COMPILATION OF INTERNATIONAL NORMS
AND STANDARDS RELATING TO DISABILITY
Part IV. Rights Based Perspective. 10/12   
9. Access to Public Places
Legislation is also required to set standards for building both private and public
facilities that take into account the needs of persons with disabilities. Physical
barriers are often a hindrance to the full integration of persons with disabilities into
public life.
The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, Section B 26 (I)
provides that States should take efforts to make the physical environment accessible for
persons with disabilities. The following themes are emphasized in this declaration:
- Access Regulations like architectural building codes,
- Public Housing like homeless shelters and
- Public Transportation like travelling with disabled passengers.
Moreover, the guide Designing with Care provides technical and
architectural guidelines to build in both, private and public areas, with special
attention to disabled persons.
Paragraph 11 (g) of the Recommendation concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment states that all barriers and obstacles affecting transport of disabled
persons and access to and free movement in premises for their training and employment be
eliminated.
Paragraph 17 of The Habitat Agenda states that the one of the
goals of the Agenda is to increase the accessibility of persons with disabilities to
shelter, thereby improving their quality of life. According to Chapter III paragraph 25
(d), it states that the standards for accessibility must be in accordance with The
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
Paragraph 23 of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons
states that "...anyone in charge of any kind of enterprise should make it accessible
to people with disabilities." This includes public agencies, non-governmental
organizations, and private firms and individuals. Paragraph 113 states that States should
adopt a policy of observing accessibility aspects in the planning of human settlements,
including programmers in the rural areas of developing countries.
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