Promoting the rights of Children with disabilities innocenti digest no

involving children with disabilities
As discussed previously, there are numerous reasons 
why children’s participation should be encouraged, 
in daily life as well as in policy development. These 
arguments are particularly strong in the case of 
children with disabilities:
In advancing inclusion and overcoming obstacles, 
• 
persons with disabilities themselves are the 
experts – nobody understands the impact of 
exclusion better than those who experience it.
A key element of citizenship is the right to 
• 
express one’s views and to influence decision-
making processes. Denying children with 
disabilities the right to be heard effectively 
means denying them full citizenship.
Decisions made about or on behalf of a child are 
• 
better informed and more likely to produce positive 
outcomes if she or he is involved in the process. 
The process of participation is a central part of 
• 
learning to take responsibility, to make decisions 
and to develop self-esteem and confidence. 
Children with no voice are vulnerable to abuse, 
• 
violence and exploitation, since they have no 
means of challenging this oppression.
107
Putting such initiatives into place is not a highly 
specialized operation requiring significant additional 
resources. In practice, the inclusion of children with 
disabilities can be significantly advanced by simply 
consulting with these children and their families 
when setting up projects or structures intended for a 
general population, or by maintaining an awareness 
of potential barriers to inclusion in any new initia-
tives.
108
Underestimation of the potential of children 
with severe or complex impairments is perhaps the 
greatest obstacle: experience has shown that all 
children can be helped to find the means to express 
meaningful choices and preferences.
109
© UNICEF/HQ06-0807/Shehzad Noorani

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Innocenti Digest No. 13
Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities
Creating a more inclusive society for all, and for chil-
dren with disabilities in particular, requires a number 
of preconditions that combine to provide a supportive 
environment for inclusion. These elements include:
the presence of local governance structures that 
• 
promote children’s participation and the realiza-
tion of children’s rights;
the introduction and development of laws and 
• 
policies addressing disability issues;
mechanisms to permit persons with disabilities 
• 
and their families to influence disability-related 
policies;
general and focused raising of awareness;
• 
appropriate budgetary allocations; 
• 
adequate monitoring mechanisms to promote 
• 
and assess progress.
Such a combined approach is critical to ensuring sus-
tainable change and to establishing the most effec-
tive supportive environments for children at all stages 
of the life cycle.