Side event at the 17th session of the Conference of State Parties to the CRPD
Wednesday 12th June 2024
The Year of Youth 2023 / 2024 was launched to mark fifty years of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. During this time youth with disabilities from across the Commonwealth have led on initiatives strengthening the rights, inclusion, advocacy, leadership and capacity of children and youth with disabilities. The Commonwealth recognises the pivotal role children and youth with disabilities in shaping for a more inclusive future.
It cannot be ignored that children and youth with disabilities are one of the most marginalised groups in the world and those who live in rural areas and indigenous communities are further disadvantaged
Across the global community, children and young people with disabilities face discrimination, exclusion, and underrepresentation. Their voices often unheard and disregarded, their visibility limited, and they are systematically excluded from critical decision-making processes that shape their lives. Youth with disabilities encounter formidable challenges, including a lack of support, investment, and acknowledgment in their pursuits of leadership, advocacy, and activism. These obstacles undermine their autonomy and diminish their impact within the realms of disability rights and youth empowerment movements. The human rights of children and youth people with disabilities should not be denied or disregarded.
This side event amplified the pivotal role of children and youth with disabilities in shaping a more disability rights inclusive future within the Commonwealth. Highlighting initiatives led by youth with disabilities, focused on enhancing rights, inclusion, advocacy, leadership, and capacity building and
Call To Action.
This side event was youth with disabilities led and was organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Children and Youth Disability Network (CCYDN), Include Me TOO and Hope and Homes for Children
Presentations
Presentations presented by youth with disabilities and guest speakers covered the following topics:
- Where is the Commonwealth in relation to children and youth disability rights and inclusion?
- Youth with disabilities, disability human rights activism and leadership in the Commonwealth
- Amplifying Young Voices – Survey on Young People with Disabilities Participation, Representation and Leadership in Disability Rights Advocacy and Public Decision Making
- Children and Young People with Disabilities ‘Call to Action’2030’ for the protection and implementation of their human rights and response to their Global Disability Children and Young People’s Charter campaign
- Establishing a Commonwealth Disability Commission and supporting the rights, visibility and voices of children and youth with disabilities.
- The 2022 Commonwealth Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform – as a tool to promote deinstitutionalization and the safeguarding of children and youth with disabilities their stories and their futures
Speakers
Commonwealth Secretariat
Hope and Homes for Children
Include Me TOO
Commonwealth Children & Youth Disability Network (CCYDN) – A panel of Youth with Disabilities Leaders and Advocates for Disability Rights
Minority Rights Group International