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Thursday, 16 April 2015

Cátia Malaquias at the UN in Geneva

Cátia Malaquias is the mother of a young son with Down syndrome, from Perth. You might recognise her name from her campaign to have people with disabilities included in advertising images, to represent the real community.

On 20th March, Cátia represented Down Syndrome Australia at the United Nations in New York supporting the presentation of The Special Proposal, a World Down Syndrome Day campaign with CoorDown Onlus Coordinamento associazioni persone Down and other international associations.

Yesterday,  Cátia continued her advocacy on behalf of Australians with Down syndrome with the United Nations in Switzerland:

Why I am in Geneva Today
Cátia Malaquias, Attitude Foundation, 15th April 2015
This morning, I am in Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the Day of General Discussion (DGD) at the United Nations. This meeting is being held with State parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, human rights and disability organisations and other interested parties, arising in part from the concern of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities that the exclusion and discrimination experienced by children and adults with disability hinders broader social and economic inclusion in their later lives, in all spheres ...

... Why have I come here? Because I am deeply disappointed by the submission made by the Australian government to the Committee for the DGD. ... (that) ... merely asserted that the legal framework for its education system was "consistent" with the Convention. This assertion carries with it the claim that Australia is complying with its obligation to “ensure an inclusive education system”. Australia’s submission then goes to considerable lengths to emphasise that the Committee should read the obligation to provide "inclusive education" as depending upon "available resources" and being only to the extent of "reasonable accommodation" ... read all of Cátia's guest post here, including a link to her submission to the UN

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