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Fourth Session
Non-governmental organizations
Children's Rights Alliance for EnglandWorking Meeting of NGOs for people with disabilities from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus & Moldova
Comments, proposals and amendments submitted electronically
Non-governmental organizations
CHILDREN's RIGHTS ALLIANCE FOR ENGLAND
Article 19
Accessibility
1. States Parties to this Convention shall take appropriate measures to
identify and eliminate obstacles, and to ensure accessibility for persons
with disabilities to the built environment, to transportation, to information
and communications, including information and communications technologies,
and to other services, in order to ensure the capacity of persons with disabilities
to live independently and to participate fully in all aspects of life. The
focus of these measures shall include, inter alia:
(a) The construction and renovation of public buildings, roads and other
facilities for public use, including play and leisure facilities, schools,
housing, medical facilities, indoor and outdoor facilities and publicly
owned workplaces;
(b) The development and remodelling of public transportation facilities,
communications and other services, including electronic services.
2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
(a) Provide in public buildings and facilities signage in Braille and easy-to-read-and-understand
forms;
(b) Provide other forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including
guides, readers and sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility
to public buildings and facilities;
(c) Develop, promulgate and monitor implementation of minimum national standards
and guidelines for the accessibility of public facilities and services;
(d) Encourage private entities that provide public facilities and services
to take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;
(e) Undertake and promote research, development and production of new assistive
technologies, giving priority to affordably priced technologies;
(f) Promote universal design and international cooperation in the development
of standards, guidelines and assistive technologies;
(g) Ensure that organizations of persons with disabilities are consulted
when standards and guidelines for accessibility are being developed;
(h) Provide training for all stakeholders on accessibility issues facing
persons with disabilities.
LANDMINE SURVIVORS NETWORK
DRAFT ARTICLE 19 – ACCESSIBILITY
SYNTHESIS OF PROPOSALS
1. States Parties to this Convention shall take appropriate measures to
identify and eliminate existing barriers, prevent the creation of new barriers,
and ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities to the physical environment,
to amenities inside buildings to the communications environment, to transportation,
to information and communications, including information and communications
technologies, and to other services, in order to ensure the capacity of
persons with disabilities to live independently and to participate fully
in all aspects of life. The focus of these measures shall include, inter
alia:
(a) the construction and renovation of buildings, roads, infrastructure
and other facilities, including but not limited to schools, housing, medical
facilities, in door and out-door facilities and workplaces; and
(b) the development and remodeling of transportation facilities, communications
and other services, including electronic services.
2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
(a) provide in buildings and facilities signage in Braille and easy-to-read-and-understand
forms;
(b) provide other forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including
but not limited to guides, readers and sign language interpreters, to facilitate
accessibility to public buildings and facilities;
(c) develop, promulgate and monitor implementation of minimum national standards
and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services
in partnership with organizations of persons with disabilities;
(d) require private entities that provide facilities and services to take
into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;
(e) undertake and promote research, development and production of new assistive
technologies and universal design, giving priority to affordably priced
technologies;
(f) promote universal design and international cooperation in the development
of standards, guidelines and assistive technologies; and
(g) provide training for all stakeholders on accessibility issues facing
persons with disabilities.
COMMENTS
Draft Article 19 provides a focused examination of accessibility which although
addressed in places throughout the draft text, is an issue deserving of
its own article given the importance of access for people with disabilities.
Such an approach is also consistent with that taken in the UNSR, which addresses
aspects of accessibility throughout, but also includes a specific rule on
accessibility in its section examining Target Areas for Equal Participation.
(Cf. UNSR, Rule 5)
Members of the Ad Hoc Committee largely agreed that Draft Article 19 requires
changes to ensure that it provides adequate guidance to States on the wide
range of relevant issues, at the same time avoiding unnecessary duplications
of issues better addressed elsewhere in the Convention. However, many of
the proposed amendments set forth during the third session of the Ad Hoc
Committee were either overly broad and lacking in necessary detail, or overly
prescriptive. The approach taken here has therefore been to incorporate
discrete changes that both serve to clarify as well as broaden the article.
One proposed amendment not incorporated in Draft Article 19, was the proposal
to replace “appropriate” with “progressive” (Australia, Japan, India) in
Draft Article 19(1) and (2). The application of the principle of progressive
realization to Draft Article 19 as a whole would be inappropriate, given
that accessibility is a cross-cutting issue and relevant to the enjoyment
of both civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural
rights. To expressly incorporate the principle of progressive realization
implies that the realization of civil and political rights for people with
disabilities (such as access to voting) should be realized progressively.
The concept of progressive realization has been incorporated in the article
addressing general obligations, and questions regarding its application
in specific contexts should be left to the treaty monitoring body.
Draft Article 19(1) incorporates the proposal to not only reference the
elimination of existing barriers, but also the need to “prevent the creation
of new barriers.” (New Zealand)
This approach is not only consistent with the approach of the social model
of disability, but is also of great importance given changes in technology.
Draft Article 19(1) also elaborates the areas in which States should eliminate
and prevent the creation of new barriers. “Built environment” has been replaced
with “physical environment,” which a number of members felt is a broader
and more appropriate term (Costa Rica, Japan, India, Serbia and Montenegro),
and “amenities inside buildings and the communications environment,” (New
Zealand) has also been added. Similarly, in Draft Article 19(1)(a), the
concept of “infrastructure” has been included (New Zealand) to broaden the
application of that provision.
In Draft Article 19(1)(a) and (2)(b) now include the phrase “including but
not limited to” (Philippines) to emphasize that the lists provided are not
exclusive, thus avoiding an overly prescriptive approach to those provisions.
Draft Article 19(2)(g) has been incorporated into Draft Article 19(2)(c)
(EU), to better emphasize the need to work with organizations of people
with disabilities in the development, implementation and monitoring of accessibility
standards and guidelines. As in other areas of the draft text, the term
“in consultation with” has been replaced by the stronger term “in partnership
with.”
Draft Article 19(2)(d) replaces the weaker term “encourage” with “require”
(Kuwait, Thailand), which is of particular importance given the often increasing
role played by private entities in the provision of facilities and services.
Draft Article 19(e) incorporates the amendment to reference “universal design”
in order to highlight the importance of that concept in the context of research
and development of assistive technologies. (EU)
Throughout Draft Article 19, references to “public” buildings, facilities
or services have been removed (NHRI). The UNSR, Rule 5 does not qualify
its areas of applicability by distinguishing between public and private,
This approach is not only consistent with the approach of the social model
of disability, but is also of great importance given changes in technology.
Draft Article 19(1) also elaborates the areas in which States should eliminate
and prevent the creation of new barriers. “Built environment” has been replaced
with “physical environment,” which a number of members felt is a broader
and more appropriate term (Costa Rica, Japan, India, Serbia and Montenegro),
and “amenities inside buildings and the communications environment,” (New
Zealand) has also been added. Similarly, in Draft Article 19(1)(a), the
concept of “infrastructure” has been included (New Zealand) to broaden the
application of that provision.
In Draft Article 19(1)(a) and (2)(b) now include the phrase “including but
not limited to” (Philippines) to emphasize that the lists provided are not
exclusive, thus avoiding an overly prescriptive approach to those provisions.
Draft Article 19(2)(g) has been incorporated into Draft Article 19(2)(c)
(EU), to better emphasize the need to work with organizations of people
with disabilities in the development, implementation and monitoring of accessibility
standards and guidelines. As in other areas of the draft text, the term
“in consultation with” has been replaced by the stronger term “in partnership
with.”
Draft Article 19(2)(d) replaces the weaker term “encourage” with “require”
(Kuwait, Thailand), which is of particular importance given the often increasing
role played by private entities in the provision of facilities and services.
Draft Article 19(e) incorporates the amendment to reference “universal design”
in order to highlight the importance of that concept in the context of research
and development of assistive technologies. (EU)
Throughout Draft Article 19, references to “public” buildings, facilities
or services have been removed (NHRI). The UNSR, Rule 5 does not qualify
its areas of applicability by distinguishing between public and private,
and the absence of accessibility of private buildings, facilities or services
constitutes as great a denial of the full enjoyment of human rights by people
with disabilities as denial of access to public buildings, facilities or
services. Although treaties cannot obligate private entities, it is entirely
permissible for treaties to obligate States to take action regarding private
actors. There is therefore no need to use the “public” qualifier in Draft
Article 19, and every reason to oblige States to take action regarding the
provision of accessibility by private actors.
WORKING MEETING OF NGOs FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY FROM UKRAINE, RUSSIA, BELARUS & MOLDOVA
Article 19
Accessibility
Issue 1 should be complimented with one more sub issue (c),
(c) establishment of day care social services near the place of residence
of persons with disability or provision of transport if services are located
at some distance.
Issue 2, after “States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to”
to add “ensure financial accessibility of services”.
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
Draft Article 19: Accessibility
2. k. ensure the provision of other forms of live assistance and intermediaries,
and assistive technology including guides, readers and captioning, to facilitate
accessibility to public buildings, facilities and information;
l. ensure the provision of sign language interpreters to interpret information
from spoken language into sign language and from sign language into spoken
language for access to public services, education and participation.