ABSTRACT
Accessibility in the context of disability, can be regarded as one of the principles of disability inclusion or simply to perceive it as synonymous to inclusion. Therefore, this article explored the concept of disability, models of disability, concept of accessibility and other key concepts related to accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs). The article likewise analyzed the international legal framework on accessibility for PWDs as well as accessibility laws at national level in some countries. Equally, the article analyzed accessibility in specific areas such as physical environment accessibility, communication/information accessibility, transportation accessibility, general health services accessibility, as well as accessibility in education and workplaces. The article ended with conclusion and recommendations on how to enhance accessibility for disability inclusion.
KEYWORDS: Accessibility, Disability, Inclusion, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
INTRODUCTION
World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank (2011), reported that, around one billion people (15% of the world’s population) have some form of disability; and majority of them live in developing countries. People with disabilities (PWDs) are facing a range of exclusion and barriers to education, employment, healthcare services, political participation, transportation facilities, information/communication barriers as well as building barriers in workplaces, schools, and other private and public buildings. All these barriers are implicated by lack of accessibility.
Accessibility is a precondition for the full realization of the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. For the purposes of this article, accessibility can be described and understood as the provision of flexible facilities and environments, either virtual or physical, to accommodate each user’s needs and preferences. For persons with disabilities this may be any place, space, item or service that is easily approached, reached, entered, exited from, interacted with, understood or otherwise used (UNDESA, 2015).
Accessibility is at the heart of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which enshrines the rights of persons with disabilities to have full access and fully enjoy and participate in social, economic, cultural, civil and political life, on an equal basis with others. The UNCRPD does not define disability. The range of disabilities is very broad and difficult to categorize. Persons with disabilities include individuals with hearing, visual, cognitive, psycho-social and motor impairments. Indeed, each of these categories includes a much broader range of conditions. Visual impairments, for example, include those with low vision, and blindness. Furthermore, as people get older, many face a disability of some kind. As the population ages, the proportion of people with disabilities grow. Many people over eighty years of age have a disability. Thus, accessibility is related to the type of disability faced by each individual person. Accessibility is not just about opening doors, figuratively speaking, it is about keeping them wide open. Accessibility allows people to do things they would not otherwise be able to do (UNDESA, 2015).
No one can enjoy a human right that they cannot access, and persons with disabilities face many barriers that hinder full and equal access to their enjoyment of human rights and full social inclusion. The categories of barriers that persons with disabilities encounter, which are often exacerbated for those living in rural areas or poor urban settings, include the following:
Institutional barriers, which include legislation, practices, or processes that actively prohibit or fail to facilitate access for persons with disabilities.
Physical barriers, which prevent access for persons with disabilities to physical environments such as buildings, roads,transportation, and various indoor and outdoor facilities such as schools, housing, medical facilities, sporting venues and workplaces.
Informational barriers, which prevent access for persons with disabilities, particularly for those with visual or intellectual impairments, to both the form and content of information that may be provided on websites, brochures, books, television, among many other ways that information is presented in society.
Communication barriers, which make it difficult to participate fully in society. Communication barriers for persons with disabilities can include the failure to provide sign language interpretation for deaf persons, inaccessible technology such as television without captioning, or websites that are inaccessible to screen readers used by blind persons.
Attitudinal barriers, including negative attitudes and lack of understanding about disability issues of people in society, which present some of the most pervasive barriers to equal access for persons with disabilities.
Cultural barriers, which may prevent persons with disabilities from participating fully and having access to community life. Cultural barriers may include myths and stereotypes about disability that are rooted in culture and that generate fear and misunderstanding. In some cases negative beliefs and practices focus particularly on certain types of disability, such as psycho-social disabilities.
In many cases persons with disabilities face a multitude of barriers, which compound challenges to the achievement of rights and inclusion in society. For example, in this holistic view of accessibility, challenges a person may face in relation to employment may include challenges in accessing employment, inaccessible transportation, inaccessible buildings, inaccessible workspace, inaccessible healthcare services, and inaccessible human resource policies, among others (UNDESA, 2015).
THE CONCEPT OF DISABILITY
Defining disability is conceptually complicated as it is ‘complex, dynamic, multi-dimensional and globally perceived differently (WHO & World Bank, 2011). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (2006), defines disability as: “… an evolving concept that results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”.
Simply, disability can be defined as the relationship between a person’s impairment and their environment, or in terms of an equation:
Impairment + barrier = Lack of participation (disability)
or better:
Impairment + accessible environment (barrier removed) = inclusion
According to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (2006), “Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. By recognizing disability as a result of the interaction between an inaccessible environment and a person, the UNCRPD marks a major shift away from a charity and medical models to social and human right models whereby persons with disabilities are rights-holders and decision makers with largely untapped potential to contribute to society. The UNCRPD moves beyond the question of access to the physical environment to broader issues of equality and the elimination of physical and social barriers to accessibility in health, education, workplace, transportation and communication.
MODELS OF DISABILITY
Just as there are many different definitions of disability, also there are different models of disability. The four main models of disability can be listed as: the charity model; the medical model; the social model and the human rights model.
1- Charity Model
The charity model of disability focuses on the individual, and tends to view people with disabilities as passive victims or objects of pity who need care, and whose impairment is their main identifier. They are seen as recipients and beneficiaries of services. This approach sees people with disabilities as passive, tragic or suffering and requiring care. It assumes that it is the community and society’s responsibility to arrange all services for these vulnerable people (Al Ju’beh, 2015).
2- Medical Model
The medical model also focuses on the individual and sees disability as a health condition, an impairment located in the individual. It assumes that by addressing the medical ailment this will resolve the problem. In this approach a person with disability is primarily defined as a patient, in terms of their diagnosis requiring medical intervention. Disability is seen as a disease or defect that is at odds with the norm and that needs to be fixed or cured (Rimmerman, 2013). Mitra (2006) opines that medical (or biomedical) model of disability considers “disability a problem of the individual that is directly caused by a disease, an injury, or some other health condition and requires medical care in the form of treatment and rehabilitation”.
3- Social Model
The social model of disability developed as a reaction to the individualistic approaches of the charitable and medical models (Woodburn, 2013). It sees disability as created by the social environment, which excludes people with impairments from full participation in society as a result of attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers (Mitra, 2006).
The social model places emphasis on adapting the society to include people with disabilities by changing attitudes, practice and policies to remove barriers to participation, but also acknowledges the role of social and medical professionals (DFID, 2014). Likewise, the model focuses on reforming society, removing barriers to participation, raising awareness and changing attitudes, practice and policies for disability inclusion.
4- Human Rights Model
The rights based model is based on the social model and shares the same premise that it is society that needs to change. This approach focuses on equity and rights and looks to include all people equally within society: women and men, girls and boys regardless of background or any type of characteristic. It is founded on the principle that human rights for all human beings is an inalienable right and that all rights are applicable and indivisible. It takes the UNCRPD as its main reference point and prioritises ensuring that duty bearers at all levels meet their responsibilities. This approach sees people with disabilities as the central actors in their own lives as decision makers, citizens and rights holders. As with the social model, it seeks to transform unjust systems and practice (Kett & Twigg, 2007).
DISABILITY INCLUSION
A Disability Inclusion mean: (i) being accepted and recognised as an individual beyond the disability; (ii) having positive personal relationships with family, friends and acquaintances; (iii) being involved in the development process of a society; (iv) having appropriate reasonable accommodations for all persons with different abilities (Rimmerman, 2013). A Disability Inclusion seeks to include people with disabilities in all spheres of life for societal development by recognising their ability, potential, valuing and respecting their contributions and perspectives, honoring their dignity, and effectively responding to their needs for functional contributions. Unlike, 'Disability Segregation', 'Disability Inclusion' promotes an integrated, mainstreaming and inclusive society for the benefit of persons with disabilities and society as a whole (Berman-Bieler, 2008).
THE CONCEPT OF ACCESSIBILITY
According to the Americans Disability Act (ADA) (1990) as amended (2008), Accessibility is when the needs of persons with disabilities are specifically considered, and products, services, system, facilities are built or modified so that they can be used by people of all abilities. Accessibility is the degree to which a product, device, service, environment, or facility is usable by as many people as possible, including by persons with disabilities. Achieving accessibility requires knowledge of accessibility standards, being aware of the needs of people with disabilities, and addressing barriers to access for individuals with disabilities.
In the context of disability, accessibility can be regarded as one of the principles of full inclusion or simply to perceive it as synonymous to inclusion and participation in society. The correlation between lack of access and exclusion is obvious. For example the right to education or accessing employment opportunities becomes null and void in the absence of public transport that is accessible to people with disabilities e.g. retractable ramps and wide doors in buses for wheelchair users. The use of sign language interpreters for television news broadcasts; makes the daily news accessible to people who are deaf or have hearing impairments (United Nations, 2013).
KEY CONCEPTS RELATED TO ACCESSIBILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Accessibility is a broad concept which is related to the following concepts:
1- Universal Design: Universal design is defined by the UNCRPD in Article 2, as “the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design”. The goal of universal design is for all things to be accessible to everyone including, but not limited to, persons with diverse disabilities. Universal design is based on the premise that design processes must be inclusive, produce equitable benefits and be appropriate for human functioning, gender, demographic groups and social, economic and cultural settings.
2- Reasonable Accommodation: Reasonable accommodation which is defined in the UNCRPD as “necessary and appropriate modifications or adjustments, not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms”. The UNCRPD expressly provides for reasonable accommodation in relation to liberty and security of the person (Article 14), education (Article 24) and work and employment (Article 27). While accessibility relates to groups, reasonable accommodation relates to individuals. The term “accommodation” refers to the legal responsibility for providing accessibility to persons with disabilities, for example through the provision of a personal assistant or modifications to a physical work environment. The term “reasonable” means that those responsible for providing such accommodation are not subjected to “disproportionate or undue burden”. For example, in the context of employment it may be considered reasonable for a large corporation to make modifications to its building to ensure accessibility. However, the same changes could, in some cases, be deemed “an undue burden” in the case of a
small business (although if it is determined that one form of reasonable accommodation poses an undue burden, other forms should still be considered). Provision of reasonable accommodation is a critical component of non-discrimination under the UNCRPD.
3- Usability: Usability is defined as the ease of use of human-made objects. It is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context. Usability attempts to address limitations or variations in human performance resulting from disability. Examples include being operable without vision for people who are blind; operable with low vision for persons with visual impairment; operable with no hearing for persons who are deaf; operable with limited hearing for persons who are hard of hearing; operable with limited manual dexterity for persons with some physical disabilities; and operable with limited cognition for persons with cognitive disability.
4- Availability: Availability refers to whether the products, equipment, facilities or services that are meant to be accessible are actually available. This distinction between, on the one hand, accessibility in a more technical design sense, and on the other hand availability as more a question of the distribution of economic and other resources, is made in several places in the Convention. Such issues may arise, for example, in relation to the availability of assistive technology or in relation to universally designed and usable products that are mainstream and commonly used by large sections of the population, such as personal computers and mobile phones. The availability of assistive technology will depend on factors such as whether people with disabilities can afford them, whether a responsive market exists and whether an efficient distribution system exists.
5- Assistive Technology: Assistive technology can be defined as a product – either high or low tech - that helps people engage in activities or tasks that would otherwise not be possible. In the context of disability, some examples include hearing and listening devices, reading glasses, wheelchair or other mobility devices; and traffic lights accompanied by sound.
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON ACCESSIBILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (2006) is the first international human rights treaty to set out the concept of accessibility in the context of disability. The UNCRPD recognizes accessibility as an inherent right of persons with disabilities and also applies accessibility to the achievement of all rights for persons with disabilities, detailing “the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
Accessibility is therefore a general principle of the UNCRPD (Article 3) and also a standalone article (Article 9). Article 9 addresses the responsibility of State parties to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities so they can “live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life,” directing State parties to “take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies (ICT) and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas”. It further specifies that such measures are to include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, including in relation to:
Buildings, roads, transportation ,
Other indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces,
Information and communications,
Emergency services,
Other facilities and services open or provided to the public in both urban and rural areas, ensuring that accessibility is not only addressed in cities but also for persons with disabilities living in rural communities.
Likewise, the UNCRPD recommend that, “countries should also take appropriate measures:
1- To develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public;
2- To ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;
3- To provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing persons with disabilities;
4- Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
5- Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;
6- To promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons disabilities to ensure their access to information;
7- To promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies (ICT) and systems, including the Internet/website;
8- To promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies (ICT) and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost”.
Furthermore, the scope of Article 9 is not limited to State actors, such as local and national governments or government agencies. Article 9 also implicates private actors, requiring States to “ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities”.
More importantly, although the UNCRPD is not directly legally binding on private actors, it obliges States to require that private entities that are open to the general public comply with Article 9. Private entities open to the public include, for example, restaurants, shops, banks, supermarkets, private universities, professional associations, sports stadiums and other private entities offering facilities and services to the public (UNCRPD, 2006).
Article 9 is placed in the articles of general application in the UNCRPD and is intended to inform and assist in the interpretation of all the human rights elaborated in the UNCRPD. For example, if someone is seeking to implement Article 24, Education, an important starting place would be Article 9 when considering how to improve the accessibility of, for example, classrooms or educational materials. This approach also explains why accessibility concepts are often not addressed in great detail or sometimes not at all in specific articles of the UNCRPD such as Article 26 regarding habilitation and rehabilitation: the drafters of the UNCRPD intended Article 9 to be the common reference point for all issues of accessibility (United Nations, 2013).
ACCESSIBILITY LAWS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AT NATIONAL LEVEL
The general obligations set forth in Article 4 of UNCRPD (2006) make clear need to ground the obligations of UNCRPD in national law. The elements needed to establish a strong legislative base for accessibility include accessibility duties, accessibility policies, plans, strategies and mechanisms for remedies and accountability, monitoring, indicators and benchmarks to make real accessibility duties. Crucially, the Article 4 of UNCRPD requires State Parties to consult with and involve persons with disabilities in developing and implementing legislation and policies and in decision-making processes, including in formulation of accessibility standards in the context of UNCRPD rights.
Disability Legislation
In many countries there is a great need for the adoption or amendment of national and sector-specific accessibility standards to give full effect to the requirements of the UNCRPD. State Parties should, as a first step, in close consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, review the extent to which existing laws and codes are in compliance with the UNCRPD. Accessibility standards should be included in legislation that pertains to all aspects of accessibility including the physical environment (including construction and planning), transportation (including buses, boats, airliners), information and communications (including telecommunications and audio/video), and should take into consideration accessibility of services. Standards should provide for accessibility for all, taking account of the diversity of disability. Application of accessibility standards should be mandatory.
Accessibility standards should also be included in anti-discrimination and equality laws. Such laws should aim at eliminating barriers to access that constitute both direct and indirect discrimination, attribute obligations to public and private actors and introduce a variety of measures to bring about equitable access to all rights (UNDESA, 2015).
National legislation should provide access to remedies for non-compliance with the rights of persons with disabilities to accessibility, including in the context of reasonable accommodation. Institutions addressing allegations of disability discrimination customarily include courts and tribunals, administrative authorities, national human rights institutions and ombudsmen, which should be accessible to all persons with disabilities without discrimination and consistent with principles of accessibility. These institutions should adjudicate or investigate complaints promptly, impartially, and independently and address alleged violations relating to all Articles of UNCRPD and particularly Article 9, including actions or omissions by private actors. These institutions should also be empowered to provide effective remedies such as compensation, reparation, restitution, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, and public apologies. State Parties should ensure that these measures are effectively implemented (UNDESA, 2015).
Examples of Legislation on Accessibility in Some Countries
1- Malaysia: In 2008 Malaysia enacted a national disability law that provides detailed provisions on accessibility with the following key components on accessibility:
The Preamble to the Act recognizes “the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully and effectively participate in society”,
The Act includes a Chapter on accessibility that provides in Article 26: “Persons with disabilities shall have the right to access to and use of, public facilities, amenities, services and buildings open or provided to the public on equal basis with persons without disabilities, but subject to the existence or emergence of such situations that may endanger the safety of persons with disabilities”.
The Act specifies obligations in relation to access in the following realms:
access to public transport facilities,
access to education,
access to employment,
access to information, communication and technology,
access to cultural life,
access to recreation, leisure and sport.
The Act covers access to health for persons with disabilities,
The Act covers access to assistance in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies.
2- Nigeria: In 2018 Nigeria passed Disability Bill into law and titles ‘Disacrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018. It contains the following components on accessibility:
PART II: Accessibility of Physical Structure
1. Right of access to public premises: A person with disability has the right to access the physical environment and building on an equal basis with others.
2. Accessibility aids in public building: A public building shall be constructed with the necessary accessibility aids such as lifts (where necessary), ramps and any other facility that shall make them accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.
3. Building Plan:
(i) Before erecting any public structure, its plan shall be scrutinized by the relevant authority to ensure that plan confirms with the building code.
(ii) A government or government agency, body or individual responsible for the approval of building plans shall not approve the plan of a public building if the plan does not make provision for accessibility facilities in line with the building code.
PART III: Road Transportation
1. Accessibility of Vehicles:
(i) Government transport services providers shall make provisions for lifts, ramps and other accessibility aids to enhance the accessibility of their vehicles, parks and bus stops to persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs.
(ii) Every public vehicle shall have functional audible and visual display of their destination within five years from the commencement of the Act.
PART IV: Seaports, Railways and Airports Facilities
1. Seaports and Railways:
(i) Seaports facilities and vehicles shall be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
(ii) Railway stations, trains and facilities in the trains shall be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
2. Assistive Service and Airlines: All airlines operating in Nigeria shall ensure the accessibility of their aircraft to persons with disabilities.
3. Any general information shall be translated into the accessible format appropriate to the persons with disabilities.
3- United States of America: USA adopted Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) as amended in 2008. The Act contains the following:
Title 1 of the ADA defines “reasonable accommodation” as follows in relation to employment:
(a) Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and
(b) Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
Title 3 of the ADA defines “reasonable modification” as follows in relation to the obligation to ensure that persons are not discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodation of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation:
… a failure to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when such modifications are necessary to afford such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless the entity can demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.
ACCESSIBILITY IN SPECIFIC AREAS
Identifying barriers and generating practical approaches to dismantling them is the core requirement of accessibility and is fundamental to each and every aspect of the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities. To “promote equal provision of services especially in the areas of health, education, employment, information/communication facilities, transportation system and access to justice for all persons with disabilities”, physical environment planning should be inclusive.
1- Physical Environment: Numerous barriers limit accessibility for persons with disabilities to services in urban areas, including accessibility to roads, buildings and public parks. Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) in some countries are engaging pro-actively in urban planning efforts to ensure that such efforts are inclusive of persons with disabilities and fully reflect their needs. Efforts include addressing physical access barriers in road construction (addressing curb cuts, for example); signage to indicate access; providing sign language interpretation in urban planning meetings to allow for the participation of deaf persons; and engaging with organizations representing blind persons to address safety concerns related to urban planning (UNDESA, 2015).
2- Communication: Article 9 of the UNCRPD provides for equal access to information and communication technologies and the obligation to identify and eliminate barriers. As online communities have become an important means of social interaction and community participation, ensuring their universal accessibility is essential for social inclusion. Although accessibility standards have been developed to make information-oriented websites more inclusive for users with disabilities and similar efforts have not been devoted to accessibility standards tailored specifically for online communities that are primarily communications-oriented, such as social media. Accessible communications require that persons with disabilities be asked about their preferred communication methods (UNCRPD, 2006).
3- Information: Access to information creates opportunities for everyone in society. Access to information refers all information. In all societies, people use information in many forms to make decisions about their daily lives. Depending on the society, this can range from actions such as being able to read price tags, to physically enter a hall to participate in a gathering, to read a pamphlet with healthcare information, to understand a bus schedule or a note from a schoolteacher, or to view webpages. No longer should societal barriers of prejudice, infrastructure, and inaccessible formats stand in the way of obtaining and utilizing information in daily life. In most countries, there are no laws on providing information in accessible formats (e.g. Braille, audio formats, sign language), or to make websites accessible. Even where there is legislation, the actual provision of such services is lacking. Governments are asked by the Convention to introduce adequate legislation and means to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access information that impinge on their daily lives. This includes providing information on emergency services (UNDESA, 2015).
4- Transportation: Transportation is a vital component for independent living, and like others in society persons with disabilities rely on transportation facilities to move from point A to point B. The term transportation covers a number of areas including air travel, buses, taxis, and trains. In many instances, these are inaccessible to persons with disabilities because either they cannot use them in the first instance (e.g. inaccessible buses, train stations), be more clear, use an actual example; relate to other rights: access to transportation provides access to other rights and vise versa (UNDESA, 2015).
There is a need to review best practice in land, sea, and air traveling. There has been significant progress in many of these areas in decades. This progress includes improved accessibility to some buses operating local services in major towns and cities, specific accessibility improvements in other modes of transport, disability training within the transport sector, improved consultation with people with disabilities, improvements to certain bus and rail stations, parking regulations, and assistance on school buses for children with disabilities. However, there is still scope for significant improvements in land, sea, and air travel. Some countries have proposed that all new and upgraded rail and bus stations, all light rail vehicles and suburban railcars and all new buses should be accessible to people with mobility and sensory impairments (UNDESA, 2015).
5- General Health Services: Understanding the needs of persons with disabilities goes a long way towards improving access to services. Access to health services is wide-ranging and relates to access to buildings, communication with healthcare staff, how consent is obtained, how medication is explained and how appointments are managed for all persons with disabilities. All health service staff and care workers have a role in ensuring that health services are as accessible as possible for anyone with a disability. Very often prejudice and lack of knowledge of the causes of disability can create serious barriers to health care for persons with disabilities, particularly in rural or remote areas. Accessibility thus often requires, as a precondition of access, awareness-raising at community level among families, health care providers and persons with disabilities themselves. Examples of good practice include the following:
DPOs in Sierra Leone are working to break down the prejudice associated with epilepsy through education and awareness-raising campaigns as well as by ensuring access to inexpensive and often highly-effective anti-seizure medications that are inaccessible to many persons living in poverty.
National disability and HIV organizations in Tanzania and Mozambique worked in collaboration with Rehabilitation International to develop accessible educational materials as a component of HIV/AIDS education and outreach (UNDESA, 2015).
6- Education: Accessibility to education for persons with disabilities is necessary. Thus, persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live. To achieve equal access to education, reasonable accommodation of the individual's requirements is provided through the provisions of learning materials and facilities, physical learning environment modifications, and use of differenciated teaching strategies by well trained and qualified teachers. Article 24 of the UNCRPD explains that countries should recognize the right of persons with disabilities to access education without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity (UNDESA, 2015).
7- Workplaces: Ensuring that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities in the workplace. Accessibility in workplaces promote employment opportunities and career advancement for persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and returning to employment. Also, accessibility ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their labour and trade union rights on an equal basis with others (UNDESA, 2015).
8- Court and Judicial Services and Other Public Offices: Accessibility to court and judicial services and other public offices is essential to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy equal access to justice and public services. This dimension of accessibility raises multi-dimensional barriers, from physical access to courthouses to ensuring that people with various disabilities are accommodated through the availability of materials in alternative formats, making court websites accessible for persons who use assistive technology, and installing listening systems in courtrooms. Equal access must include all roles in the judicial process, from parties and witnesses to judges, jurors, prosecutors and attorneys. Courthouses structures in some countries present numerous barriers to persons with mobility impairments such as stairs, narrow doorways, and inaccessible restrooms. Equally, problematic are new structures financed by international development aid that take no account of accessibility at the design phase and thus introduce barriers and create future redevelopment costs for beneficiary countries. Good practices include the following:
A case before the South African Equality Court was brought by a wheelchair-using trial lawyer because she could not access courthouse buildings. In a ruling in favour of the lawyer, the Court found that the failure to provide proper access was a form of unfair discrimination and committed itself to rendering court buildings accessible.
The Zambian Federation of Disabled Persons designed and implemented an access-to-justice project funded by Irish Aid to address systemic barriers that persons with disabilities faced in seeking justice in the Zambian court system (UNDESA, 2015).
9- Public facilities and services: The UNCRPD asks States to develop guidelines to make public facilities and services accessible. Government should set example on ensuring the full participation in society. Governments need to think, for example, if a person with disability goes to a public health clinic, what services need to be provided in order to ensure that they receive the same level of treatment as others? This same accessibility analysis or audit needs to be considered for all public services. This may include the provision of ramps into buildings, signage in Braille, and sign language interpreters or closed captioning on public television. This should be conducted with involvement of persons with disabilities throughout the entire process (UNDESA, 2015).
CONCLUSION
Building accessibility and the principle of universal design (the concept of designing all products and the constructed environment in such a way as to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life) into the development agenda at all levels, international, national and local, would ensure that every environment, space, product or service, whether physical or virtual, could be easily approached, entered into, exited from, interacted with, understood or otherwise used by persons of varying capabilities. At the same time it would ensure that persons with disabilities were fully integrated into all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life on the same terms as other citizens through the provision of flexibility in the way people are able to interact with their physical and virtual environments.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) State Parties should ensure that strategies, policies, and plans of action to address barriers to accessibility are in place and implemented. These should address all groups of persons with disabilities and should include not only reasonable accommodation but also positive measures, including those in Article 9 of the UNCRPD, to accelerate the achievement of equality. Public and private institutions should develop plans of action to address accessibility. Teaching on the principles of accessibility, along with other Article 3 principles of UNCRPD, should be integrated in formal and non-formal inclusive and multicultural education.
(2) State Parties must adopt an active approach to achieving full accessibility to physical environments, transportation and information and communications, among other things, the absence of which inhibits the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. Facilitating accessibility for persons with disabilities requires a comprehensive approach with a range of laws, policies and programmes, including positive measures enumerated in Article 9 of the UNCRPD. The achievement of an accessible society will in some cases require devoting greater resources to some access issues. Particular attention will need to be given to ensuring that laws and policies are implemented and enforced by officials and others in practice.
(3) State Parties are obliged to monitor effectively the implementation of measures to comply with Article 9 of the UNCRPD. Monitoring should assess both the steps taken and the results achieved in the elimination of barriers to effective access. To enable monitoring and evaluation, national strategies, policies and plans should use appropriate indicators and benchmarks in operationalising the accessibility obligations in the UNCRPD. State parties should also ensure that persons with disabilities are involved and participate fully in monitoring and evaluation of accessibility measures.
REFERENCES
ADA (1990). Americans with Disability Act. New York: USA Press.
Al Ju’beh, K. (2015). Disability inclusive development toolkit. Bensheim: CBM. http://www.cbm.org/article/downloads/54741/CBM-DID-TOOLKIT-accessible.pd
DFID. (2014). Disability framework: Leaving no one behind. London: DFID. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382338/Disability-Framework-2014.pdf
Kett, M. & Twigg, J. (2007). Disability and disasters: Towards an inclusive approach. In World disasters report – Focus on discrimination. Geneva: IFRC. http://www.ifrc.org/PageFiles/99876/2007/WDR2007-English-4.pd
Mitra, S. (2006). The capability approach and disability. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 16(4), 236-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10442073060160040501
Rimmerman, A. (2013). Social inclusion of people with disabilities: National and international perspectives. CUP.
United Nations (2013). Accessibility for
the Disabled: A Design Manual for a Barrier Free Environment. Retrieved from:
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/designm/index.html on 21 August, 2022.
UNCRPD. (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. New York: UN. http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf
UNDESA (2015). Accessibility and Development: Mainstreaming disability in the post-2015 development agenda. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/accessibility_and_development.pdf on 29 August, 2022.
WHO and World Bank, (2011). World report on disability. Geneva: WHO. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report.pdf on 12 August, 2022.
Woodburn, H. (2013). Nothing about us without civil society: The role of civil society actors in the formation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Political Perspectives, 7(1), 75-96. http://www.politicalperspectives.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/5-Woodburn_AcceptedArticle_PoliticalPerspectivesSI_2012.pdf
