The International Disability Alliance, in collaboration with Autism Europe, Disability Rights International, the European Network for Independent Living (ENIL), Inclusion International, International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IFSBH), Validity Foundation, Women Enabled International, U.S. International Council on Disabilities, Stahili, Lori E. Talsky Center for Human Rights of Women and Children at Michigan State University College of Law, have adopted a call to action to protect the right to family life and prevent institutionalization for all children, especially children with disabilities, who are over-represented in institutions and left behind in deinstitutionalization efforts.
The signatories on this call to action acknowledge the leadership of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in their efforts to harmonize international human rights standards concerning children deprived of parental care. This call to action seeks to contribute to a range of efforts worldwide to promote consistent interpretation and enforcement of international human rights law with respect to children with disabilities, including the activities of the committees mentioned and other stakeholders, especially the upcoming day of General Discussion on Children’s Rights and Alternative Care scheduled to take place in September 2021 under the auspices of the Committee on the Rights the Child.
The call to action is now open for endorsements to organisations advocating for the rights of children with and without disabilities and disability rights groups working at local, country, regional, and global levels. We encourage you to reach out to those organisations that may be interested. We also welcome endorsements from individuals, who in their personal or professional capacity work with children and young people and their families, or advocate for children’s rights, or the rights of persons with disabilities.
We will produce an updated version of the Call to Action with new endorsements on a regular basis, on this website. The more endorsements we have, the stronger the message for governments, service providers, and other stakeholders to promote and ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow up in a family.
