Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYChildren with disabilities and their families constantlyexperience barriers to the enjoyment of their basichuman rights and to their inclusion in society. Theirabilities are overlooked, their capacities are underestimatedand their needs are given low priority. Yet, thebarriers they face are more frequently as a result ofthe environment in which they live than as a result oftheir impairment.While the situation for these children is changing forthe better, there are still severe gaps. On the positiveside, there has been a gathering global momentumover the past two decades, originating with personswith disabilities and increasingly supported by civilsociety and governments. In many countries, small,local groups have joined forces to create regional ornational organizations that have lobbied for reformand changes to legislation. As a result, one by onethe barriers to the participation of persons with disabilitiesas full members of their communities arestarting to fall.Progress has varied, however, both between andwithin countries. Many countries have not enactedprotective legislation at all, resulting in a continuedviolation of the rights of persons with disabilities.The Innocenti Digest on Promoting the Rights ofChildren with Disabilities attempts to provide aglobal perspective on the situation of the some 200million children with disabilities. The Digest is basedon reports from countries across regions and froma wide range of sources. These include accounts bypersons with disabilities, their families and membersof their communities, professionals, volunteers andnon-governmental organizations, as well as countryreports submitted by Member States to the UnitedNations, including to human rights treaty bodiesresponsible for monitoring the implementation ofinternational human rights treaties.This Digest focuses particularly on the Convention onthe Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention onthe Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Thelatter instrument was signed by an unprecedented81 countries on opening day, 30 March 2007. As of15 August 2007, 101 countries had signed the CRPDand 4 had ratified it. For entry into force, it is necessarythat the Convention receive 20 ratifications. TheDisabilities Convention offers a unique opportunityfor every country and every community to reexamineits laws and institutions and to promote changesnecessary to ensure that persons with disabilitiesare guaranteed the same rights as all other persons.It expresses basic human rights in a manner that addressesthe special needs and situation of personswith disabilities and provides a framework for ensuringthat those rights are realized.Understanding barriers to inclusionThe social model of disability acknowledges that obstaclesto participation in society and its institutionsreside in the environment rather than in the individual,and that such barriers can and must be prevented,reduced or eliminated.Environmental obstacles come in many guises andare found at all levels of society. They are reflectedin policies and regulations created by governments.Such obstacles may be physical – for example barriersin public buildings, transportation and recreationalfacilities. They may also be attitudinal – widespreadunderestimation of the abilities and potential of childrenwith disabilities creates a vicious cycle of underexpectation,under-achievement and low priority inthe allocation of resources.Poverty is a pervasive barrier to participation worldwide,and is both a cause and a consequence ofdisability. Families living in poverty are much morevulnerable to sickness and infection, especially ininfancy and early childhood. They are also less likelyto receive adequate health care or to be able to payfor basic medicines or school fees. The costs of caringfor a child with a disability create further hardshipfor a family, particularly for mothers who areoften prevented from working and contributing tofamily income.Needed actionsThe articles of the Convention on the Rights of Personswith Disabilities spell out the specific areas thatneed to be addressed, as well implementation andmonitoring mechanisms. These are complementaryto the recommendations issued by the Committee onthe Rights of the Child to governments.A major task for international agencies and theirnational partners is to ensure that persons with disabilitiesare automatically but explicitly included in theinitial objectives, targets and monitoring indicators ofall development programmes, including with thoseframed by the Millennium Agenda.At national level a number of specific actions arecalled for by relevant UN standards. The most importantof these actions are to:1.In partnership with organizations of persons withdisabilities undertake a comprehensive reviewiv Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13