The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recently published its Concluding Observations adopted at its 90th session in which it reviewed States reports from, and held constructive dialogues with Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Greece, Iceland, Kiribati, Somalia and Zambia. Find them all here!
The Concluding Observations include many recommendations to States to enhance implementation and protection of the rights of children with disabilities. For example, the Committee recommended to Zambia to “[F]ully implement the Inclusive Education Guidelines in all schools, ensure that all children with disabilities have access to inclusive education in mainstream schools and Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres, guaranteeing that schools and ECE centres are equipped with trained teachers, accessible infrastructure and teaching materials adapted to the needs of children with disabilities”.
To Cyprus, the Committee recommeded “[S]trengthen support for the parents of children with disabilities and ensure the right of those children to grow up in their family environment, including by increasing the availability of early care, home nursing and relief services, providing timely and adequate socioeconomic support to all children with disabilities, regardless of the type of disability, and improving outreach to parents about the services available”.
For this session, IDA supported and collaborated closely with the Somali Disability Network. This is the first time the Somali Disability Network was able to engage with UN treaty bodies and their efforts at the CRC Committee have resulted in substantive concluding observations on children with disabilities including on access to inclusive education, ending discrimination against children with disabilities and access to rehabilitation services.
