DECLARATION OF DEAF CHILDREN’S HUMAN RIGHTS October 5th 2002 "Japan Deaf Children and Parents Association" declares the following: Our children are deaf. Deaf children will become deaf adults in the future. The mother tongue of deaf children and deaf adults is Japanese sign language. We secure the mother tongue environment of our children and their right to be educated using their mother tongue. We promote bilingual education which sets written Japanese as the second language. We want to bring up deaf children as deaf children. We want them to appreciate their dignity as a human being and as a deaf person. We understand that there is deaf culture of deaf children and deaf adults. "being unable to hear" does not mean unhappiness. We protect deaf children's human rights.

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