Child Rights and Disability: A Historical and Contemporary

Abstract

Protecting and making human rights available for every individual on the planet is a herculean challenge in itself and doing so for individuals who cannot defend their rights on their own is difficult still. Children are one such section of the society who are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations.  They have no voice in political process. They participate directly in no lobbies on their behalf. At a time when they are particularly weak and easily intimidated and manipulated, their rights are particularly vulnerable to infringement. As a result governments across the globe have considered it necessary to national legislations to protect their rights. Even more vulnerable are children with disabilities are often discriminated against and deprived of their normal activities of the childhood. Throughout history certain basic amenities like education, healthcare, family life, opportunities to play and work have been denied to them. They have experienced and lived a life of social exclusion which clearly demonstrates violation of their rights as equal human beings and members of the society.  The paper examines the established framework for protection of rights of these differently-abled children from historical as well as contemporary perspective