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Module 9. The Human Rights of Children with Disabilities
The Human Rights of Children with Disabilities
The Human Rights of Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities throughout the world are often marginalized and excluded from mainstream society.

In many countries, children with disabilities are sent away to institutions where they receive no education and are isolated from society for their entire lives.

Children with disabilities are discriminated against due to their disability and due to the fact that they are children and are therefore more vulnerable to marginalization, exploitation, and abuse.

For these reasons, children with disabilities are mentioned in a separate article in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). For them, as for all children, the promotion and protection of their human rights, especially to education, health, the right to family, and an adequate standard of living, is critical.

While children are human beings with rights, their marginalization and exclusion requires additional protections and safeguards to be put into place. Moreover, within the constituency of children, sub-groups, such as children with disabilities or children living in poverty, remain vulnerable to additional and compounded risk factors.

Examples of Human Rights Violations Against Children with Disabilities

Before Birth:

  1. Poor maternal health and nutrition;
  2. Inadequate prenatal care; and
  3. Prenatal screening and termination of pregnancy based on disability.

At Birth:

  1. Euthanization;
  2. Denial of appropriate food and/or medical treatment; and
  3. Risk of rejection by parents.

After Birth:

  1. Institutional placement in segregated settings away from family;
  2. Isolation in the home and isolation from the community;
  3. Denial of the right to education, among other human rights;
  4. Risk of continual medical treatments, some painful and unnecessary; and
  5. Denial of the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

Multiple individual factors influence the extent to which a child with a disability is excluded within his or her particular culture and context. The more of these interrelated factors a child faces, the more his or her basic human rights are compromised or denied. These factors include:

  1. Attitudes and behaviours of others towards them (for example, parents, teachers, neighbours, other children);
  2. Satisfaction of basic needs (for example, survival, food, shelter, stimulation);
  3. International and national policies that include or exclude them;
  4. Accessibility of the physical environment (for example, home, school, community); and
  5. Access to supports for their physical, social, mental, communication, and personal development (for example, basic aids and equipment, assistance, health and education services, access to early childhood care and education).

Have Questions or Issues?
If you have any questions or need help registering or completing the training,
please send an email to crpdsupport@mlpd.mb.ca. We will respond as quickly as possible.
Copyright © 2020. Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).