Rights of Persons with Disabilities Must be Protected During Climate Emergencies in Kazakhstan

Last year’s Baku Climate Conference, the 29th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC), concluded with mixed outcomes. While the contentious negotiations on climate finance took center stage at COP29, the plights of the most climate-vulnerable groups, especially persons with disabilities (PWDs), were largely overlooked. PWDs were mentioned only twice in the COP29 outcomes—Global Goal of Adaptation and Gender and Climate. Can the aspirations of the PWDs be protected during the climate breakdown by both the UNFCCC and member countries?  

Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries, is highly vulnerable to climate change risks due to its geographical position and the vulnerability of populations. In several bouts of devastating floods during March-April 2024, described by President Kassym-Jormart Tokayev as the “biggest natural disaster in 80 years,” almost 117,000 people were evacuated in Kazakhstan. Among other climate change-induced disasters, floods impact 950,000 people annually in Central Asia with economic losses of approximately $4.7 billion (based on 2017 figures). Kazakhstan faces particularly significant flood risks. Over the last two decades, floods occurred more than once every two years, causing economic losses and fatalities.  

Globally, nearly 1.3 billion people, 16 percent of the world’s population, have a significant disability. There are approximately 725,000 individuals with disabilities in Kazakhstan, comprising nearly 3.6 percent of the total population. While 58.2 percent of PWDs reside in urban areas, 41.8 percent live in rural areas of Kazakhstan. More men (55.7 percent) have a disability compared to women (44.3 percent).  However, a significant proportion of PWDs—420,300 individuals (58 percent)—are of working age, while 95,100 (26.9 percent) are elderly. 

Due to discrimination, marginalization, inherent vulnerabilities, limited access to knowledge and socio-economic compulsions, the PWDs are disproportionately at higher risk from the adverse effects of climate emergencies. 

Read the complete article at Astana Times.