Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The United Nation's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was opened for signature on March, 30 2007. This Convention recognizes and validates the rights and freedoms of all people with various disabilities. The Convention is rooted within eight guiding principles. Of particular interest to early childhood care and development is the principle stipulating "Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities". Furthermore, Articles 7, 23, and 24 of the Convention declare equal rights, educational equity, and protection for children with disabilities.

More than one billion people face some form of disability, UN report finds
The World Report on Disability, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, with contributions from over 380 experts, urges governments to “to step up efforts to enable access to mainstream services and to invest in specialized programmes to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities.”

See Coordinators' Notebook Issue No. 29 for related article: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Implications for ECCD (p. 38-45)