Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

1 INTRODUCTIONThe Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)recognizes the human rights of all children, includingthose with disabilities. The Convention contains aspecific article recognizing and promoting the rightsof children with disabilities. Along with the CRC, theConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD), adopted by the United Nations GeneralAssembly in December 2006, provides a powerfulnew impetus to promote the human rights of allchildren with disabilities.In spite of the almost universal ratification of theConvention on the Rights of the Child, and the socialand political mobilization that led to adoption of theConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,disabled children and their families continue to beconfronted with daily challenges that compromise theenjoyment of their rights. Discrimination and exclusionrelated to disabilities occur in all countries, in allsectors of society and across all economic, political,religious and cultural settings.Promoting inclusionHuman rights have provided both the inspiration andthe foundation for the movement towards inclusionfor children with disabilities. Inclusion requires therecognition of all children as full members of societyand the respect of all of their rights, regardlessof age, gender, ethnicity, language, poverty orimpairment. Inclusion involves the removal of barriersthat might prevent the enjoyment of these rights, andrequires the creation of appropriate supportive andprotective environments.The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) states that the inclusion of children whowould otherwise be perceived as ’different’ means“changing the attitudes and practices of individuals,organisations and associations so that they can fullyand equally participate in and contribute to the lifeof their community and culture. An inclusive societyis one in which difference is respected and valued,and where discrimination and prejudice are activelycombated in policies and practices.” The WorldConference on Special Needs Education, organizedby UNESCO and held in Salamanca, Spain, in 1994,recommended that inclusive education should be thenorm. 2 This has now been reaffirmed in the new Conventionon the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.In the context of education, inclusion means thecreation of barrier-free and child-focused learningenvironments, including for the early years. It meansproviding appropriate supports to ensure that allchildren receive education in non-segregated localfacilities and settings, whether formal or informal. It isframed by article 29 of the Convention on the Rightsof the Child, which requires that the child’s educationbe directed to the development of their personality,talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullestpotential; to the preparation of the child for responsiblelife in a free society, in the spirit of understandingand tolerance.Inclusion is a process that involves all children,not just a number of ’special’ children. It givesnon-disabled children the experience of growingup in an environment where diversity is the normrather than the exception. It is when the educationsystem fails to provide for and accommodatethis diversity that difficulties arise, leading tomarginalization and exclusion.Inclusion is not the same as ’integration’, which impliesbringing children with disabilities into a ’normal’mainstream or helping them to adapt to ’normal’standards. For example, in the context of schooling,integration means the placement of children with disabilitiesin regular schools without necessarily makingany adjustments to school organization or teachingmethods. Inclusion, on the other hand, requires thatschools adapt and provide the needed support to ensurethat all children can work and learn together.Scope of this DigestThe enjoyment of human rights by children with disabilitiescan be fully realized only in an inclusive society,that is, a society in which there are no barriers toa child’s full participation, and in which all children’sabilities, skills and potential are given full expression.The Digest reviews concrete initiatives and strategiesfor advancing the social inclusion of childrenwith disabilities. These initiatives are by no meansconfined to income-rich countries. Indeed, some ofthe poorest countries in the world are now leadingthe way through a combination of political will, partnershipwith local communities and, above all, theinvolvement of children and adults with disabilities indecision-making processes.This Digest is intended to help raise the profileof childhood disability and to give impetus to thechallenge of ensuring that children with disabilitiesare fully included in efforts to promote the humanrights of all children. It examines the situation ofchildren with disabilities from a global perspective,considering countries and societies with widely differinglevels of economic development and serviceprovision, and a variety of sociocultural realitiesthat influence attitudes towards persons with disabilities.It seeks to demonstrate that the inclusivepolicies and practices required to promote theenjoyment of the rights of these children are bothfeasible and practical.1 Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13