By IDA

 - October 23, 2024

The Committee on the Rights of the Child held its 97th session from 26 August to 13 September. The Committee engaged in constructive dialogues and adopted Concluding Observations for five countries: Argentina, Armenia, Israel, Mexico, and Turkmenistan. Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child focuses on children with disabilities, and each set of Concluding Observations includes recommendations on issues related to them. The International Disability Alliance has compiled Disability-Relevant Extracts from the Concluding Observations, which are available here.

Leading up to this session, and even before the Pre-sessional Working Group in early 2024, the International Disability Alliance provided support and coordinated advocacy efforts with the OPD Red por los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (REDI) and other allied NGOs for the review of Argentina. REDI contributed to a joint civil society alternative report, raising issues related to children with disabilities in Argentina, available here.

While IDA encourages you to review the full Concluding Observations or its compilation of Disability-Relevant Extracts, some key recommendations specific to children with disabilities can be highlighted. Three major recommendations to the five countries addressed the need to:

  • Harmonize national legislation with the human rights-based approach to disability,
  • Ensure access for children with disabilities to inclusive education in mainstream schools, and
  • Undertake strong awareness-raising initiatives to combat stigmatization and prejudice against children with disabilities, promoting a positive image of them as rights-holders.

Other specific recommendations include:

  • Argentina: The CRC Committee recommended that Argentina review Act No. 26061 on children’s rights, ensure data collection on children with disabilities, facilitate care for children with disabilities in family environments and accelerate their deinstitutionalization, provide mental health care in all public general hospitals and primary care centers, and ensure that all children with disabilities access inclusive education in mainstream schools.
  • Armenia: The CRC Committee recommended that Armenia phase out the institutionalization of children with disabilities, adopt an action plan for deinstitutionalization, develop a harmonized system for disability assessment to improve access for children with all types of disabilities to accessible services, and ensure that all children with disabilities access inclusive education in mainstream schools.
  • Israel: The CRC Committee highlighted children with disabilities when recommending that Israel define specific budget lines for children and improve data collection and disaggregation, including for casualties under the title "Violations of children’s rights under the Convention in the OPT." Other important recommendations called for strengthening support for inclusion and access to inclusive education for children with disabilities.
  • Mexico: The CRC Committee stressed the need to support children with disabilities in reporting violence and called for accessible, confidential, child-friendly, and effective reporting channels. The Committee recommended implementing the National Programme for the Development and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, including the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities, ensuring their protection, healthcare, and support.
  • Turkmenistan: The CRC Committee recommended that the State implement community-based rehabilitation and home-based care programs to reduce the institutionalization of children with disabilities, develop social support programs for families in vulnerable situations caring for children with disabilities, and allocate sufficient and qualified human, technical, and financial resources to child protection services, among other things.

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