Shi Yanxia, 25, and Yao Yue, 18, have never expected that one
day they can stand before deputies from all over the world and
speak for the disabled young people like themselves.
Two weeks ago, however, they attended the Seventh Session of the
UN Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities in New York, to address the
rights and needs of disabled children.
"We hope the rights of disabled children will be represented in
this new international convention," Shi was quoted by Xinhua News
Agency as saying today in Hefei City, east China's
Anhui Province. Shi is head of Rights into Action for Youth
Disabilities, a non-governmental organization supported by Save the
Children.
The convention, to be discussed at two UN sessions in January
and August this year, is expected to be submitted to the 61st UN
General Assembly for approval and become the first international
convention worked out by the UN specifically for people with
disabilities.
Among the 600 million people with disabilities in the world,
there are around 150-200 million disabled children. Statistics from
Save the Children show that in developing countries, only 5 percent
of the disabled children receive various supports and less than 5
percent have access to school.
"Issues of disabled children are often considered to be the
responsibilities of families and thus neglected by the society as a
whole," said Shi, who was disabled by infantile paralysis in
childhood.
The NGO in which Shi works provides services such as information
exchange, occupational training and psychological counseling for
children and young people with disabilities.
To help handicapped children to get education, a class is held
in Hefei for those children free of charge. Nearly 30 students and
their parents are now attending the class to learn how to help the
kids recover.
As a senior high school student in Hefei, Yao is a colleague of
Shi. He said at the UN conference that for the disabled children,
early access to rehabilitation and education will allow more space
and opportunities for their development and future career
prospect.
With the support of Save the Children, Shi and Yao joined four
other young representatives from the UK and Bangladesh to speak on
the rights of disabled children.
"Compared with the common kids, disabled children face enormous
discrimination. The draft convention mainly focuses on disabled
adults and mentions little about children's rights," said Xiao Yu,
a project officer with Save the Children Beijing Office.
As a child-focused international organization, Save the Children
hopes the draft convention can also address child protection, birth
registration, children consultation and participation, access to
justice, and support for families to prevent abandonment and
neglect, she said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2006)