See Me, Hear Me A guide to using the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to promote the rights of children

This guide is intended for use by child and disability rights advocates, and civil society organisations. It will also be of use to government in interpreting and implementing the rights of children with disabilities. It does assume some knowledge or understanding of advocacy and is not written for children themselves. This guide covers the following topics:

A glossary explaining some of the commonly used words in human rights law and practice

Part one: The development of rights for children with disabilities
1 A brief introduction to human rights where do they come from and what do they mean?
2 Historical overview of the rights of people, including children, with disabilities a brief review of the developments at international level that have led to an understanding of disability as a human rights issue, and the contribution of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to increased recognition of the rights of children with disabilities
3 Development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol an verview of the history of the Convention, how it came about, the role played by the disability community and children with disabilities, and the inclusion of issues concerning children with disabilities
4 Key provisions a brief description of all the articles in the Convention and its Optional Protocol, and their meaning

Part two: Implementing the rights of children with disabilities
5 Responsibility for implementation of the rights of the CRPD a detailed analysis of the key responsibilities of governments and the action they are expected to take after ratifying the CRPD and the UNCRC, as well as the responsibilities of other actors in the lives of children with disabilities
6 Advocacy to promote implementation suggested strategies for action to ensure effective advocacy to promote the realisation of the rights of children with disabilities
7 Understanding the rights of children with disabilities an analysis of how to use the CRPD and the UNCRC together in order to understand the key rights of children with disabilities and advocate effectively for their realisation
Appendix 1 gives the full text of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Appendix 2 lists useful sources of information for professionals working in this area.
Appendix 3 sets out how this guide was developed.