Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
17. The Committee observes with concern:
(a) The early identification and rehabilitation system, as regulated by the Maternal and Child Health Act, which leads children with disabilities – on the basis of their medical examination – to social segregation, distancing them from the community and hindering inclusive life prospects;
(b) The lack of clear recognition of the right of children with disabilities to be heard, and to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, in all relevant laws, including the Child Welfare Act;
(c) The lack of full prohibition of corporal punishment of children, including children with disabilities, in home, alternative care and day-care settings, as well as the insufficient measures to prevent and protect children with disabilities against abuse and violence.
18. With reference to the joint statement of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the rights of children with disabilities, of 2022, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Review the existing legislation with the aim of recognizing the right to full social inclusion of all children with disabilities, and take all necessary measures, including universal design, and reasonable accommodation – inter alia, alternative and augmentative methods of information and communication, to ensure their full enjoyment of this right in the general childcare system from their earliest age on an equal basis with other children;
(b) Recognize the right of children with disabilities to be heard, and to express their views freely on all matters affecting them on an equal basis with other children, including in judicial and administrative proceedings, and to be provided with disability- and age-appropriate assistance and communication in accessible formats to realize that right;
(c) Fully and explicitly prohibit the corporal punishment of children, including of those with disabilities, in all settings, and strengthen measures to prevent and protect against abuse and violence against children with disabilities.
