UNICEF says one-third of children not in school have a disability and are often denied dignity and rights.
Children with disabilities are denied access to education and health care, opportunities for play and culture, an adequate standard of living and the right to be heard. They are discriminated against and treated as an invisible burden. In some cultures disability is viewed as a curse or punishment. A child with an impairment is blamed as the embodiment of past failure, inadequacy or sins.
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake presented the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with a special focus on children with disabilities to the Third Committee of the General Assembly in New York.
Their discrimination is not from the intrinsic nature of their disability, but rather from entrenched social exclusion resulting from multiple barriers including discriminatory legislation, lack of training for teachers, prejudice, social stigma and inadequate understanding by teachers, parents and society, as well as a lack of services and support. Children with disabilities are also at risk of suffering violence, abuse and neglect.
Read the full news note from the UNICEF Press Centre here.
