News & Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Spencer Tilger | media@refugeerights.org
EUROPE MUST CLOSE THE RIGHTS GAP FOR MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS WITH DISABILITIES
Joint statement by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and the European Disability Forum (EDF)
Migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities continue to face systemic exclusion from protection, support, and integration systems across the European Union, despite the EU’s human rights obligations.
In response, IRAP and EDF have jointly launched a new policy brief, “A Pact That Excludes: Closing the Protection Gap for Migrants and Asylum Seekers with Disabilities in the European Union,” showing that EU migration and asylum systems remain largely inaccessible and discriminatory for people with disabilities.
This briefing analyses the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum from a disability perspective and urges EU institutions and Member States to take immediate action to make the Pact disability-inclusive. It shows that the EU is in breach of its obligations under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and other international human rights frameworks.
Elham Youssefian, IRAP’s Director of Disability Inclusion and Accessibility, warned that:
“One would expect that the EU would use the adoption of the new Pact as an opportunity to address the exclusion of migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities in line with its international legal obligations and moral values. But our review reveals that not only was this opportunity wasted, but the more restrictive migration policies make it even more difficult for migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities to access their fundamental rights in the EU.”
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the EDF, underlined that:
“The EU’s current systems are stopping persons with disabilities at its borders, leaving them without dignity or support. This is against the very fundamental values that helped build the European Union.”
The report identifies five key areas of concern:
- Invisibility and lack of data: Persons with disabilities remain unrecognised in EU migration frameworks; and organisations of persons with disabilities are rarely consulted.
- Inaccessible reception and screening systems: Facilities and procedures often exclude people with disabilities through physical, procedural, and communication barriers.
- Exclusion from social protection: Migrants with disabilities are frequently denied access to healthcare, income support, and support services.
- Discriminatory family reunification and migration rules: Disability-related income and supports are not recognised, effectively excluding many from legal migration routes.
- Detention and return procedures: Persons with disabilities face disproportionate risks of arbitrary detention and return without adequate safeguards.
To address these systemic failures, IRAP and the EDF call on the European Union and its Member States to:
- Embed disability inclusion across all elements of the EU Asylum and Migration Pact and national implementation plans.
- Guarantee accessibility and reasonable accommodation in all reception, screening, and asylum procedures. They should ensure that persons with disabilities are excluded from accelerated border processes.
- Ensure equal access to healthcare, income support, and community-based services regardless of legal status, closing the gap between reception and welfare systems.
- Eliminate discriminatory income and health requirements in migration and family reunification policies, recognising disability-related income and supports.
- End the detention of persons with disabilities in migration contexts and ensure that all return procedures include disability-sensitive safeguards.
The European Union has the duty to support and uphold the human dignity of all persons with disabilities. We urge the European Union and its Member States to uphold their commitments and immediately implement measures to reverse this systematic exclusion.
Additional Information
- Joint statement: Europe must close the rights gap for migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities
- Policy briefing: A Pact That Excludes: Closing the Protection Gap for Migrants and Asylum Seekers with Disabilities in the EU
- Launch event: Today at 15:00 CET. A Pact that Excludes: Presentation and Exchange on gaps faced by asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities in Europe
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.
The European Disability Forum is an umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities that defends the interests of 100 million Europeans with disabilities. EDF is a unique platform that brings together representative organisations of persons with disabilities across Europe. It is run by persons with disabilities and their families. EDF is a strong, united voice of persons with disabilities in Europe.
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