Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

7 ENSURING ASUPPORTIVEENVIRONMENTCreating a more inclusive society for all, and for childrenwith disabilities in particular, requires a numberof preconditions that combine to provide a supportiveenvironment for inclusion. These elements include:• the presence of local governance structures thatpromote children’s participation and the realizationof children’s rights;• the introduction and development of laws andpolicies addressing disability issues;• mechanisms to permit persons with disabilitiesand their families to influence disability-relatedpolicies;• general and focused raising of awareness;• appropriate budgetary allocations;• adequate monitoring mechanisms to promoteand assess progress.Such a combined approach is critical to ensuring sustainablechange and to establishing the most effectivesupportive environments for children at all stagesof the life cycle.Local governanceGood local governance pursues policy approachesguided by human rights and designed to promote therealization of fundamental rights and freedoms of allthose living under the jurisdiction of the local governmentauthorities. In this spirit, good local governancepromotes the mainstreaming of children’s rights inlocal plans, policies, institutions and budgets.In this respect, the Child Friendly Cities initiative promotesthe consideration of the rights of the child asa distinct point of attention in planning, policy-makingand resource allocation, with children’s voices informingthe democratic process. Child Friendly Cities areclassified as a “city, or any local system of governance,committed to fulfilling children’s rights.” 110These cities can be found throughout the world, withBangkok, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Florence, MexicoCity and Mumbai as examples.A key feature of a Child Friendly City is that specialattention is given to disadvantaged and marginalizedchildren, including children with disabilities. In Canada,for example, the Society for Children and Youth ofBritish Columbia is a fully fledged Child Friendly Cityprogramme that has given the issue of disability specialattention. 111A disability dimension can be introduced at city levelin a variety of ways:• by explicit incorporation of disability issues inlocal policy and planning;• by the promotion of projects to change publicattitudes and promote awareness of the rights ofchildren with disabilities;• by the creation of neighbourhood or districtmaps developed in consultation with childrenwith disabilities − which can help provide localgovernments and other agencies with a means topromote their rights and address their needs. 112Laws and policiesMany countries include in their Constitution specificprovisions referring to non-discrimination, but whilegender, ethnicity, race and religious beliefs are oftencited as grounds for protection, specific references todisability are less common. Since the 1980s, constitutionaland legislative changes in favour of personswith disabilities have been enacted in a number ofcountries, including Austria, Brazil, China, Finland,Germany, Malawi, the Philippines, South Africa,Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.Research shows that, across regions, 39 states haveadopted non-discrimination or equal opportunity legislationin the context of disability. 113These reforms have been based upon internationalhuman rights instruments, including the Conventionon the Rights of the Child. They were also influencedby the 1993 UN Standard Rules on the Equalizationof Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and thework of the Special Rapporteur on Disability. The newConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesalso requires a re-examination of legislation and policiesin all member States.A commitment to inclusive planning ensures thata disability dimension is clearly present in all policydevelopment, implementation and monitoring. To thisend, a useful toolkit has been developed and is availableonline. 114A good example of inclusive planning is provided bySouth Africa, where the promotion of inclusion forchildren with disabilities has been linked to broaderdevelopments such as the overall reform of thecountry’s education system and curriculum, and tochanges addressing the status of marginalized groupsInnocenti Digest No. 13Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities32