During this year’s WTISD, ITU calls upon all stakeholders (policy makers,
regulators, operators and industry) to raise awareness on the need to adopt
policies and strategies that would meet the ICT needs of people with
disabilities by ensuring that both equipment and services are accessible. This
move would not only ensure an inclusive information society, but would also
enable Member States to meet their obligations under Article 9 of the
UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly in December 2006.
Among other issues, the Convention requires that “States shall take
appropriate measures to:
- ensure ICT and emergency service access to persons with disabilities on
an equal basis
- promote access for persons with disabilities to new ICT, including the
Internet
- promote design, production and distribution of accessible ICT at an
early stage
- ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom
of expression and opinion
- provide information in accessible formats and technologies appropriate
to different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional
cost
- urge private entities that render services to the public to provide
information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with
disabilities
- encourage mass media (including information providers through the
Internet) to make their services accessible”
In order to address issues related to persons with disabilities, Member
States called upon ITU to:
- Continue creation of public awareness through workshops to identify
policies, best practices, tools and resources for adaptation/use in their
countries.
Call for action: ITU Member States and Sector Members are encouraged to
actively participate in ITU events for persons with disabilities and, where
possible, provide experts and resources in order to share experience and
best practices for mainstreaming disability issues in their policies,
regulations and laws.
- Support ongoing work aimed at developing Guidelines on Disability
issues for policy makers and regulators.
Call for action: ITU Member States and Sector Members are encouraged to
participate in the activities under Question 20 in Study Group 1 to support
ongoing efforts to develop the Guidelines sharing experiences and best
practices on policies and practices for persons with disabilities.
- Implement a global meeting on accessibility and services for persons
with disabilities in the policy- and strategy-making process aimed at
reviewing and reporting on efforts and to share best practices for
accessibility as a basis for making recommendations to WTDC-2010.
Call for action: ITU Member States and Sector Members are encouraged to
partner with ITU, share experiences and contribute experts and resources to
develop guidelines and recommendations for mainstreaming accessibility in
issues in national ICT policies and strategies.
- Develop and implement projects and activities addressing ICT needs for
persons with disabilities
Call for action: ITU Member States and Sector Members are encouraged to
develop and implement ICT projects and activities responding to the needs of
persons with disabilities and complying with ICT accessibility standards.
- Collect data on the number of persons with disabilities who have
access to ICT in order to develop suitable indicators that will contribute
to placing ICT accessibility issues on the public agenda, create awareness
and monitor progress for inclusion of persons with disabilities in the
information society.
Call for action: ITU Member States and Sector Members
are requested to collect disaggregated data to facilitate development of
policies and strategies to address ICT needs and barriers for persons with
disabilities.
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