A/HRC/43/27 B. Providing information about rights 41. It is self-evident that exercising and claiming rights requires that the person concerned is aware of their rights. Persons with disabilities have the right to know, seek and receive information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms and this right is reflected in article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, regarding access to information. Awareness-raising programmes should clearly define this objective and the appropriate means to achieve it. They could also contribute to facilitating access to accountability mechanisms when rights are not respected, including, but not limited to, complaint mechanisms and legal aid services. 42. Providing information about rights is less complex than other more ambitious goals, such as changing individual attitudes towards, or collective perceptions of, persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, serious consideration should be given to the kind of rights to be promoted and the tools to be used in awareness-raising programmes because the complex and innovative perspectives considered in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities could appear counterintuitive to the general public. In fact, they commonly require a customized design to be successful. Information about rights should be well tailored to the audience, using simple messaging and key aspects that the target audience can relate to. Massive campaigns to provide information about rights should bring the international standards in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the national context, being careful not to portray them as abstract rights, but as concrete entitlements and practices that lead to the enjoyment of such rights. 43. For example, the right to education requires an inclusive education system. Explaining the complexity of transforming systems may not be easy to achieve through a massive campaign, however, emphasizing that children with disabilities should not be barred from attending regulars school because of their impairments is a simple message than can substantially improve access to such a right. Raising awareness of the systemic transformations necessary to achieve fully inclusive education will require other interventions, such as training or long-term awareness-raising programmes linked to capacity-building. Providing information on rights is about providing the minimum tools for self-empowerment; it does not have the immediate goal of changing attitudes or removing other barriers beyond providing the necessary information to the target audience. 44. The existing stigmatization of persons with disabilities commonly results in a lack of self-identification as persons with disabilities or in a refusal by parents to accept the impairments of their children. Providing information about rights should factor in this social effect and implement strategies to address it. Hence, awareness-raising strategies should acknowledge that not all persons with disabilities will identify as being the target of the campaign and may disregard the information received. Consequently, the campaign should explore multiple communication strategies that appeal to different circumstances. For example, if the campaign aims at increasing awareness of social benefits this could be portrayed in a way that appeals to the possibility of using such benefits rather than presenting it as the realization of a right. Persons with disabilities may be motivated by the different goals that they value, which may go beyond the exercise of a right in itself, although the realization of the right is what is at the root of the action. 45. Parents of children with disabilities may not identify themselves as being discriminated against based on disability, since they are not persons with disabilities themselves. Raising awareness of their rights may be more effective if the rights are presented as mainstream rights, rather than disability-specific rights, as labour rights or the right to choose an education for their children. For example, the mothers of children with disabilities may see no value in independent living services for their children as a right, such as personal assistance at school, but they might see the value of the right to pursue a career and achieve economic independence. Portraying the right to independent living as a 9