Conflicting interpretations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) send mixed messages on the safety and legitimacy of residential care, resulting in the replacement of large institutions with smaller ones often called ‘residential care’ or ‘group homes.’ This article demonstrates how the family inclusion mandate of General Comment No. 5 is rooted in the ‘human rights model of disability,’ fundamental to equal protection under the CRPD for all children with actual or perceived disabilities. The article proposes solutions to ensure full implementation of both the CRC and CRPD.

This call to action seeks to contribute to a range of efforts worldwide to promote consistent interpretation and enforcement of international human rights law in respect of children with disabilities, including the activities of the committees mentioned and other stakeholders and in particular the preparations for a Day of General Discussion on Children’s Rights and Alternative Care scheduled to take place in September 2021 under the auspices of the Committee on the Rights the Child.

All children have the right to live and grow up with a family. The preamble of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes that for their “full and harmonious development”, all children “should grow up in a family environment.”

Throughout the world, children with disabilities are separated from families due to stigma, discrimination, and economic marginalization. Children with disabilities are more at risk of being placed in institutions than other children, and they are often left out of deinstitutionalization and community programs.

Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2017); On the right of people with disabilities to live independently.

Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2017)