Back to: Third Session of the Ad Hoc Committee
NGO Comments at the third session

Comments by NGOs at the Third Session
Save the Children

Draft article 16 - CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Proposal by Save the Children

Inclusion International
World Federation of the Deaf
World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry
Canadian Association for Community Living
West African Federation of Disabled Persons
World Blind Union
People with Disability Australia Incorporated
Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
(Australian) National Association of Community Legal Centres

1 States Parties undertake to comply with their obligations to children and young people under a World Fit for All Children ¹ and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and nothing within this Convention shall be taken to derrogate from or undermine the rights contained in the CRC. Particularly, States Parties will ensure that children and young people with disabilities equally and without discrimination enjoy the full rights guaranteed under said Convention

2 States Parties recognise that children with disabilities should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions that ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and autonomy, and facilitate the child’s active participation in the community.

3 States Parties recognise the obligation to respect the evolving capacities ³ of children with disabilities in the exercise of their rights, and the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child ⁴ .

4 States Parties recognise the right of children with disabilities to inclusive care, within their community, which shall include:
a. Early provision of appropriate and comprehensive supports and services to enable the full inclusion and active participation of children and young people with disabilities in society and in all spheres of life
b. Supports to children and young people with disabilities and their families within the home environment, to ensure the autonomy and personal integrity of the child is respected and to enable the child to develop towards his or her full potential in society

5 Recognising the rights and needs of children with disabilities, assistance extended in accordance with paragraph 4 of the present article shall be provided free of charge and in a manner conducive to the child’s achieving their full social inclusion and individual development, including his or her cultural and spiritual development

6 Recognising the inherent interdependence of the child with his or her family and community, families or caregivers and in particular mothers ⁴ shall be provided with adequate supports to enable the child to realise his or her full and active participation within the family and community. States Parties shall make appropriate information, referrals and counselling available in ways that provide them with a positive view of their child’s potential and right to live a full and inclusive life. States Parties will also endeavour to change social and cultural attitudes thereby protecting the child and family, especially the mother from negative attitudes and exclusion

7 States Parties shall recognise the particular vulnerability of children and young people with disabilities to abuse and neglect and shall take all appropriate measures to provide assistance, training and education to families, caregivers and persons working with young persons with disabilities to counteract the incidence of abuse.

8 States Parties shall recognise the high incidence of crimes, especially crimes of violence, against children and young people with disabilities, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that children and young people with disabilities enjoy, on an equal basis with other children and without discrimination, the right to have crimes against them dealt with appropriately. This should include, but not be limited to, law reform and adaptation of policies and procedures appertaining to evidence and investigative, prosecutorial, and court room procedures.

9 Where children with disabilities are unable to live with their parents, State Parties shall make every effort to provide respite-, day- or alternative family care in the community, the best interest of the child being paramount consideration.

10 States Parties undertake to prohibit the sterilisation of children and young people with disabilities.

Footnotes

1. A World Fit for All Children: Guidelines for Inclusion of the rights of Children with Disabilities in the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been launched in 2003 by Inclusion International and adopted by States Parties except a few, to assist them to meet their obligation to ensure the rights of children with disabilities are met across the said Convention
2. this concept relates to art 5,6,23 and 29 of the CRC
3. this paragraph is related to art 12 of the CRC posing clear obligations on governments to ensure that children and young people are not passive recipients of adult protection, but that they have the right to have a say in all actions and decisions affecting them, from the family to the wider community level. However to date, too little action has been taken by governments around the world to ensure that the right to be heard extends to children with disabilities (Lansdown G. 2001 ‘Its Our World Too!’ A report on the Lives of Disabled Children for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, Disability Awareness and Action, London)
4. in many countries it is the mother that is directly affected and ostracised by disability like her child and therefore deserves special support to provide primary care and nurturing and to enable her to play a full and active role in society like all persons .

Article 17
Education and Training

The basic principle is that disabled children and adults, like all persons have a right to education and training. We emphasise the obligation of governments to provide compulsory and quality education for all children and adults.

We stress the fact that education and training is not only important to develop academic and practical skills but equally important to socialise with peers and to participate in society.

We wish to recognise the Salamanca agreement, Dakar agreement and Standard Rules on inclusive education ¹. We emphasise the importance of equal access, utility of education and child-focussed methods enabling disabled children, like all children to achieve their full potential. We wish to avoid pre-selected training or any kind of education on the basis of perceived disability instead of the potential of the child.

We stress the importance of transformation of special education towards the preparation for and support of persons with disabilities in inclusive settings and to support the education system to become inclusive for all children and adults with disabilities ². We want to recognise the ongoing importance of special education and training for those persons who can not fully develop their potential in inclusive settings because of specific learning requirements which can not be reasonably met in mainstream schools. However special education where needed has to be provided within the community and as far as possible within existing school structures.

Suggested changes
17.1 States Parties recognise the right of all children and adults with disabilities to inclusive education. The education and training of students with disabilities shall be directed to:
a. building a society that is inclusive to all
b->c; c->d; d->e

17.2 In realising this right, States Parties shall endeavour to ensure:
a. that all persons with disabilities can participate in inclusive and accessible education in their own community (including access to early childhood and pre-school education)
b. the provision of adequate support for change of the education system, positive attitudes of stakeholders; appropriate training and mentoring of teachers and educational support staff, student centred curriculum, flexible teaching methods, appropriate teaching aids and equipment, alternative and augmentative communication modes, an inclusive physical and learning environment, parent and community involvement , to ensure the full participation of students with disabilities
c. that no person with a disability shall be required to undergo any medical treatment or intervention, to correct, improve or alleviate any actual or perceived disability as a condition to inclusive and full education

17.4->3 States Parties shall ensure that students with communication³ disabilities have the right to education in alternative language and or with alternative communication systems, to become bi-lingual and to learn the communication, learning and mobility skills for inclusive education and full participation within the class or school environment. State Parties shall take appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for full inclusive education of all students with disabilities by ensuring appropriately skilled teachers and basic additional resources

17.5 States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities shall access secondary and tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and life long learning on an equal basis with others. To that end, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to persons with disabilities.

Footnotes

1. Inclusive education is about changing schools to accommodate all students irrespective of individual learning needs, it is not about fitting students into existing schools
2. Save the Children has produced ‘Schools for All’ (2002) which is extensively used all around the world and available at www.savethechildren.org.uk/development
3. communication disabilities does not only refer to those persons who are blind and/or deaf, but also to those persons who have a major problem to contact others, to express themselves, to filter and handle information for various reasons (eg. People with autism, severe spasticity, learning and intellectual impairments)

Draft article 21

Proposal by Save the Children
Handicap International

Save the Children recommends the drafting of 2 separate articles: 21 health and a new article 21 A community based rehabilitation.

With regard to health we advise to follow a similar pattern as used for the education article. Aiming for accessible and quality health services for all, including disabled children and adults. The entire article on health needs to be revised in a rights based instead of medical-technical language.

Article 21
Health

Suggested change
States Parties recognise that all persons with disabilities have full access to health services and the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. In particular States Parties shall:
a. provide persons with disabilities with the same range and standard of health services as other citizens, including sexual and reproductive health services
b. develop understanding of disability rights, respect for diversity, non-discriminatory attitudes and a realistic perception of the capacities of disabled people as users of health services for health professionals at all levels, in line with the principles of this Convention
c. involve children and adults with disabilities and their respective organisations in the development and monitoring of health policies and of a code of ethics for public and private health care, promoting quality, transparency and respect for human rights at national level
d. ensure that respect is afforded to children and adults with disabilities to give consent to or refuse medical interventions of all kind, in accordance with their evolving capacities. Arrange decision-making in accordance with earlier articles in this convention.¹

With regard to rehabilitation we recognise the International Consultation to review CBR and advise to further the recommendations in the final wording of the text.

PROPOSAL Article 21 A (Community Based) Rehabilitation ²

1. States Parties undertake to comply with their obligations to resource and co-ordinate Community Based Rehabilitation³ (CBR) as a comprehensive strategy to move towards an inclusive society and service provision for all, ensuring that disabled children and adults enjoy their rights equally and without discrimination.

2. States Parties shall recognise CBR as a rights based strategy to alleviate poverty and to address the direct and indirect socio-economic costs of disability at the level of the individual, family and the society at large

3. States Parties shall enhance a rights, social and economic approach in the development of CBR services
a. Mobilising awareness and responsiveness towards equal rights among disabled children and adults, authorities and the society at large
b. removing attitudinal, financial and infra-structural barriers in society, and promoting inclusive public and private services for all, particularly for disabled children and adults
c. consulting and strengthening representative organisations of disabled children, adults as well as their families as primary stakeholders in the full development of such strategies and services
d. enabling disabled children and adults to reach their potential through the development of CBR strategies and services at all levels, which are affecting attitude change at large and based upon priorities of disabled children, adults and caregivers themselves to achieve their rights
e. providing early intervention-, advisory-, functional training- and respite services to disabled persons, families and caregivers in the community aiming at self-reliance and full participation

4. States Parties shall equip and empower a national co-ordinating disability body with the responsibility to manage CBR at national and international level, assuring cohesiveness across national legislation, strategies and service provisions and in line with all other disability issues.
a. the consultation of and best interests of disabled children and adults being paramount
b. access, affordability and quality of such services is assured at all governmental levels for all children, adults and their families
c. ensure CBR is included in all community activities at all levels.

Footnotes

1. in relation to our comments with regard to article 9, 10, 13 of this draft convention
2. Community Based Rehabilitation covers the full rehabilitation and referral system at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The term as such also reflects a more comprehensive, social and rights based notion and thus is preferred above the term rehabilitation which reflects a primarily medical notion
3. States Parties need to act upon the Recommendations of the WHO (2003) Report of International Review Community Based Rehabilitation www.int/ncd/disability.

Article 24
Cultural Life, Recreation, Sport and Play

Participation in sport, recreation and leisure is a right and a priority for many disabled children and young people like adults. We wish to emphasise the right to play and the importance to enable children and adults with disabilities to play for the development of the personality, potential and expression on an equal basis with others and without discrimination. We want to recognise the importance of play and sport for the socialization of children, young people and adults with disabilities with their peers. We recommend a paragraph how the right to play and recreation can be met.

Suggested change

Title: Participation in Play, Recreation, Sport and Cultural Life

Suggested additional paragraph

1. States Parties recognise the right of all children and adults with disabilities to play, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
a. have the opportunity to develop their personality, potential and expression on an equal basis with others
b. have the opportunity to socialise, make friends and participate in society
c. have access to playgrounds, events and activities on an equal basis with others
d. have the necessary support to initiate and take part in play like others

Suggested change

1->2 States Parties recognise the right of all persons with disabilities to take part in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:

2.b enjoy access to literature and other cultural materials in all accessible formats, including in electronic text, sign language and Braille, and in audio and multi media formats, and that such access also extends to literature and cultural materials appropriate for children with disabilities;
2->3; 3->4; 4->5

Proposal by Save the Children

Article 25
Monitoring

The absolute minimum required is a system of disability proofing and ensuring a disability perspective, based on the principles and obligations of the said Convention.

Suggested additional paragraph
25.1 States Parties shall develop, position, and resource a system of disability proofing to ensure a disability perspective across national legislation, policies and services ¹

This can be achieved at all points of the legislation, budgeting, policy making and programming cycle

Footnotes

1. Several States have guidelines to mainstream disability in national and/or international co-operation. It is necessary that such guidelines apply to and crosscuts the overall legislation and policies. Arrangements need to be made to aware governments at all levels about the existence of such policies and to earmark existing resources and sanctions to implement such policies.

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