Too many people with disabilities, particularly children, continue to experience isolation, stigma and social exclusion because they live in specialised institutions.The Conference "Human Rights- Disability-Children: towards international instrument for disability rights - the special case of disabled children", organised by the Council o1 Europe in Strasbourg (8-9 November 2004) under its Norwegian Chairmanship, reviewed current Council of Europe instruments to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities. It focused in particular on the right of children with disabilities to grow up within a family and in a community context.The event, attended by more than 100 participants from 34 Council of Europe member and observer states, clearly showed that strengthening the rights of children with disabilities within a non-discriminatory framework "from patient to citizen" is a pan-European issue.The concrete follow-up of the conference is provided by a multidisciplinary ad hoc group of experts who, in the framework of the forthcoming Council of Europe Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation of people with disabilities in society: improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in Europe (2006 2015), will draw up recommendations and guidelines for the deinstitutionalisation of children with disabilities, promote the policy of community living and support families to care for their disabled children at home.
