Governments urged to build on innovations, speed up inclusive
education reforms for children with disabilities MOSCOW, Russian
Federation, 27 September 2011 – Some 1.1 million children with
disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth
of Independent States are hidden away at home or in
institutions. They are likely to be out of school and among
those most vulnerable to neglect, abuse and exploitation, UNICEF
said at a major conference which opened today. UNICEF Senior
Advisor of Children with Disabilities, Rosangela Berman-Bieler,
urged governments to ratify the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and support policies for inclusive
education. Across the region, 18 countries have signed the
Convention and 12 have ratified it – showing that many countries
here are leading the way in addressing the issue of children
with disabilities compared to other regions while acknowledging
that much more needs to be done. Russia, the host of the
conference, signed the Convention in 2008