Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

4 INTERNATIONALSTANDARDS ANDMECHANISMSOver four decades, the United Nations has made astrong commitment to the human rights of personswith disabilities. 16 This commitment has been reflectedin major human rights instruments as well aswithin specific measures and initiatives, which beganwith the 1971 Declaration on the Rights of Personswith Mental Retardation and now has culminated inthe 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities. Other examples of disability-focused initiativesinclude the International Decades of DisabledPersons, the 1993 Standard Rules on the Equalizationof Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the1994 Salamanca Statement and Framework for Actionfor Special Needs Education (see box 4.1 for amore complete list).Convention on the Rights of the ChildThe 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) is the first binding instrument in internationallaw to deal comprehensively with the human rightsof children, and is notable for the inclusion of an articlespecifically concerned with the rights of childrenwith disabilities. The implementation of the CRC ismonitored and promoted at the international level bythe Committee on the Rights of the Child.The CRC identifies four general principles thatprovide the foundation for the realization of allother rights:• non-discrimination;• the best interests of the child;• survival and development;• respect for the views of the child.The principle of non-discrimination is reflectedin article 2 of the CRC that expressly prohibitsdiscrimination on the grounds of disability:States parties shall respect and ensure the rightsset forth in the present Convention to each child...without discrimination of any kind, irrespectiveof the child’s...disability...or other status.This principle is motivated by the recognition thatsegregated or separate facilities for education, healthcare, recreation and all other aspects of human lifeon the basis of disability can create and consolidateexclusion. These factors often perpetuate thenegative perception of a child with a disability asa ’problem’ and, in doing so, maintain or reinforcemechanisms of discrimination.Certain children require additional or different formsof support in order to enjoy their rights. For instance,a child with a visual impairment has the same rightto education as all children, but in order to enjoy thisright and to ensure her or his participation, the childmay require enlarged print, Braille books or otherforms of assistance.Article 23 of the CRC refers to the obligations ofStates parties and recognizes that a child with mentalor physical disabilities is entitled to enjoy a full anddecent life, in conditions that ensure dignity, promoteself-reliance and facilitate the child’s active participationin the community:i) States parties recognize that a mentally or physi-cally disabled child should enjoy a full and decentlife, in conditions which ensure dignity, promoteself-reliance and facilitate the child’s active participationin the community.ii) States parties recognize the right of the disabledchildren to special care and shall encourage andensure the extension, subject to available resources,to the eligible child and those responsible forhis or her care, of assistance…appropriate to thechild’s condition….iii) …assistance extended…shall be provided freeof charge, whenever possible… and shall bedesigned to ensure that the disabled child haseffective access to and receives education, training,health care services, rehabilitation services,preparation for employment and recreation opportunitiesin a manner conducive to the child’sachieving the fullest possible social integrationand individual development, including his or hercultural and spiritual development.iv) States parties shall promote…the exchange ofappropriate information in the field of preventivehealth care and of medical, psychological andfunctional treatment of disabled children…. In thisregard, particular account shall be taken of theneeds of developing countries.This special article on children with disabilitiesis included “without prejudice to” the generalapplicability of the principles and provisions of theCRC to the situation of children with disabilities.The article adds force to the other provisions of7 Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13