Promoting the rights of Children with disabilities innocenti digest no

Conclusions
In countries the world over children with disabilities 
and their families continue to face discrimination and 
are not yet fully able to enjoy their basic human rights.
The inclusion of children with disabilities is a matter of 
social justice and an essential investment in the future 
of society. It is not based on charity or goodwill but is 
an integral element of the expression and realization 
of universal human rights.
The last two decades have witnessed a gathering 
global momentum for change. Many countries have 
already begun to reform their laws and structures and 
to remove barriers to the participation of persons with 
disabilities as full members of their communities. 
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabili-
ties, building upon the existing provisions of the Con-
vention on the Rights of the Child, opens a new era 
in securing the rights of children with disabilities and 
their families. Together with the Millennium Agenda 
and other international initiatives, these international 
standards lay the foundation for each country and com-
munity to undertake a fundamental review of the situ-
ation of children and adults with disabilities and to take 
specific steps to promote their inclusion in society. 

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Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities
Innocenti Digest No. 13
The rights of all disabled people, including those 
of children, have been reiterated and given a new 
impetus with the Convention on the Rights of 
Persons with Disabilities, which was signed on 
opening day, 30 March 2007, by the representatives 
of an unprecedented 81 countries.
 
This follows an 
unequivocal statement made by Heads of State 
and Government, adopted by the United Nations 
General Assembly following the May 2002 Special 
Session on Children:
Each girl and boy is born free and equal in dignity 
and rights; therefore, all forms of discrimination 
affecting children must end.... We will take all 
measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment 
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, 
including equal access to health, education and 
recreational services, by children with disabilities 
and children with special needs, to ensure the 
recognition of their dignity, to promote their self-
reliance, and to facilitate their active participation 
in the community.
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The daily reality for most children with a disability 
is that they are often condemned to a ’poor start in 
life’ and deprived of opportunities to develop to their 
full potential and to participate in society. They are 
routinely denied access to the same opportunities 
for early, primary and secondary education, or 
life-skills and vocational training, or both, that are 
available to other children. They either have no voice 
or their views are discounted. Although they are 
invariably more vulnerable to abuse and violence, 
their testi-mony is often ignored or dismissed. 
In this way, their isolation is perpetuated as they 
prepare for adult life.
Yet there are changes for the better. Much has 
been accomplished by governments and their