A Call To Action To Build A Fully Accessible Society

[Commentary] The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, one of the committees in the UN human rights treaty bodies system, adopted its General Comment No 2 on the issue of Accessibility.

The General Comment to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) aims to provide guidance to all relevant stakeholders, such as states and international organizations, on how to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities. Without access to the physical environment, transportation, information and communication, including information and communications technologies (ICTs) and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, persons with disabilities would not have equal opportunities for participation in their respective societies.

Many observers have argued that access to information and communication is a precondition for freedom of opinion and expression and should be included in the Convention. The CRPD is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century to explicitly address the importance of ensuring access to ICTs.

The importance of ICTs lies in its ability to introduce a wide range of new services, transform existing services and create greater demand for access to information and knowledge -- particularly for underserved and excluded populations, such as persons with disabilities. Article 12 of the International Telecommunication Regulations enshrines the right for persons with disabilities to access international telecommunication services. Taking into account other relevant International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendations, this Article could serve as a basis to reinforce State Parties’ national legislative frameworks.

The strict application of universal design should ensure full, equal and unrestricted access for all potential consumers, including persons with disabilities, in a way that takes full account of their inherent dignity and diversity. Accessibility of information and communication, including ICTs, should be achieved from the outsetbecause subsequent adaptations to such technologies may increase costs, thus making these services less affordable for persons with disabilities.

It is therefore more economical to incorporate mandatory ICT accessibility features from the earliest stages of design and production.

[Damjan Tatic, PhD, is legal expert, disability activist and a scholar from Belgrade, Serbia]