Forced migration due to natural disasters or man-made crises including armed conflicts is traumatic in general. However, it has a more profound impact on persons with disabilities seeking refuge outside their countries of origin, as their voices go unheard in such calamitous conditions. Within this context in this thought-provoking work, the authors explore in extensive detail the impact of the rights-based approach proposed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [CRPD] on humanitarian assistance mechanisms adopted by states and aid agencies to respond to the needs of refugees with disabilities [RWDs]. Equally importantly, they have successfully conducted groundbreaking original qualitative research on the living realities of RWDs in varying situations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Uganda, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey. At the outset, the work refutes two premises which have contributed to RWDs often being overlooked: that such persons do not survive disasters and that they do not cross borders; thus justifying the current study. Corroborating the CRPD's conceptualization of “disability”, this pioneering work identifies that the continued marginalization of RWDs is not due to the disabilities per se. Rather it is due to the inability to include or accommodate such disabilities within social, political, and legal structures, which leave such refugees disempowered.

Adopting an “applied” research approach, the authors nevertheless acknowledge methodological and philosophical attention to theories of social justice. Part I discusses the concept of RWDs, the relevant international legal frameworks, data-collection challenges, and how states and international aid agencies respond or should respond to this phenomenon, especially within the context of the “paradigmatic shift” introduced by the CRPD. Part II predominantly discusses access to protection and the versatility of recognizing RWDs as rights-bearing individuals rather than recipients of charity. This part argues that Refugee Status Determination processes are important in ensuring RWDs have access to fundamental rights, while also discussing the specific issue of maritime interdiction and immigration detention, the procedures of which are often irreconcilable with the protection of the disability rights of refugees. The chapters on the right of access to basic humanitarian assistance, and the substantive rights of education, employment, and community participation, illustrate good practices, which demonstrate the efficacy of accommodation and adjustment in ensuring disability rights. The challenges in accessing other durable solutions for RWDs are also discussed in depth. The study concludes with an analysis of strategies, policies, and practices to overcome the barriers faced by RWDs and suggests ways in which the CRPD can be used to empower them to enjoy their rights.

The authors succeed in providing a thoroughly researched, penetrating legal analysis of the often forgotten or overlooked lives of RWDs. The nuanced understanding provided by this work will assist policy-makers and humanitarian agencies in creating enabling environments for and conceptualizing solutions to overcome challenges and barriers faced by RWDs. It will also be a seminal authority on this complex yet dynamic issue for scholars of disability rights and refugee studies.