1. UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child
Lessons to be learned for the UN
Convention on the Rights of
children
2. – Key Facts
Origins:Declaration on the Rights of the
Child drafted 1923 by Eglantyne Jebb,
founder of Save the Children
1989: UNCRC adopted by UN
NGO involvement strong , but not DPO
1991: monitoring Committee on the
Rights of the Child established
3. UNCRC - content
First
human rights treaty to specifically
mention disability, Articles 2
General principles:
Article 3: Best Interests of the Child
Article 12: Participation
Article 2: Non-discrimination
Article 6: Survival and Development
4. Publications on Disabled Children’s
Rights – good practice and abuses
It is Our World Too! A Disabled Children’s
Report on the Lives Rights – A Practical
of Disabled Children Guide. Save the
Children Alliance
Rights for Disabled 2001
Children
2001
5. UNCRC: Issues related to Violations
Major gaps in evidence: Disabled children and
sexual abuse, child labour, conflict situations,
juvenile justice, drug abuse, family
reunification.
Invisibility: violations not noticed/seen as
important or relevant to disabled children
Indivisibility of rights: some examples of ‘good
practice’ violate other rights
Some impairment groups more invisible than
others
6. UNCRC Violations: examples
Discrimination (Art 2):
Direct: different laws for disabled children.
In-direct discrimination; neglect, inaction
Absence or non-implementation of policy
Multiple discrimination – disabled+refugee –
slip between both nets
Equal rights does not mean equal
treatment.
7. UNCRC: Good practice
Disaggregation of data:
gender, age and
disability
Non-discrimination
policy and practice
Shift from
charity/medical to rights
based
Participation: need for
self-advocacy
Comprehensive, rights-
based programmes
8. Things to change:
Collaboration between Child Rights
NGOs and Disabled Peoples
Organisations (all impairments)
Disabled Child Self Advocacy
Disaggregated data collection
Pro-active addressing gaps in
information
10. Lobbying in the UN, January 2006
I am very happy to
raise issues related
to the disable
children. It is nice for
me to say some
thing in front of
global community.
Nazma (Bangladesh