There are constant loud calls for the need to make sure that Child Rights are integrated into the legislation of every country, and rightly so. Except for the USA, all countries in the world have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, meaning they have committed to upholding Child Rights, something that is only possible if these rights are embedded in national legislation. Therefore it is also right that every time a country takes the step to integrate Child Rights into their legislation – as Scotland did recently – this is applauded and highlighted. However, it turns out that countries claiming to uphold Child Rights and serving children’s best interests is not something that should be taken at face value. Because sometimes these claims are made to defend practices that are not in children’s best interests at all.
Continue reading “Abuse of the ‘Best Interests’ Argument”Tag: #DisabilityRights
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
In last year’s blog to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (which you can find HERE), I explained how children with disabilities are more likely to end up in institutions and less likely to get out of them, even when a transformation of care process has been set in motion. This year, I would like to shine a light on how children with disabilities are more often than not excluded from any decisions made about them, even more so than children in institutions are in general.
Continue reading “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”