UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

1. UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child
Lessons to be learned for the UN
Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities

2. Goal of Workshop
 UNCRC – what was successful and
why?
 UNCRC – what was unsuccessful and
why?
 What are the recommendations for the
implementation of the UNCRPD?
 What is one thing you would change if
you could, relating to implementation?

3. UNCRC – Key Facts
 Origins:Declaration on the Rights of the
Child drafted 1923 by Eglantyne Jebb,
founder of Save the Children
 1979 International year of the child
 1989: UNCRC adopted by UN
 NGO involvement strong , but not DPO
 1991: monitoring Committee on the
Rights of the Child established

4. UNCRC - content
 Covers whole spectrum of rights: civil,
political, economic, social and cultural
 First human rights treaty to specifically
mention disability, Articles 2 and 23
 General principles:
 Article 3: Best Interests of the Child
 Article 12: Participation
 Article 2: Non-discrimination
 Article 6: Survival and Development

5. UNCRC: Disabled Children
 Article 23: good that it drew attention to
disabled children, and obligates Committee
and States
 Article 23: bad in that it
 reinforced disability and medical/health issue
 Refers to special needs but not basic needs
 Talks of provisions being subject to available
resources
 Seems to assume special provision rather than
inclusion

6. UNCRC:1997 CRC theme day
 Shifted agenda from Article 23 to the
general principles (Articles 2,3, 6,12.)
 Creation of Working Group: Rights for
Disabled Children. Consisting of DPOs
and Child Rights agencies
 Disabled children’s self advocacy: two
disabled young persons from South
Africa made the opening address

7. CRC Disability Day: what then?
 Analysis of Government reports and feedback
to Committee (CRC)
 Improved scrutiny by CRC
 Recommendation to draft a General Comment
(realised in 2006)
 Research into violations and good practice by
SC Alliance and DAA
 Increased self-advocacy of disabled children

8. Publications on Disabled Children’s
Rights – good practice and abuses
It is Our World Too! A Disabled Children’s
Report on the Lives Rights – A Practical
of Disabled Children Guide. Save the
Children Alliance
Rights for Disabled 2001
Children
2001

9. UNCRC: Issues related to Violations
 Major gaps in evidence: Disabled children and
sexual abuse, child labour, conflict situations,
juvenile justice, drug abuse, family
reunification.
 Invisibility: violations not noticed/seen as
important or relevant to disabled children
 Indivisibility of rights: some examples of ‘good
practice’ violate other rights
 Some impairment groups more invisible than
others

10. UNCRC Violations: examples
 Discrimination (Art 2):
 Direct: different laws for disabled children.
 In-direct discrimination; neglect, inaction
 Absence or non-implementation of policy
 Multiple discrimination – disabled+refugee –
slip between both nets
 Equal rights does not mean equal
treatment. Art 23 should be to enable other
rights to be accessed.

11. Violations: continued
 Survival and Development (Art 6): belief that disabled
children do not have same right to life – kinder to ‘let
them die’. Poverty = more threatening to
life/development of DC
 Best Interests (Art 3): different standards for DCs; ‘OK’
to send them away from families, ‘OK’ to subject them
to painful treatment
 Participation (Art 12):
 DCs not seen as actors in their own lives.
 Children who need alternative communication methods
 Discrimination against children with learning disability

12. UNCRC: Violations summary
 Neglect, abuse, abandonment and killing
tolerated
 Institutional, parental, professional and peer
abuse tolerated
 Forced segregation, exclusion and
marginalisation in education
 Higher rates of sexual abuse
 Increased vulnerability in conflict, emergency,
refugee situations and in relation to HIV/AIDs

13. UNCRC: Good practice
 Disaggregation of data:
gender, age and
disability
 Non-discrimination
policy and practice
 Shift from
charity/medical to rights
based
 Participation: need for
self-advocacy
 Comprehensive, rights-
based programmes

14. Good Practice (cont)
 Self-advocacy and
listening to disabled
children
 Support, information for
families/communities
 Inclusive education
 Accessible
environments and
communication
 De-institutionalisation
 Collaboration between
DPS and NGOs

15. Things to change:
 Article
23: wording and exclusive focus
 Collaboration between Child Rights
NGOs and Disabled Peoples
Organisations (all impairments)
 Disabled Child Self Advocacy
 Disaggregated data collection
 Pro-active addressing gaps in
information

16. General Comment 2006
CRC/C/GC/9
 Poverty and disability highlighted
 Serious barriers to full enjoyment of rights not
the disability itself but social, cultural,
attitudinal and physical barriers
 Specific recommendations to States to combat
discrimination
 Promotes inclusion into society (16)
 Highlights importance of allocating resources
(22)
 Highlights violations of right to life

17. General Comment (cont)
 Views of the child: highlights involvement
in decision making and full participation
 Civil rights spelt out – birth registration,
access to communication technologies,
accessible transport
 Concerns around abuse and
institutionalisation
 Sites Inclusive Education as the ultimate
goal

18. Disabled Children lobbying in New
York January 2006
Representatives from Bangladesh, China and UK

19. Lobbying in the UN, January 2006
I am very happy to
raise issues related
to the disable
children. It is nice for
me to say some
thing in front of
global community.
Nazma (Bangladesh