Accessibility of Information, Technologies and Communication in the Council of Europe Disability Strategy 2017-2023:
By
Anna Lawson
Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Disability Studies
University of Leeds
----
1. Why it Matters
2. What Governments can do
3. How the Council of Europe can help
---
1. Why it Matters
(Sections 1 and 2 of the Report)
-----
To disabled people
To the whole of society
----
As a ‘priority area’ of the new Strategy
To the other priority areas in the Strategy
To the cross-cutting themes in the Strategy
---
Relevant CRPD Standards
– Article 9
– Article 21
– Article 5
– Article 4
----
CRPD Committee Guidance
– General Comment No 2
– Nyusti v Takács
– F v Austria
-------
2. What Governments Can Do
(Sections 3 and 5 of the Report)
---
(a) Involve Disabled People’s Organisations
eg French Inter-Departmental Observatory on Accessibility and Universal Design
------
(b) Strategic Engagement and On-going Monitoring
– Distinction between existing and not-yet-existing products and systems
– Inclusive of all impairment types
– eg National Strategy for e-Inclusion, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
----
(c) Accessibility Standards and Guidelines
– Importance of international collaboration and consistency
– eg EU, Mandate 273 on design for all in ICT for older and disabled People and
Mandate 376, accessibility of ICT in public procurement
– eg UK, NHS England’s Accessible Information Standard
----
(d) Embedding Accessibility in Legislation
– Licencing and inspection regimes
– Equality and non-discrimination laws
– eg Norway’s Universal Design Law
---
(e) Embedding Accessibility into the Spending of Public Funds
– Procurement
– Grants
– International aid
– eg Ireland, Disability Act 2005 and
o National Disability Authority’s Accessibility Toolkit
------
(f) Research
– Specific research concerning accessibility
– Embedding accessibility into research on new ICTs
----
(g) Training, Awareness-Raising and Knowledge Sharing
– Mainstreaming accessibility into formal academic and professional training for IT specialists
– Mainstreaming accessibility into formal training for non-IT expert service providers
– Awareness-raising, guidance and training, including for disabled people
o eg, Malta, Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility
o eg, European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Guidelines for Accessible Information
o eg, France, ‘Plus Belle la Vie’
o eg, Estonia, ‘Be Here: Access for All’
o eg, Vodafone Foundation, Smart Accessibility Award
o eg, European Commission, Access Cities Award
----
Relationship between the 7 points
ITU and G3ICT, eAccessibility Policy Toolkit
---
4. What the Council of Europe Can Do
----
– Model of good practice
– Disseminator of good practice and international standards and collaboration
– Promoting human-rights oriented research on accessibility and the impact of its absence
– Legislation and caselaw