Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

the CRC, including freedom from discrimination,respect for the dignity of the child and the cultivationof her or his potential to assume a responsible andindependent life in society. They may be seen to beparticularly relevant to the situation of children withdisabilities in the following provisions:• The child’s right not to be separated from his orher family (article 9).• Services and assistance to support parents intheir child-rearing responsibilities (article 18).• Protection from injury, neglect and any form ofviolence (article 19).• Protection of children deprived of a familyenvironment (article 20).• Refugee children (article 22).• Periodic review of treatment (article 25).• The child’s right to free and compulsory primaryeducation, to secondary and vocational educationand the prevention of drop out (article 28).• Children belonging to minorities and indigenouspeople (article 30).• Protection from work that interferes witheducation (article 32).• Protection from abuse (article 33).• Protection from sexual exploitation (article 34).• Protection from torture or other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment, and fromdeprivation of liberty (article 37).• Right to rehabilitative care for victims of neglect,exploitation, abuse or degrading treatment(article 39).The implementation of the CRC is monitored at theinternational level by the Committee on the Rightsof the Child, which oversees the progress made byStates parties in promoting the realization of children’shuman rights. Reiterating its concern with therights of children with disabilities, in 2006 the Committeeissued a General Comment on this particulartopic (see chapter 5 below for discussion of theCommittee’s comments and policy recommendationsconcerning children with disabilities).Other international human rights instrumentsand decisionsIn addition to the CRC, a number of other importanthuman rights instruments reinforce the rights of personswith disabilities (box 4.1). Of particular note isthe renewed impetus for recognizing the principle ofnon-discrimination as a fundamental part of all internationalhuman rights instruments, thus guaranteeingtheir relevance to persons with disabilities. 17Disability issues have also been addressed in the contextof other human rights institutions of the UnitedNations, for example, in 2006 in a report by the SpecialRapporteur on the right to education, addressingsteps to fulfil the right to inclusive education. 18UN Standard Rules on the Equalization ofOpportunities for Persons with DisabilitiesThe CRC provides a binding implementation frameworkwith implications for law, policy and practicewith respect to children with disabilities. The StandardRules on the Equalization of Opportunities forPersons with Disabilities, adopted by the UN GeneralAssembly in 1993, provides detailed guidance onwhat should be done and how to do it. 19 The Committeeon the Rights of the Child recommended thatthe two documents be used as complementary toolsin promoting the rights of children with disabilities. 20Around the world, these Rules have had a majorinfluence on the development of disability legislation,the level and provision of services for personswith disabilities and, above all, on attitudes towardsdisability issues. The simplicity of the Rules enablesthem to be used as a practical tool by those involvedin developing disability legislation and policy. 21Unlike the CRC, which is legally binding for all Statesthat have ratified or acceded to it, the Standard Rulesexpress a political commitment on the part of Statesto adapt society to individuals with functional impairments.The Rules address all aspects of the lives ofpersons with disabilities and indicate how governmentscan make social, political and legal changesto ensure that persons with disabilities are treatedas full citizens of their country. The Rules cover fourmain areas:1234Preconditions for equal participation (awarenessraising, medical care, rehabilitation, support servicesand accessibility).Target areas for equal participation (accessibility,education, employment, income maintenanceand social security, family life and personal integrity,culture, recreation and sports, religion).Implementation measures (information and research,policy-making and planning, legislation,economic policies, coordination of work, organizationsof disabled persons, personnel training,national monitoring and evaluation of disabilityprogrammes in the implementation of the Rules,technical and economic cooperation and internationalcooperation).Monitoring mechanisms. The implementation ofthe Rules is monitored by the Special Rapporteuron Disability (see box 4.2), assisted by a committeeof experts drawn from the main internationalNGOs concerned with disability.In October 2006 the Office of the UN Special Rapporteuron Disability published the results of a GlobalSurvey on the Implementation of the Standard Rules,conducted by the South–North Center for Dialogueand Development, based in Amman, Jordan. 22 Adetailed questionnaire was sent to 191 governmentbodies in member States and to two organizationsrepresenting persons with disabilities in each country;information was received from 114 countries.9 Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13