Situating today's challenges in their historical and legal context. The session examines freedom of movement, displacement and refugee protection through the social and human rights models of disability, and traces how a legacy of discrimination shaped the frameworks still in use.

Moderated by Catalina Devandas Aguilar, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Run of show, Session 1
TimeItem
08:00–08:05Accessibility and housekeeping Lucia D’Arino · International Disability Alliance (IDA)
08:05–08:10Welcome from the moderator
08:10–08:17Opening remarks from the Philippines USEC Atty. Darlene R. Pajarito · Department of Migrant Workers (DMW)
08:17–08:21Testimony — refugee (video)
08:21–08:25Testimony — migrant worker (video)
08:25–08:35Understanding disability in the migration landscape: historical exclusion Ben Thatcher · Disability Migration Network (DMN)
08:35–08:55Refugee protection and labour migration through the CRPD Amalia Gamio · UN CRPD Committee
08:55–09:00Comfort break
09:00–09:20Disability and forced displacement Leana Podeszfa · UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
09:20–09:40International Labour Standards with disability and labour migration Katerine Landuyt · International Labour Organization (ILO)
09:40–10:00Q&A and discussion

10:00–10:30 Halfway break

10:30–12:30 Session 2 · Labour migration governance and disability in practice

Evidence on the barriers migrant workers with disabilities and acquired disabilities face across recruitment, regularisation, employment, occupational safety and health, access to justice and social protection — drawing on cases from ASEAN, Australia, South Korea and Poland.

Moderated by Rebecca Napier-Moore, ILO TRIANGLE PARTNERSHIPS

Run of show, Session 2
TimeItem
10:30–10:39Housekeeping recap and welcome from the moderator
10:39–10:42Testimony — migrant worker (video)
10:42–10:45Testimony — migrant worker (video)
10:45–11:05Disability dimensions of labour migration in the ASEAN region Ben Thatcher · Disability Migration Network (DMN)
11:05–11:25How migration policy intersects with broader disability inclusion in Australia Matthew Hall · Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO)
11:25–11:30Comfort break
11:30–11:50Access to justice for migrants with disabilities in South Korea Ju-eun Lee · DUROO and KDLA
11:50–12:10Ukrainian women in Poland: matters of gender, disability and work Dr Eva Anna Duda-Mikulin · University of Wrocław
12:10–12:30Q&A and discussion

Day 2 Thursday, 24 September 2026

08:00–09:30 Session 3 · Lessons from the disability movement for labour migration and refugee justice

Practical training for OPDs, including migrant- and refugee-led organisations, on engaging with migration and refugee governance structures — advocacy strategy, policy engagement, and participation in global review and follow-up processes.

Moderated by Atty. Rhealeth Ramos, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA)

Run of show, Session 3
TimeItem
08:00–08:05Accessibility and housekeeping Lucia D’Arino · International Disability Alliance (IDA)
08:05–08:10Welcome from the moderator
08:10–08:20Keynote from the International Disability Alliance José Maria Viera · International Disability Alliance (IDA)
08:20–08:25Testimony — migrant worker (video)
08:25–08:30Testimony — refugee (video)
08:30–08:40A view from South America Rosa Maria Juarez · RED GIRDD-LAC and RIADIS
08:40–08:50OPDs and migrant resource centres Mak Monika · Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization (CDPO)
08:50–08:55Comfort break
08:55–09:05Building network capacity Julius Ntobuah · Global Network of Refugees with Disabilities (GNRD)
09:05–09:30Q&A and discussion

09:30–10:00 Break

10:00–11:30 Session 4 · Disability in refugee camps in the Global South

Camp governance, access to services and participation, told first by refugees with disabilities from Africa and the Middle East and then examined through humanitarian programming, protection and localisation.

Moderated by Julius Ntobuah, Global Network of Refugees with Disabilities (GNRD)

Run of show, Session 4
TimeItem
10:00–10:07Housekeeping and welcome from the moderator
10:07–10:10Testimony — refugee (video)
10:10–10:20Living in a refugee camp: services and participation Ibrahim Basubi · Africa Disability Center (ADC)
10:20–10:30Displacement and camp governance: resilience and leadership The speaker for this slot was unable to attend
10:30–10:45Persons with albinism on the move Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond · UN Independent Expert
10:45–10:50Comfort break
10:50–11:15Disability-inclusive humanitarian programming, and refugee governance, participation and localisation Leana Podeszfa · UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
11:15–11:30Q&A and discussion

11:30–12:00 Break

12:00–13:30 Session 5 · Understanding and resisting disabling immigration and asylum systems in the Global North

How border regimes, procedures and institutional arrangements disable the people moving through them — both those already disabled when the journey begins and those the system disables along the way, with contributions from members of the Disability and Migration Network (DAMN) in the UK and the Disability and Immigration Taskforce of Illinois (DITI) in the USA. The session explored: the current context and how we got here; the disabling impact of immigration policy that prevents access to essential services and support; collective action and resistance supporting people's survival; and how to increase solidarity and build alternatives to current disabling systems.

Moderated by Bridget Anderson, Disability and Migration Network (DAMN) and Migrant Futures Institute

Run of show, Session 5
TimeItem
12:00–12:10Housekeeping and welcome
12:10–12:20The current context and how we got here
12:20–12:30Disabling immigration policies Persons with disabilities describe experiences of restrictions imposed as part of immigration policy that prevent access to essential services and support
12:30–12:45Collective action, organising and resistance in the USA Persons with disabilities organising in response to immigration raids in the USA
12:45–12:50Comfort break
12:50–13:00Persons with disabilities surviving through solidarity in the UK asylum system
13:00–13:30Open discussion across borders How to increase solidarity and build alternatives to current disabling systems
13:30Closing remarks for the forum Dr Benjamin Bernandino · Disability Migration Network (DMN)

Format

  • Held fully online across two mornings, UK time (BST, UTC+1)
  • Sessions of 90 to 120 minutes, with comfort breaks throughout
  • Recorded testimony from migrants and refugees with disabilities opened every session

Who it was for

  • Migration and refugee policymakers, practitioners and government representatives
  • UN agencies and international organisations
  • Employers' and workers' organisations
  • Researchers, policy experts and donors
  • OPDs, migration and refugee civil society organisations, and migrants and refugees with disabilities
  • Allies and movement organisers

Speakers and moderators

Who spoke

Treaty body members, UN mandate holders, ILO specialists, public interest lawyers and OPD leaders — alongside refugees and migrant workers with disabilities speaking to their own experience. Every name here also appears in the agenda above.

    • Dr Rebecca Yeo

      Co-founder, Disability and Migration Network (DAMN)

      Speaker · Session 5

    • Contributors from DAMN and DITI

      Disability and Migration Network (UK) · Disability and Immigration Taskforce of Illinois (USA)

      Session 5 · several speakers' names and identities are withheld for safety reasons.

    The consortium

    Four networks. Three regions. One agenda.

    This was the first global event on disability in labour migration and refugee governance designed, convened and led by OPDs — including networks representing migrants and refugees with disabilities themselves. Lived experience was not consultative here; it set the agenda.

    • Global Network of Refugees with Disabilities

      GNRD · Focal point: Julius Ntobuah

      Empowers refugee-led organisations to access advocacy opportunities at national, regional and global levels and to raise funds for their initiatives, amplifying their voices in global policy and humanitarian response.

      gnrd.ngo (opens in a new tab)

    • Korean Disability Forum

      KDF · Focal point: Hanbyol Choi

      An umbrella organisation of 18 national organisations of persons with disabilities. KDF monitors national implementation of UN human rights treaties, in particular the CRPD, and bridges DPOs across borders.

      thekdf.org (opens in a new tab)

    • Disability Migration Network

      DMN · Focal points: Dr Benjamin Bernandino, Karla Henson, Ben Thatcher

      An OPD-led network advancing disability-responsive migration in policy and practice, focused on the right to freedom of movement for persons with disabilities.

      disabilitymigrationnetwork.com (opens in a new tab)

    • Disability and Migration Network

      DAMN · Focal point: Rebecca Yeo

      A network of organisations of persons with disabilities, migrant justice organisations and allies. Working collaboratively we share experiences and knowledge, seeking to build solidarity and resistance to the disabling impact of restrictions imposed on people with precarious migration status.

      disability-migration.org.uk (opens in a new tab)

    Funders and supporters

    Accessibility

    Participation is the point

    A forum about disabling systems cannot itself be one. Access provisions were built into the forum's design and budget from the start, not added on request.

    At the forum

    • International Sign interpretation with rotating interpreters
    • Professional live captioning across all sessions
    • Accessible online hosting with technical support

    Interpretation into ten languages

    • Spanish
    • French
    • Arabic
    • Swahili
    • Korean
    • Vietnamese
    • Thai
    • Lao
    • Myanmar
    • Khmer

    On this site

    Built to WCAG 2.2 AA. Everything sits on one page, with keyboard-navigable landmarks, visible focus indicators, and no motion for anyone who has asked their system to reduce it.

    If something here is not working for you, tell us and we will fix it. Email admin@gfdmd.org and we will get back to you.