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
UNCRC1997 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 childrens 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 Childrens Rights good
practice and abuses

• It is Our World Too! A
• Report on the Lives
• of Disabled Children
• Rights for Disabled
• Children
• 2001

• Disabled Childrens Rights A Practical Guide.
  Save the Children Alliance 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 disabledrefugee 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

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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

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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

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Disabled Children lobbying in New York January
2006

• Representatives from Bangladesh, China and UK

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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