Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities

Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities, Unicef House,
New York, 24.9.2013. 
 
Children with disabilities – let us join forces to push their rights forward.
Inga Marte Thorkildsen, Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion.
 
Mr//Madam Chair,
Ladies and gentlemen,
 First of all, - thank you to Unicef for facilitating the Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities. It is inspiring to it envourages me to do more.
 
A huge challenge lies ahead of us.
 
-        Ensuring that children with and without disabilities enjoy the same opportunities and rights. This has to do with equality, human rights, development and common sense. It is so much waste of human resources if do not use alll the skills of perssons with disabilities.
 
 
Yesterday the historic UN High Level Meeting agreed upon including persons with disabilities in all development.
 
Many good speaches were held and promises made. But words and promises can only get us that far.
Now it is time to act.
 
As Ban- kii Moon himself so specifically has spelled out:
There can be no development if development goals and actions leave out one billion people in the world. That is neither sustainable nor a basis for development.
 
We know the devasting facts:
 
-        children with disabilities are the last in line for resources, health services and education.
-        they are subject to stigmatisation, discrimination and abuse.
-        during disasters, in crises, natural disasters, and conflicts, they are the last to be reached by relief workers.
-        children with disabilities, especially girls, are more often victims of violence and abuse.  But we do not often speak about it.
-        children with disabilities account for a third of the world’s children not going to school. It so much waste of resources and so much injustice.
 
Education is the key to prosperity and safer, more independent future for every child.
 
It opens up opportunities for inclusion in society and for earning a living as an adult.
 
All national education schemes must include children with disabilities and be accessible to them. It is impossiblle to reach the Millenium Developmnet Goals withot including children with disabilities.
 
 
Children and young people have the right to be heard.
 
Mrs Alambuya, the speaker from Uganda spelled out to us that everyone would like to have a voice for themselves, persons with or without disabilities, children as well as adults. It is important to listen to childrens voices, both in respect of them and to secure the quality of services we provide.
 
Norway has, for many years, pursued inclusive disability policies. We are convinced that  a clear policy and plans and sound methods for measuring results are vital.  So too, of course, is a proper legal framework.
 
This takes political will. And we must ensure structured, regular cooperation with the disabled  people’s organisations.” Nothing about us, without us”
 
International cooperation is a cornerstone in the CRPD snd must support national obligations and efforts. Norway has recently adopted a policy on the inclusion of persons, including children, with disabilities in our international cooperation.
 
We will give priority to the fields of health, education, gender equality and humanitarian programmes in this connection.
 
Monitoring, statistics and indicators are core instruments. In our dialogue with grant recipients, we will seek to raise awareness of and enhance reporting on efforts to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
 
Norwaay will continuosly work to include persons with disabilities in the POST 2015 agenda. Let us work together.
 
Thank you.