Deinstitutionalisation Under Siege: A network for deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities in the Middle East

据估计，全球有高达15%的残疾人生活在机构护理中--1.5亿人(联合国，2018年)，这可能是一个低估。经验证据表明，机构化对儿童和成人造成负面后果，在新冠肺炎大流行期间进一步加剧了这一结果，护理机构中的残疾人死亡人数不成比例。正如《2022年全球残疾人首脑会议》所强调的那样，非机构化问题具有紧迫的全球重要性。考虑到联合国自2020年以来在制定残疾人非制度化指导方针方面所做的工作，拟议中的网络“围困下的去机构化”是一个及时的网络，旨在为黎巴嫩和巴勒斯坦(约旦河西岸和加沙)的残疾人去机构化。2022年6月，呼吁就非机构化准则提交意见书，包括在残疾人权利紧急情况委员会，特别关注通过有代表性的民间社会组织从残疾人那里获取证据。然而，在国际社会推动非机构化和社区内部基础设施不足之间存在矛盾，特别是在全球南方的背景下，以支持残疾人与家人在一起并生活在社区。我们建议的网络是独特和创新的，因为它将使用创造性的艺术和人文方法来捕捉关于残疾的真实经历和观点，并利用一系列现有的国际伙伴关系，同时建立具有非制度化专门知识的新伙伴关系，并在一个研究不足但非常重要和及时的主题中收集数据。这个拟议的网络将由Dina Kiwan教授(英国伯明翰大学)领导，与黎巴嫩研究中心(Maha Shuayb博士)、比尔宰特大学(Rita Giacaman教授)和加沙伊斯兰大学(Nazmi al-Masri博士)一起领导，该网络将在我们目前的AHRC GCRF由AHRC(GB 2M；2020-2024年)资助的“围困残疾儿童网络”(DUS)的工作基础上发展，我们正在应对该地区大多数残疾儿童从未上学的挑战。这个新网络的附加值是专门关注非机构化的主题，引入更多在这一领域具有专业知识的专业项目合作伙伴。预计该网络将由一系列利益攸关方组成，使政策制定者之间能够进行对话，包括联合国组织、残疾人活动家和非政府组织、残疾人、家庭成员和机构本身。

It is estimated that up to 15% of people with disabilities live in institutional care globally - 150 million people (UN, 2018), and this is likely to be an underestimate. Empirical evidence has shown that institutionalisation results in negative outcomes for children and adults, which has been further heightened during the Covid-19 pandemic, where there were disproportionate numbers of deaths of persons with disabilities in care institutions. The issue of deinstitutionalisation is of pressing global importance as highlighted at the Global Disability Summit 2022. The proposed network, 'De-institutionalisation Under Siege', a network on deinstitutionalisation for people with disabilities in Lebanon and Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) is timely given the UN's work since 2020 on developing guidelines on deinstitutionalisation for persons with disabilities. In June 2022, a call was issued for submissions on guidelines on deinstitutionalisation including in emergencies Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with a particular interest in obtaining evidence from persons with disabilities through representative civil society organisations. There is, however, a tension between the international impetus to deinstitutionalise and insufficient infrastructure within communities, particularly in Global South contexts, to support people with disabilities remaining with their families and living in communities. Our proposed network is unique and innovative in that it will use creative arts and humanities methods to capture lived experiences and views on disability, and leverage a range of existing international partnerships, whilst building new ones with specific expertise on deinstitutionalisation, and collecting data in an under-researched but highly significant and timely topic. This proposed network will be led by Professor Dina Kiwan (University of Birmingham, UK) in conjunction with Centre for Lebanese Studies (Dr. Maha Shuayb), Birzeit University (Professor Rita Giacaman) and Islamic University of Gaza (Dr. Nazmi al-Masri) which will build on the work of our current AHRC GCRF Network 'Disability Under Siege' (DUS), funded by the AHRC (£2M; 2020-2024), where we are addressing the challenge that most children with disabilities in the region never go to school. This new network's added value is to focus specifically on the topic of deinstitutionalisation, bringing in additional specialist project partners with expertise in this area. It is anticipated that the network will be made up of a range of stakeholders, enabling dialogue between policymakers including, UN organisations, disability activists and NGOs, people with disabilities, family members, and institutions themselves.