UNICEF is urging governments to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Once ratified by 20 countries, the Convention will become international law.

The Disability Convention is the first treaty focusing exclusively on disability rights to be adopted by the General Assembly, giving status and authority to disability as a human rights issue. While there is no reliable data on the number of children with disabilities globally, estimates put their number at 150 million worldwide.

Countries that ratify the Treaty agree to enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights, and to abolish legislation and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities. The Convention was drafted with unprecedented participation of people with disabilities. True to the motto of the disability movement, "Nothing about us without us", it was the participation and expertise of people with disabilities, including children, which was key to the successful adoption of the convention.

UNICEF is increasingly working to promote the participation and inclusion of children and adolescents who are disabled. Examples of UNICEF's work in this area include helping reduce the use of institutional care for children with disabilities; promoting inclusive education strategies; increasing attention to children with disabilities as part of larger efforts to strengthen social protection systems; and landmine victims assistance.

With its adoption and signing, the UN Disability Convention, in addition to the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, provides UNICEF a framework for the protection of the rights of children with disabilities. UNICEF will encourage its regional and country offices to promote the ratification of the Convention and to support its implementation.

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