See Me, Hear Me

Foreword v About the author vii Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 Glossary 4 Part one: The development of rights for children with disabilities 1 A brief introduction to human rights 11 What are human rights? 11 Where are human rights documented? 11 2 Historical overview of the rights of people with disabilities 13 Growing awareness of disability as a human rights issue 13 Recognising children with disabilities as subjects of rights 14 Implications of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 15 Summary 18 3 Development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 19 The timeline 19 A paradigm shift 19 Process as important as outcome 20 The significance of the Convention 20 The need for explicit recognition of children within the CRPD 21 Contents 4 Key provisions of the CRPD 24 Key obligations on specific human rights 24 Procedures for signing and ratification of the Convention 28 Measures of implementation 28 International monitoring 29 Miscellaneous provisions 29 Individual petitions 29 Part two: Implementing the rights of children with disabilities 5 Responsibility for the implementation of the CRPD 35 The obligations of governments 35 The responsibilities of other actors 53 6 Advocacy to promote implementation 56 Find out about the lives of children with disabilities 56 Build capacity 58 Build networks and alliances 59 Campaign for ratification 61 Advocate for implementation 62 Monitor implementation 65 7 Understanding the rights of children with disabilities: analysing the UNCRC and the CRPD 67 How the CRPD relates to the UNCRC 68 Table: Relationship between the CRPD and the UNCRC 68 General principles 83 Right to family life 91 Right to social inclusion 99 Right to education 108 Right to participate in play, cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport 117 Right to the best possible health 121 Right to an adequate standard of living 125 Right to protection from all forms of violence and exploitation 128 Right to justice and liberty 134 Rights in situations of emergency and conflict 136 Appendix 1:The UN Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities 138 Appendix 2: Useful references and sources of information 163 Appendix 3: Background to the development of this guide 166 References 168