It Is Our World Too!

It Is Our World Too!

Disability Awareness in Action

‘Rights for Disabled Children’ (RDC) was established as an outcome of the thematic day held by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1997 on the rights of disabled children. It is a working group which aims to highlight the abuses and neglect of rights experienced by all disabled children – including those with mental health difficulties. It also compiles and disseminates good practice in challenging those abuses.

Rights for Disabled Children is involved in:

• Reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on progress in implementing the principles and standards of the CRC in respect of disabled children (Article 44).
• Undertaking research into the situation of disabled children in South Africa, Ghana, Nepal and Romania.
• Gathering evidence on violations and good practice in respect of the rights of disabled children from throughout the world.
• Launching ‘It Is Our World Too’ at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, in May 2002.

In order to achieve respect for disabled children’s rights, the following action needs to be taken:

• Legal reform to end discrimination and promote equal rights;
• Public education to challenge prejudice and hostile stereotypes;
• Removal of the physical barriers to inclusion;
• Supported inclusion – for example in education, the inclusion of disabled children in mainstream schools must be accompanied by training and support for teachers and access to equipment, and respect for the linguistic rights of deaf children;
• A commitment to listening to disabled children, and the introduction of structures to ensure that their views and concerns are taken seriously.

Membership and administration of Rights for Disabled Children

The international working group is chaired by Bengt Lindqvist, the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability. Its membership also comprises representation from the World Blind Union, World Federation of the Deaf, International Save the Children Alliance, Inclusion International and Disabled People International. The meetings are attended by a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the group is managed by Disability Awareness in Action (DAA).

‘It Is Our World Too : A Report on the Lives of Disabled Children’. (2001)

This report was prepared by Gerrison Lansdown on behalf of RDC for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children. RDC highlights the abuses and neglect of rights experienced by all disabled children, and disseminates good practice in challenging those abuses. The report is available in standard print, Ascii, and audio tape from DAA.