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Ron McCallum, AO
Chairperson
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
.
Submission by
Disabled Peoples´ International – Germany (ISL e.V.)
Re: Call for submission of the practical and theoretical papers on implementation of the Article 9 on accessibility of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The "Interessenvertretung Selbstbestimmt Leben in Deutschland e.V. - ISL" is the umbrella organization of the Centres of Independent Living of people with disabilities in Germany and the German branch of Disabled Peoples´ International (DPI). ISL was founded in 1990 by disabled women and men. For us disability is a human rights issue and not a medical problem. Our guiding ideas are „Independent Living – Self representation – Inclusion – Empowerment“!
We are glad to submit our paper concerning the below mentioned subjects related to the implementation of Article 9 (accessibility) of the CRPD.
First of all: Accessibility is closely related to other rights und relevant within all relevant areas of life protected by the CRPD.
1.) The relation between Article 9 and Article 5 (“Non-discrimination and equality”):
· A General comment on accessibility must codify that a lack or inadequacy of accessibilty and a refusal of reasonable accomodation constitutes an act of discrimination.
2.) The nature of accessibility as defined in Article 9 and other relevant articles of the Convention- whether it is a principle, a right, a precondition for full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society and for their liberty of movement, or all of the above.
· Accessibility is a principle as well as a right and a precondition for full and equal participation of persons with disabilities.
It has to be codified that
a) the use of accessible facilities and services is a human right and the precondition for equal participation.
b) accessibilty has to concern all different groups of users: therefore it must include for example easy-to-read language, support for persons with hearing impairments and so on.
c) also, private providers must be obliged to undertake measures of accessibility (surgeries, cinemas, theatres, leisure complexes, etc.). Concerning this, contracting states are responsible for codifying regulations.
3.) The aspects of the progressive realization of the accessibility and the relation between accessibility and reasonable accommodation,
a) Public and private providers and DPOs must work together during a process of developing a plan for establishing accessibility and reasonable accommodation. The process of creating a plan shall start immediately and must as well contain appropriate deadlines for implementation of accessibility and reasonable accommodation.
b) Accessibility and reasonable accomodation complement each other. Reasonable accommodation must be available as long as accessibility is not yet fully provided. Disability must never result into a ban or denial of access to a service.
4.) The input, mandate and competences of various national stakeholders- the public authorities, expert associations (e.g. Chambers of Architects and Engineers), the academia and the civil society (in particular the organizations of persons with disabilities)- in defining the national accessibility standards and monitoring its’ implementation,
a) Accessibilty as a cross-cutting theme must be considered within all project planning processes, for example: a new national coach transport guideline must only be introduced if accessibility with all its aspects is being implemented
b) Noticeable sanctions have to be imposed if accessibility is not ensured.
c) Chambers of architects and engineers have to be obliged to develop their skills in all aspects of accessibility and Universal Design
d) Relevant professions have to include training units of accessibility and reasonable accomodation within the curricula of their job training.
5.) The examples of good practice in promotion of universal design and accessibility, funding and realization of regional, national and local action plans for accessibility and the removal of barriers in physical environment, public transport, information and communication and access to services opened to the public.
- The demand that the allocation of public funds has to be strictly bound to the criterion of accessibility is claimed within the regional action plan of Land Brandenburg (see from page 37: http://www.masf.brandenburg.de/sixcms/media.php/4055/Behindertenpolitisches_Ma%C3%9Fnahmenpaket_schwer_bfPDF_abA7.pdf )
- The Bundeskompetenzzentrum Barrierefreiheit is a private administration union run by 15 nationwide active disabled persons organizations and social organizations driven by the goal of implementing accessibility (see: http://www.barrierefreiheit.de/)
- some enterprizes have started a process of creating action plans for implementing the CRPD within their company. The first action plan was published in February 2012 by the enterprize Boehringer Ingelheim and also contains measures concerning accessibility (from page 26: http://www.un-konvention.rlp.de/un-konvention/aktivitaeten-anderer-akteure/wirtschaft/boehringer-ingelheim/
Finally it should be emphazised that demographic change increases the urgency of addressing the lack of accessibility and that each and every single person profits from the realization of accessibility and Universal Design.
Authors:
Dr. Sigrid Arnade (CEO, ISL e.V.)
Wiebke Schär (Education officer, ISL e.V.)
H.- Günter Heiden (PR-Officer, ISL e.V.)
Berlin, 2012-03-04