The Rights of Children with Disabilities

Summary: At its 16th session (22 September -
10 October 1997) the Committee on
the Rights of the Child devoted a Day
of General Discussion (6 October
1997) to the theme "The Rights of
Children with Disabilities". This is the
submission made by the
International Save the Children
Alliance to the committee.

Submission to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child October 1997 Theme Day The International Save the Children Alliance currently comprises 25 national member organisations which work in over 100 countries worldwide. Save the Children's work is based on the rights of the child, expressed today in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Save the Children was instrumental in drafting. The International Save the Children Alliance has substantial experience running programmes and influencing policy both domestically and overseas. Save the Children agencies' experience of the needs and rights of disabled children is drawn from programmes in a number of different countries and regions and a wide variety of sectors, such as awareness training, community-based rehabilitation, education. Save the Children members have also published a number of policy documents on the needs and rights of disabled children. Save the Children welcomes the UN's choice of theme "The Rights of Children with Disabilities." The needs and rights of disabled children are frequently overlooked, since they experience a double invisibility: that of being a child and of being a disabled person. This submission concentrates on the three main topics for the day: "the rights of children with disabilities to life and development, to self representation and full participation, and to the entitlement to inclusive education", examining them in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with a Disability (STE). The submission makes recommendations for action. The International Save the Children Alliance calls on the Committee to review progress at a six-month review day of the agreed conclusions and action points from the day. It is also recommended that the submissions be collated and translated (into other languages and accessible formats) in order to make them widely available as a report of the day. In order to ensure its accessibility to visually impaired people, this submission is available in large print and on computer diskette on request. This paper was prepared on behalf of Save the Children by Eva Clarhäll and Ulrika Persson of Rädda Barnen, Sweden, Sue Stubbs of Save the Children UK and Diana Sutton, Save the Children European Office, Brussels. Introduction The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child indicates a new attitude concerning the role of children in society. It is based on the notion that children are human beings with the same value as adults. In the Convention this attitude is stressed in general principles which are exemplified in four Articles. Together these Articles form an approach to the rights of the child and give further guidance to the implementation. The main Articles are: Art 2 Non discrimination Art 3 Best interests of the child Art 6 Survival and development Art 12 Participation The general principles are often presented like this: Best interests of the child Survival and Development Non-Discrimination Participation The four Articles give the ethical and ideological dimension to the content of the Convention. These Articles are to all children the most important ones, which always should be taken into consideration. The picture illustrates the interlinkages between these four Articles and the right to development in the centre of the triangle indicates its importance. In the CRC special attention to disabled children is given in Article 23 and Article 2 but it is important to remember that every article which refers to "the child" also applies to the disabled child. However, the four principles form an interpretation of all the other rights and are of crucial relevance to disabled children. The child's right to survival and development (Art 6) This right goes further than to state the right to survive and not to be killed. One key obligation for governments is to "ensure to the maximum extent possible development of the child." What does development mean to a child, non-disabled as well as disabled? Development in general can be divided into different areas, such as physical, social, psychological, cognitive and emotional development. In each of these areas, the child develops skills by testing, learning by doing, coping with other children and adults, and thereby achieving and increasing his or her experience. The relationship therefore between children and persons close to them is very important. The word development has to be interpreted in a broad sense - in qualitative as well as quantitative terms - which includes development of the child's personality, capacities and abilities. When we discuss children's development, it is important that the concept relate to all major Articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The right to health, education, participation and protection are crucial when promoting development. Several factors influence the process of children's development. Among them are prevailing attitudes and knowledge about children's rights and needs in society as well as the ability of governments to ensure the possibilities for development. Attitudes On account of certain attitudes and beliefs, many disabled children excluded from society. Often disabled boys and girls are not given the opportunity to participate in play with their siblings and other children. Because of social and physical barriers they are prevented from taking part in social events on the same terms as other children. Consequently their experience and the opportunity to develop through coping and learning from and with others are limited. Negative attitudes in society often lead to abuse and neglect of the child. Experience shows that disabled children are particularly vulnerable to abuse in the family and in the community as well as in institutions. For example, studies show that disabled children are three times more likely to be sexually abused than non- disabled children. Children with disability experience difficulty in defending themselves as well as in reporting abuse. Abuse can delay and even inhibit the developmental process of the child. Studies, information and advocacy about the situation of disabled children will change prevailing negative attitudes. For this purpose child/parents/disabled persons organisations are important actors to involve. Knowledge Knowledge about children with disability is spread between different professional areas. Certain professionals look upon their development from their own professional viewpoint only. A holistic perspective of the development and best interest of the child is often missing. Another reason for the lack of a holistic perspective is that the views and needs of the children and their parents are not taken into consideration. Knowledge and awareness about how to involve parents and children in programmes and interventions with the objective of improving their situation are limited. Knowledge about how to stimulate and act together with disabled girls and boys, in order to promote their self-respect and self-confidence, is of great importance. The child must be treated as a child with his or her abilities, not just focusing on the impairment. Professionals should work in closer cooperation with disabled children and their parents. Government ability The ability and willingness of governments to ensure the development of disabled children varies. All over the world research is being undertaken to enhance knowledge and there are new laws and other instruments to promote and secure children's development. In most countries, the main problem is not the laws and policy instruments but that these are not followed-up and no resources are given to make them a reality. This is especially true when it comes to realising the rights of disabled children. Governments' reports on the implementation of the CRC to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and NGOs' alternative reports are important tools for monitoring the situation of disabled children. Another important progressive tool in this work is the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. However, STE is a very adult-focused instrument. The second survey made by the Special Rapporteur for STE shows that a majority of countries focus on a welfare approach towards disabled children, i.e. put more emphasis on rehabilitation and prevention, and less on accessibility and anti- discrimination. A review of national and NGO reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child shows that disabled boys and girls are not dealt with in an inclusive manner and that their situation is not reported in a comprehensive way. Such reports are therefore not very useful monitoring tools. The review also shows that guidelines for the categorisation of information in the reports to the UN Committee are not adequate to ensure a good picture of the situation of children with disability. Governments are told to report about disabled children under the heading of Basic health and welfare, which shows a very traditional welfare approach to disability (Brolin 1996). There is a need for better guidelines, more active monitoring and follow-up of the reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning disabled children. The guidelines should encourage a more holistic and inclusive approach towards disabled children. Disabled people's organisations and non- governmental organisations working in various countries involved in the disability field should take an active part. Through pushing for disabled children's rights by forming, joining and monitoring national coalitions, non-governmental and disabled people's organisations can play an important role in promoting disabled children's rights. Save the Children recommends that the Special Rapporteur on the Standard Rules draw States' attention to the CRC and the need to ensure that the child rights perspective is integrated into States implementation of the Standard Rules and vice versa for the CRC monitoring reports. Disabled Children's Right to Inclusion/Inclusive Education Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child makes special mention of disabled children; however every article in the Convention refers also to the disabled child. Article 23 is open to ambivalent interpretation, because it refers to concepts such as "special care" and "special needs" without defining them. The priority needs of disabled children are not special, they are basic; disabled children need food, shelter, love and affection, protection, education. Also phrases such as "subject to available resources" and "education ... in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration" are open to different interpretations according to who is making decisions and who holds the purse strings. There is a danger that Article 23, rather than promoting the rights of the disabled child, offers an excuse for indefinite procrastination; who will define 'available resources'? The following is a summary of some problems frequently encountered in relation to discussions on the rights of disabled children. Development fashion, competing issues and attitudes Children as a whole are marginalised within the development process, and there is a campaign by several agencies to push the "children's agenda" in development. Lack of awareness means that unless disabled children are specifically mentioned, they become marginalised within the general children's agenda. In practice, certain groups of children are more fashionable and appealing than others, attracting more media profile and more funding for projects. Certain themes become fashionable at certain times for all sorts of political reasons. Currently topics such as "child labour" are likely to elicit more interest and money from donors than "disabled children." In addition, programmes and policies focusing on "street children", "child labour" and "sexual exploitation" do not include disabled children. The starting point is to examine one's attitudes, feelings and motivation in relation to supporting different rights campaigns, and to see whether our "prioritising" reflects our own bias or some sort of "objective" reality. Disabled children are everywhere, they lack access to basic rights, and yet simple inclusive policy making and programme implementation can realise their rights. The main barrier to inclusion is because "disability" is not fashionable or attractive in the development world. Another key problem linked to the discussion on development fashion is the plethora of misunderstandings, myths and fear surrounding disability. As one Save the Children manager stated in his induction: "When I hear the word 'disability,' I see an image of someone severely disabled and dribbling in a corner." A large majority of us have grown up in a segregated society - we do not have disabled friends, neighbours, partners, our children do not bring home disabled playmates. If we do, then we see them as the exceptions, the heroes, the brave, the remarkable. This very simple factor perpetuates exclusion through lack of basic knowledge and awareness about actual disabled children and adults. In one Save the Children programme in Africa, a blind child was asked to speak about his experience of education to the Save the Children staff. He was confident, eloquent and very clear about his abilities, his rights, his ambitions. Staff were incredulous - they had never imagined a disabled child could speak like this. Some even asked whether the child had been trained beforehand. Who are disabled children? Impairment is a normal part of human life and children with impairments are to be found in every society, every culture, every community throughout the world. It will always be impossible to define the precise number of disabled children in the world because the concepts of both "impairment" and "disability" are defined differently according to different cultures and contexts. There are many different types of impairments both visible and invisible. The extent to which children with impairments are disabled depends on many factors, such as the attitude and behaviour of others towards them (parents, teachers, neighbours), the satisfaction of their basic needs, policies which include or exclude them, the accessibility of the environment, their access to appropriate basic support for their development. In economically poorer countries, one author (Helander 1993) estimates that 4% of the population would have moderate or severe disability. Often the average family has six members. This means that 25% of the population is directly affected by disability. The conservative estimate of 4% does not take account of the high incidence of children born with impairments who are severely disabled in their particular context. How are disabled children excluded? There are many factors which influence the extent to which a child with an impairment is disabled and excluded within their particular culture and context. The general factors of ignorance, attitudes, false beliefs are by far the main barriers in all cultures and contexts. Gender: female children with impairments are more likely not to survive, to be abandoned, to be discriminated against, to be excluded from education, to be deemed unmarriagable and to be excluded from motherhood and general participation in their society. Poverty: where communities lack access to basic resources, families with disabled members are frequently the poorest and most marginalised. In the experience of Save the Children, even the very poorest families initially try to care for and protect their disabled child, but with negative beliefs, behaviours, lack of information, knowledge, skills and resources, the family becomes trapped in a cycle of poverty and exclusion. For example: In a nomadic tribe in Ethiopia, a woman had cared for a child with cerebral palsy for many years. Now the child was about 10 years old and still could not clean or feed herself; the woman spent twelve hours a day at the market and was finding it increasingly difficult to come back and clean and care for the child - the tribe was in the desert and water was scarce. Everyone in the community was struggling to survive and no one knew how to help. Children in particularly difficult circumstances, such as conflict or refugee situations, are especially vulnerable to exclusion, again largely due to exclusive policy making and implementation. From exclusion to inclusion in education So what is meant by the right to inclusive education? Lessons from the experience of Save the Children highlight the following issues: Inclusive education is part of a strategy for inclusive development; it cannot take place in isolation. The family, the community, other sectors all need to be involved from the start. Inclusive education is primarily about transforming or building an education system which responds to the real diversity of children, whether according to disability, ethnicity, gender, age, HIV status or other type or difference. The focus is on changing the system, not trying to make the child fit a rigid system. Inclusive education is good for all children, because it results in school improvement and a methodology and curriculum which is child focused. Finally, inclusive education is more than inclusive schooling; schools are only one part of education which begins in the family and continues throughout life. Consider the difference between these two scenarios: A severely disabled child in a poor rural community is hidden away in a back room, left alone in her own mess all day whilst her mother works; the father has left after blaming the mother for the birth; the siblings miss school to help with the care of the child and are unmarriageable due to superstition. The disabled child has no access to daylight or stimulation and does not receive enough food because the mother does not know how to position her. The mother is isolated within the community and is concerned only with survival. 1The same severely disabled child is in a community where awareness has been raised and simple training carried out for rehabilitation volunteers, health workers and school teachers. The child has a corner seat where she sits outside the house every day. Community members come to visit her and the mother belongs to a parents' support group which also does some income generation. School children are encouraged and praised by their teachers when they visit the child and help to teach her basic skills. The rehabilitation worker has developed an educational programme for the child with the mother to prioritise activities of daily living. The latter situation does not address all the challenges nor solve all the problems, but demonstrates that even a severely disabled child can be included in educational planning - it is not just a matter of location within a school building. Early childhood education From birth, children with impairments can be excluded from access to the very basic support for their development that all children need; they are kept hidden and excluded from daylight, from ordinary environmental stimulation, from physical contact, from general stimulation for their movement and language development. Lack of sufficient early childhood care, stimulation and education cannot be compensated for in later life - this is a crucial and unique stage in a child's life. In Anhui province in China, kindergarten teachers were trained to make their teaching methods more child focused and to respond to individual needs through team teaching and flexible methodology. This enabled two children with mental disabilities to be included in each class, despite large class sizes and few resources. The new methodology not only benefits the children with mental disability, but has resulted in improved education for all the children. In many countries there is no organised kindergarten system. Often parents will wait many years after they have realised that their children are "different", hoping that they will learn to walk or talk in their own time - often this means that the children miss out on crucial support to their development in the early years. Once community-based rehabilitation becomes established and known about in the community, parents start to seek help for their children much earlier, and local volunteers or parent support groups can provide appropriate advice and training which enable the children to develop their basic skills. Primary school education In the experience of Save the Children programmes, disabled children are excluded from local primary schools in many different ways: One common reason is very simply that parents and the community do not know or believe that disabled children can be educated, that they can learn and develop. Parents are ashamed of their disabled children and wish to keep them hidden. Even if they are not ashamed, overprotection will often mean that they keep their children indoors and away from school. And if they do not keep their children hidden, often neighbours will criticise them for allowing disabled children to be seen outside the house. In many primary schools, teachers are poorly trained and the curriculum is often rigid and not very relevant to local communities. In many cases disabled children are left at the back of the class, repeating years, failing and dropping out. Teachers do not have the necessary knowledge and skills and so, even though the children are sitting in the classroom, they are excluded from education. A simple programme of training and awareness raising for teachers not only enabled those children with impairments to benefit, but also made teaching more child focused and reduced drop-out and repeater rates for all children. In many rural areas schools can only be reached by long walks; there is no public transport or roads, and mobility-impaired children cannot access them. Access to education cannot be separated from issues of quality. The following are examples of a range of ways in which barriers to inclusion in education can be removed: Lalla in Lesotho has cerebral palsy. The integrated education programme began in Lesotho when Lalla was 12 years old. Initially she started to attend school in a wheelchair and made excellent progress. When the wheelchair broke, her mother borrowed a neighbour's wheelbarrow. When the neighbour wanted the wheelbarrow back, Lalla at home, but pupils and teachers visit her and have developed a home-based programme for her. The teachers are intending to visit the local health centre to try to persuade the physio-therapist to visit her at home, and to find a way to fix her wheelchair. Children themselves are often the strongest advocates for educational inclusion: "My life was full of fear ... my mother would not allow me out of the house. Because I was blind, she said that if I went out I would fall down and get a second disability. I was lonely because all the other children went to school... Since I have been in this programme (non-formal education classes for blind children), I have learnt not to have fear - now I go anywhere, I have many friends because I am learning like other children. My uncle did not believe I could learn so he asked me to write a word and I wrote it ... Now I am confidant I can attend my local school; if I have any problem, I will ask my friends... When I grow up I want to be a teacher..." Boy in the two-year education programme for blind children in northern Ethiopia In Zanzibar, Suleman was 7 years old and was hearing impaired. His younger brother began to attend the local school, but Suleman's mother did not think there would be any purpose in sending a deaf child to school. One day, Suleman stole his brother's school uniform and took himself to school. The head teacher felt that because he had come, he should stay. The teachers use signs with him, he points to pictures, and the children devised an action song which he can join in. The head teacher believes he has developed a lot of social skills and that his language is improving. Conclusion Some key lessons learned from the experience of Save the Children: Education is a basic right and, contrary to common belief, making education inclusive can improve access and quality for all, within low resource levels. It is not an expensive luxury. When children with impairments are excluded, they suffer unnecessarily from false beliefs and discriminatory policies and practices. With basic educational opportunity they can not only learn to benefit themselves but can become productive members of their families and communities and help reduce poverty. In practice, it is development fashion and personal bias that influences debates on the rights of disabled children; excuses for procrastination and lack of action can easily and always be found but, whatever the excuses, increasing numbers of examples of success disprove them. Change begins with an honest examination of one's own attitudes, understanding, knowledge and belief. Commitment and openness, not simply resources, are the keys to success. Self representation and full participation "States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child." (Article 12) The reality however for many disabled children is a far cry from the rights-based statements in these UN instruments. "We were not asked what we wanted." "No one consulted me when I was sent to a residential home." "I wanted to stay with my family but I did not have a choice." Statements like these are typical from disabled children who, when interviewed, have complained about a lack of interest among adults about their own wishes and preferences. Both the CRC and STE place obligations on States to involve children in decisions that affect them (Article 12, CRC) and to involve disabled people through representative organisations of disabled people in decisions that affect them (Rule 18 STE). Both instruments respectively recognise and address the exclusion experienced by children, when adults take decisions on their behalf without consultation and similarly the exclusion experienced by disabled people when non-disabled people make decisions on their behalf. It is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on the link between Article 12 and Rule 18 when member states are submitting monitoring reports and also by NGOs themselves. Disabled children experience a double exclusion (In our own words 1995): "The participation of children in decision-making is very rare, and the reasons for it barely understood. For disabled children, this invisibility can be even worse. Not only are their wishes often ignored because of their status as children, but since the predominant image of disability in many societies is one of helplessness, they are less likely to be consulted or have their wishes considered... Disabled children are regarded as being incapable of having any views which might determine decisions concerning their welfare and future." Disability policy and child policy have both (at least until the recent rights-based expression in both the CRC and STE) been paternalistic, based on charitable interventions as opposed to rights. Similarly both groups experience strong negative expectations and assumptions by society, in particular adults and non-disabled people, pertaining to their perceived competence to participate in policy and planning. It is only with hindsight that policy-makers have found to their cost that not involving children in decision-making can be expensive, resulting in facilities and services that are inappropriate to the needs of the child. Similarly, non involvement of disabled people in planning of services or design of buildings can result in expensive adaptations at a later stage. The benefits can substantially outweigh the cost of involving children since this lack of consultation and involvement can mean that services are often inaccessible. "I would like to be independent but conditions in my neighbourhood mean that I constantly need help. If I want to go to the market, take a trip into the town or visit the cinema I always need someone to push me around." The costs of non-participatory decision-making can be high, as this example from the World Bank - "the invisible boundary" - shows: Having invested a good deal of money in new school buildings for a village, the local authorities and the World Bank who had provided the funds were puzzled as to why, a year later, the school was still empty; none of the intended pupils had turned up. When the local children were asked why they did not come to school, they replied that there was an "invisible boundary" around the village, which marked the limit of safe travel on foot from their homes. The new school was outside this "boundary". Had the planners talked to children directly in the first place, the school would have been located in the right place and the children would have been happy to attend. Exclusion and discrimination however are societally determined. The testimonies of disabled children about how they would like to be treated show a high level of empowerment and self image and contrast starkly with the statements made about how others view them. Below disabled children describe their exclusion from family, community life and school: "Many people are ignorant and do not understand us. They are narrow minded and cannot see the positive things we can offer society. When I reach secondary school I will make new friends and try and change these attitudes." "Although I have a disability, I would like to be treated no differently from any other child in the neighbourhood. People should respect the things I can do and not only concentrate on the things I can't do." Even if Rule 1 of the UN Standard Rules recommends that "States should encourage the portrayal of persons with disabilities by the mass media in a positive way," disabled children are frequently portrayed as passive recipients of care and as dependent. Images in the media and in literature reinforce negative stereotypes and contribute to discrimination experienced by disabled children. "I don't like the way children like me are portrayed in newspapers and television. Most of the time we are presented as helpless, as if we never do anything for ourselves. Yes, we need help but we don't need our dignity to be taken away at the same time." Disabled children need to be in mainstream programmes as child actors. The journalist's dilemma is how to cover events without patronising disabled people; a way forward is that they can create space for the perspective of disabled people. Disabled people want to be part of the illustrations, stories in books, films and programmes where the focus is on relationships and not on impairments. Certain steps have to be taken to ensure that participation, consultation and involvement in decisions is not simply tokenism. In "The Ladder of Participation" Hart notes the difference at the bottom between manipulation - adults using children's voices to carry their own message - and child-initiated and directed participation at the top. There are particular needs that must be addressed to ensure that both children and disabled people can participate in decisions that affect their lives. Not all disabled people and not all children have the same needs; decision-makers must be aware that age, disability and capacity will affect the type of participatory decision-making methods needed to ensure child- directed participation as opposed to tokenism. As noted in All together now 1997: It means ensuring that the views and involvement of all groups of children and young people should be sought. It means ensuring that cultural, gender and age differences between children and young people are taken fully into account and that all sections are involved. Also those children and young people who are especially articulate should not be deemed to speak for all and the most marginalised and disadvantaged children and young people should also be involved." For example, methods used to ensure meaningful participation in a decision will be very different for a 17-year-old child compared with a three-year-old; similarly methods to involve in a decision someone with a learning disability will be different from a person with a physical impairment. Therefore genuine participatory decision-making methods have to be developed to ensure the meaningful involvement of disabled children. These can involve: developing methods which enable and support disabled children to express their views 1being aware of particular barriers to participation of disabled children, e.g. availability of sign-language interpreters, information that is accessible both to children and to disabled people (i.e. child-accessible material in braille, tape or other appropriate format) 1avoiding other barriers to dialogue with disabled children, e.g. use of jargon, inaccessible language 1peer advocacy - the representation of a younger child's interests by an older child or by another disabled child; independent advocacy - the representation of a disabled child's needs by another adult who is not a parent or carer 1investment in training of researchers, development workers and service providers so they are better able to listen to and communicate with disabled children. Conclusions and recommendations Children as a whole are marginalised within the development process, but certain groups of children are more fashionable and appealing than others. Unless disabled children are specially mentioned, they become marginalised within the children's agenda. Negative attitudes in society often lead to abuse and neglect of the child. This can result in exclusion from the ordinary school system in favour of special education in institutions or no schooling at all. Contrary to inclusive education, the focus seems to be on trying to make the child to fit into society instead of changing the system. Knowledge about children with disabilities and support for development are separated between different professional groups. Disability policy and child policy have until recently been paternalistic, based on charitable interventions as opposed to rights. Neither disabled children nor children in general are used to being listened to; and society has strong negative expectations and assumptions concerning their perceived competence in expressing their views and participating in policy and planning. Not involving children in decision-making can result in facilities and services that are inappropriate to their needs. In order to monitor the situation and make a reality of the rights of disabled children, tools such as government and NGO alternative reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as well as UN Standard Rules, are very important. Review of national and NGO reports shows however that disabled children are not dealt with in an inclusive manner, nor is their situation reported in a comprehensive way. Recommendations Prevailing negative attitudes can be changed through promotion of studies, information and advocacy about the situation of disabled children. For this purpose child/parent/disabled people's organisations are important actors to involve. Knowledge about how to stimulate and act together with disabled girls and boys should be emphasised, in order to promote their development and self-confidence and ensure that the child is treated as a child with his or her abilities, not just focusing on the impairment. Promotion and further development of inclusive education, primarily built on a system which responds to the diversity of children and is directed towards all children, will result in school improvement and methodology and curriculum which are more child-focused. Professionals should work in closer cooperation with disabled children and their parents. There are particular needs to ensure that disabled boys and girls can participate in decisions that affect their lives. Decision-makers must be aware that age, disability and capacity will affect the type of participatory decision-making methods needed to ensure child-directed participation as opposed to tokenism. Investment in training of researchers, development workers and service providers so they are better able to listen to and communicate with disabled children should be taken into consideration. There is a need for better guidelines, more active monitoring and follow-up of the reports concerning disabled children. Disabled people's organisations and non-governmental organisations involved in the disability field throughout the world should take an active part in the monitoring process. The Special Rapporteur on the Standard Rules should draw States' attention to the CRC and the need to ensure that the child rights perspective is integrated into States' implementation of the Standard Rules and vice versa for the CRC monitoring reports. Non-governmental organisations should be encouraged to ensure that disabled children are included in all their children's programmes. Disabled girls and boys need to be involved in mainstream programmes as child actors. References and bibliography L. Andersson Brolin, The Rights of Children with Disabilities. How Progress is Monitored. A review of national and NGO reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Rädda Barnen 1996 T. Hammarberg, Making Reality of the Rights of the Child. The UN Convention: what it says and how it can change the status of children worldwide. International Save the Children Alliance 1996 (3rd edition) ??Hart, The ladder of participation E. Helander, Prejudice and Dignity. UNDP New York 1993 J. Holdsworth and J. Kay (eds), Towards inclusion: Save the Children UK's experience in integrated education. Save the Children Fund Bangkok 1996 International Save the Children Alliance Training Kit on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. International Save the Children Alliance 1997 (2nd edition) M. Kvam, Seksuelle overgrep mot barn med funsjonshemming. Redd Barna 1995 Rädda Barnen 1995. Rädda Barnen's policy and strategy for children with disability as part of the international programme Rädda Barnen 1997. A Matter of Social Context ... The Sexual Abuse of Children with Disabilities Save the Children UK: Annotated Bibliography of Save the Children Disability Documentation. 1997 In our own words: disability and integration in Morocco. 1995 Invisible children: report of the Joint Conference on Children, Images and Disability. 1995 All together now: community participation for children and young people. 1997 Towards a children's agenda: new challenges for social development. 1995 Together it is possible: an anthology of disability work in overseas programmes. 1994 S. Stubbs, Disability and overseas programmes: a discussion paper. Save the Children UK 1993 S. Stubbs, Towards inclusive education: the global experience of Save the Children. Save the Children UK 1997 D. Tolfree, Roofs and Roots: Care of separated children in developing countries. Save the Children UK and Arena 1995 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities