Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

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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
of all legislation in order to ensure its conformitywith these standards, in particular the inclusion ofchildren and adults with disabilities. All relevantlegislation and regulations should include a prohibitionof discrimination on grounds of disability.2. Provide for effective remedies in case of violationsof the rights of children with disabilities andensure that these remedies are accessible to allchildren, families and caregivers.3. Develop a national plan of action that integratesthe relevant provisions of all applicable internationalinstruments. Such plans should specifymeasurable and timebound targets as well asevaluation indicators, and should be resourcedaccordingly.4. Create a focal point for disability in each relevantdepartment, as well as a high-level multisectoralCoordinating Committee, with members drawnfrom relevant ministries and organizations of personswith disabilities. This committee should beempowered to initiate proposals, suggest policiesand monitor progress.5. Develop independent monitoring mechanisms,such as an Ombudsperson or Children’s Commissioner,and ensure that children and families areaware of and fully supported in gaining access tosuch mechanisms.6. Make concerted efforts to ensure that the necessaryresources are allocated to and for childrenwith disabilities and their families. This includesfree primary and secondary education in accessiblebuildings, training of teachers and other professionals,financial support and social security.Each child should be provided with appropriateindividual support, including assistive devices,sign language, Braille materials and a differentiatedand accessible curriculum.7. Establish programmes for the deinstitutionalizationof children with disabilities, placing them withtheir families or with foster families who shouldbe assisted with professional and financial support.National standards of care and appropriatetraining should be in place and rigorously monitoredto safeguard the rights of those childrenthat remain in institutions.8. Conduct awareness-raising and educational campaignsfor the public, as well as specific groupsof professionals, with the aim of preventing andaddressing the de facto discrimination of childrenwith disabilities.9. Implement a system of community services andsupport for children with disabilities.10. Ensure that organizations of persons with disabilitiesare consulted in relevant planning and policymaking, and are duly represented and financiallysupported in extending their activities. Childrenwith disabilities should be supported in makingtheir voices heard.Such actions taken by governments will promote andfacilitate the efforts by families and communities insupport of children with disabilities.ConclusionsIn countries the world over children with disabilitiesand their families continue to face discrimination andare not yet fully able to enjoy their basic human rights.The inclusion of children with disabilities is a matter ofsocial justice and an essential investment in the futureof society. It is not based on charity or goodwill but isan integral element of the expression and realizationof universal human rights.The last two decades have witnessed a gatheringglobal momentum for change. Many countries havealready begun to reform their laws and structures andto remove barriers to the participation of persons withdisabilities as full members of their communities.The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,building upon the existing provisions of the Conventionon the Rights of the Child, opens a new erain securing the rights of children with disabilities andtheir families. Together with the Millennium Agendaand other international initiatives, these internationalstandards lay the foundation for each country and communityto undertake a fundamental review of the situationof children and adults with disabilities and to takespecific steps to promote their inclusion in society.Innocenti Digest No. 13Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilitiesv
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Page 5: CONTENTSExecutive Summary . . . . .
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Page 47 and 48: 8 CONCLUSIONSThe inclusion of child
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Healthlink WorldwideCityside, 40 Ad
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCESChild Rights In
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(p) Concerned about the difficult c
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egulation or custom on the pretext
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indirect participants, including as
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(a) The right of all persons with d
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(b) Protect the rights of persons w
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(a) Ensuring that international coo
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Article 38Relationship of the Commi
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Optional Protocol to the Convention
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2. An amendment adopted and approve
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Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

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