Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

Box 7.2 Raising disability awareness inthe MaldivesFrom 2001 to 2002, the UNICEF ’First Steps’ EarlyChildhood campaign in the Maldives broadcastmessages about infants and young childrenacross radio and television three times a day,using local children and families as ’actors’. Eachweek there was a different message, and severalspots focused on disability, including earlydetection, inclusion and positive perceptions ofchildren with disabilities. i In one message, a newmother is shown simple ways to test whether herbaby has a visual or auditory impairment. In another,a group of older children use a parachuteto play a game with their younger siblings. Someof the children have a disability, some do not.In 2004, an evaluation demonstrated a direct linkbetween the campaign and changes in publicattitudes and behaviours. It specifically emphasizedthat the “significant achievement” of thecampaign was an increased awareness of childrenwith disabilities, children who had previouslybeen all but invisible in the Maldives. It stated:“Social acceptance of mentally and physicallychallenged children improved and even child-tochildinteractions became increasingly positivefollowing the campaign.”Source:i’UNICEF Maldives 2002 Annual Report’ (internal document),UNICEF, Maldives; Kolucki, Barbara, ’High Praisefor Disability- Inclusive Early Childhood Campaign inMaldives’ , Disability World, No. 26 (December 2004-February 2005), .the basis of disability in recruitment, promotion, dismissaland other aspects of employment. 122 This legislationoften requires employers to make reasonableadjustments to ensure that the workplace is adaptedto the needs of workers with disabilities.“Nothing about us without us”The effectiveness and relevance of disability-relatedpolicies depends on consulting and actively engagingpersons with disabilities, including children and theirfamilies, in the policy process.Organizations representing persons with disabilitieshave had a significant influence on national policyand legal environments. A recent WHO review ofdisability issues in 26 African countries found that atleast 22 countries had at least one such organization.The majority of these organizations were involved inpolicy development in collaboration with the nationalgovernment. 123 In South Africa, it was successfullobbying on the part of persons with disabilities thatresulted in the inclusion of disability in the equalitysection of the country’s Constitution. The initiation ofa successful pilot project for the inclusion of disabledchildren in regular schools in Lesotho was also duein large measure to the initiative of the nationalorganization of persons with disabilities. Given theimportance of these organizations, it is essential thatall groups concerned with disability are represented,and that the needs of all and not just some childrenwith disabilities are represented.In countries where there are many organizationsrepresenting different groups of persons withdisabilities, the creation of an umbrella groupempowered to speak for all has proved to be apowerful vehicle for change. At the level of the UN,for example, such coordination is provided by theInternational Disability Council; the major internationalNGOs were also members of the ad hoc Committeethat produced an agreed draft of the Convention onthe Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These NGOsare also members of the Expert Committee thatdeveloped the Standard Rules and that continues toadvise the Special Rapporteur on Disability.Changing attitudesThe UN Special Rapporteur on Disability has been acritical advocate in favour of the rights of persons withdisabilities, and has stressed that changing attitudestowards disability require ridding society of prejudiceand discrimination and breaking down walls of superstitionand ignorance. The media are one of the mostpowerful tools to effect this change and have beensuccessful in changing public attitudes in many countriesand regions (see box 7.2 for an example from theMaldives). The Special Rapporteur has been engagedin promoting a major media campaign in the MiddleEast and North Africa region to raise awareness andmotivate change in relation to both the image thatpeople have of persons with disabilities and the imagethat persons with disabilities have of themselves.Just as raising awareness among the general publicis important, so too is promoting the understandingof disability issues among professionals, including thepolice, judiciary, educationalists, health professionalsand social workers at all levels of seniority. Thisis most effectively carried out by persons withdisabilities and their families themselves. Initiativesof this kind help ensure that children and adults withdisabilities are treated with equity in all aspects ofcivil society.Budget allocations and prioritiesThe UN General Assembly Special Session onChildren in 2002 called for the establishment ofnational goals for children incorporating targetsfor reducing disparities, including those betweenchildren with and without disabilities. Such acommitment requires clear budget allocations thatpermit these policies to be implemented effectivelyand promote equity at all levels.Innocenti Digest No. 13Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities34