Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special
Education Needs: Delivering on the Promise of the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Deborah A. Ziegler, Ed.D
Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy
Council for Exceptional Children
Agenda
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities
• Making a Difference
• How You Can Help
• Education of Students with Disabilities and
CRPD
• Benefits of Inclusion
• Examples of Exemplary Students from
Around the World
• Advocacy
2
United Nations Convention on the
Rights of People with Disabilities
3
What is a Human Rights
Convention?
A convention, or treaty, is a legally binding
document between 2 or more countries. A human
rights convention is a treaty that deals specifically
with human rights. The International convention
on the Rights of People with Disabilities is a
“thematic treaty”, meaning that it defines the
human rights of a particular demographic (in this
case, the human rights of people with disabilities).
4
How did the UN CRPD come
about?
• Process begun by Mexico Dec 2001
• Adopted Dec 2006
• Opened for signature 30 March -over 80
signatures + EU
• Entered into force
3 May 2008
5
Is “Signing" a Convention the
same as “Ratifying" it?
No. A country that signs the Convention
becomes a signatory, and a country that ratifies
the convention becomes a States
Party. Becoming a signatory qualifies the state
(nation) to proceed toward ratification, and
establishes an obligation to refrain from any acts
that violate the principles of the
Convention. Becoming a states party (ratifying
nation) means that the country agrees to be
legally bound by the treaty. If a nation both signs
and ratifies at the same time, it is said to
"ascend".
6
What if a Country Decides not to
Sign or Ratify a convention?
First, a convention must be "adopted," which
means it becomes open for countries to sign. It
is then up to each country to decide whether it
chooses to sign or ratify the convention. Like
most conventions, the CRPD requires that at
least 20 countries ratify it before it can "enter
into force." To "enter into force" means a treaty
becomes active, and the ratifying countries are
required to implement it.
7
What if a Country Decides not
to Sign or Ratify Continued
Once the Convention becomes international law,
the core concept of equal rights for people with
disability will become the norm. As has occurred
with other treaties, this new recognition of basic
human rights will begin to be incorporated into
the national laws of nations which don’t ratify the
Convention.
8
What if a Country Decides not
to Sign or Ratify Continued
This will benefit people
with disabilities who live
in those nations, and
may spur additional
nations to opt for
ratification in the coming
years as their laws begin
to include the rights
guaranteed under the
Convention.
9
What Rights does the
CRPD cover?
• The right to legal capacity (to make one’s own
decisions)
• The right to liberty
• The right to live in the community
• The right to respect for physical & mental
integrity
• The right to freedom from torture, violent
exploitation and abuse
• The right to healthcare and to free and informed
consent in health services
• The right to education
• The right to vote and to participate in public & 10
cultural life
What Rights does the
CRPD cover?
•
•
•
•
•
The right to work, and to an adequate standard of living
The right to privacy
The right to habilitation & rehabilitation
The right to receive information in accessible formats
The right to marry and to divorce, and to share equally in
child custody
• The right to procreate, & the right to obtain contraception
• The right to sign contracts, and own and inherit property
• The right to accessible public transit and public
accommodations
11
What is the Optimal Protocol to
the Convention?
• Addresses two additional procedures to
strengthen monitoring & implementation of the
Convention:
• An individual communications procedure
• An inquiry procedure
12
How many Countries have
Signed or Ratified the CRPD?
As of March:
• 154 signatures to CRPD
• 90 signatures to Optional Protocol
• 124 ratifications of CRPD
• 74 ratifications of Optional Protocol
13
CRPD Signatories and
Ratifications
14
Ukraine
15
Has the U.S. Signed and
Ratified?
• President Obama signed on July 30, 2009
• The U.S. has not ratified to date
16
Hearing: July 12, 2012
17
CRPD: Next Steps
• Mark Up of the treaty by the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee – July 19,
2012
• Vote of the Full Senate – December 4,
2012: 61-38 against ratification
• What can you do?
– Hill visits – ask your Senator to vote for the
U.S. Ratification of the CRPD
– Go to CEC’s Legislative Action Center and
send a letter to your member of Congress.
18
What will be the Potential
Impact of the CRPD?
1.
2.
3.
4.
CRPD as tool to address abuses
International Disability Rights Movement
International Cooperation Agencies & UN Bodies
International Law
19
What will be the Potential
Impact of the CRPD?
1. CRPD as tool to address abuses
• Life-long institutionalization
• Physical restraints
• Unexplained deaths
• Inhumane and degrading treatment
• Lack of alternatives in the community
20
What will be the Potential
Impact of the CRPD?
2. International Disability Rights Movement
• Growth, expansion, strengthening of disability
rights movement on a global scale
• Continued cooperation toward implementation
of Convention
21
What will be the Potential
Impact of the CRPD?
3. International Cooperation Agencies and UN Bodies
• Increased funding through international cooperation and
foundations
• Transformative element of UN agency structures: must
now incorporate disability (UNICEF, UNDP, etc.)
• USAID funding must include DPOs
• All actions and documentation must now comply with the
CRPD
• Increased visibility of rights of PWD
22
What will be the potential
impact of the CRPD?
4. International Law
• Specific instrument setting forth existing rights in
the context of disability
• Allows for reinterpretation of other international
human rights norms
• Supersedes previous standards
• Express recognition that rights guaranteed in
other core human rights treaties apply to PWD
23
Can a convention on the rights of people
with disabilities really make a difference?
• Yes. Once completed, the Convention requires
participating countries (called “States Parties” for
UN treaties) to periodically report to the U.N. on
their progress in implementing and enforcing the
treaty obligations. Treaties are a powerful tool,
and are used by advocacy groups to monitor,
highlight, and promote human rights.
24
Can a convention on the rights of
people with disabilities really make a
difference?
• A convention on the human rights of people with
disabilities will help increase public awareness
of barriers faced by people with disabilities, spur
law and policy changes at the national level;
provide redress in individual cases of rights
violations or abuses; and channel resources into
programs that support the rights of people with
disabilities.
25
Can a Convention on the Rights of
People with Disabilities really make a
Difference?
• Provide redress in
individual cases of
rights violations or
abuses; and channel
resources into
programs that
support the rights of
people with
disabilities.
26
Can a Convention on the Rights of
People with Disabilities Really
Make a Difference?
• Integrating disability
into the global human
rights framework and
creating international
legal standards will
strengthen domestic
disability rights
movements in
individual nations.
27
Can a Convention on the Rights of
People with Disabilities really make a
Difference?
• The CRPD requires nations to recognize
that the human rights of people with
disabilities deserve the same level of
commitment that governments
demonstrate toward the rights of people
without disabilities and society as a whole.
28
Does it make Economic Sense for
Countries to Adopt the Convention?
Yes, for two reasons:
• First, the United Nations has never
allowed nations to enforce human rights
only when they can afford to do so.
Human rights are guaranteed regardless
of cost.
29
Does it make Economic Sense for
Countries to Adopt the Convention?
• Second, human rights are cost effective. Absent
discrimination, children with disabilities become
tax-paying employees and entrepreneurs, and
they support the economy as consumers.
30
Does it Make Economic Sense
for Countries to Adopt the
Convention?
• Without equal rights, people with disabilities are
barred from opportunities, and forced to subsist
on government charity and private hand outs.
31
Inclusion for ALL: The UN Convention
on the Rights of Persons With
Disabilities
32
What about the
Education of Children?
• The number of children in school rose
significantly in the past decade, from 599 million
in 1990 to 681 million in 1998.
• Since 1990, some 10 million more children go to
school every year, which is nearly double the
1980-90 average.
• The number of out-of-school children decreased
from 127 million in 1990 to 115 million in 1998.
33
What about the education of
Children with Disabilities?
• There are 120-150 million
children with disabilities
in the world;
• 80% live in developing
countries;
• Only 5% in developing
countries have access to
support services of any
kind;
• Less than 2% attend
school;
34
What about the Education of
Children with Disabilities?
• An estimated one-third of the 115 million
children not in school have a disability (The
World Bank);
• Disability may be the single most important
factor in the exclusion of a child from schooling;
• For the majority of these children it is a lack of
schooling and the structural barriers in society
that cause dependency.
35
What Does CRPD Say about the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 7
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
The countries will:
1. Make sure that children with disabilities have
the same rights as other children.
2. Make sure that what is best for the child is a
priority whenever they do anything that
concerns children.
36
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 7
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
3. Make sure that children with disabilities have the
right to tell their opinion and that their opinion is
taken into account. Make sure that children with
disabilities get the help they need to tell their
opinions.
37
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
Education
1. The countries agree that all
people with disabilities have
the right to education. They
will make sure that the
education system, at all
levels, includes people with
disabilities, and that the
educational system:
38
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
• a. Works to make sure everyone develops their
human potential, sense of dignity and self worth,
and respect for human rights, freedoms and
diversity;
• b. Works to develop the person’s personality and
talents to their fullest potential;
• c. Works to make sure all people with disabilities
can be involved in society.
39
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
2. To do this, the countries will make sure that:
a. People with disabilities are not excluded from
education because of their disability, and
children with disabilities are not excluded
from free and compulsory primary and
secondary education because of their disability;
b. All people with disabilities can choose education that
includes them, is accessible and is in their own
community;
40
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
c. Reasonable changes are
made to make sure that
people with disabilities get
the most out of their
education;
d. People with disabilities get the
help they need to get the
most out of their education;
e. The help for students with
disabilities is given so that
their individual needs are
met.
41
Kuwait
42
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
3. The countries will make it possible for people
with disabilities to learn social and life skills that
they need to go to schools and be in the
community. They will do this by:
a. Arranging that students with disabilities learn
Braille or other types of communication, and
that they get peer support and mentoring;
b. Teaching sign language;
c. Making sure that especially children who are
blind, deaf or deaf/blind are educated in the
most appropriate types of communication so
that they get the most out of their education. 43
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
4. To help make sure that these rights are put into
practice, the countries will hire teachers who are
people with disabilities, teachers who are
qualified in Braille and sign languages, and will
train teachers and staff at all levels of education
on how to give quality education to people with
disabilities.
44
What Does CRPD Say About the
Education of Children with
Disabilities?
ARTICLE 24
EDUCATION
5. Countries will make sure that people with
disabilities have equal access to vocational
training, study in universities and lifelong
learning like all other people, and will make any
changes needed to make that happen.
45
CEC Attends:
United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
Conference of States Parties
CEC Approved by the UN as Accredited
NGO
12-14 September 2012
UN Enable: http://www.un.org/disabilities/
46
“OK, you’ve convinced me. Now go out there and
bring pressure on me.”
© Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
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“A small group of thoughtful people could
change the world. Indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has.”
~Margaret Mead
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