This country/region is part of the Global Law and Policy Page, which contains information about laws that protect disabled people’s rights to participate in the digital world.
- CRPD: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) is a comprehensive document ratified by over 185 countries, though not the United States. Article 9 of the CRPD, titled “Accessibility” recognizes the right of people with disabilities to full participation, including access to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems. Read the full CRPD. Read the post on this website about how the United States senate failed to ratify the CRPD in 2012. Shamefully, as of April 15, 2024, the CRPD is still not ratified by the U.S.
- General comment No. 2 about the CRPD Article 9 (Accessibility) was published in 2014. The Comment provides a detailed explanation of Article 9, including the importance of accessibility in the digital world and ways in which the Article can be implemented.
The Comment can be downloaded here in several languages, and includes this valuable reminder:
[A]ccess to information and communication is seen as a precondition for freedom of opinion and expression, as guaranteed under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 19, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. General Comment No. 2 re Article 9 of the CRPD
- CRPD Optional Protocol: The Optional Protocol to the CRPD is an additional agreement to the CRPD that establishes an individual complaint process for disabled people who allege that their rights under the Convention have been denied. The Optional Protocol has to be signed separately by countries who ratify the CRPD. As of october 2023 94 countries have signed the Optional Protocol (as compared to over 180 that have signed the CRPD itself.
- WIPO: In June, 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations agency, adopted a landmark treaty to advance the right to read for people who are blind or otherwise print-disabled. Read the WIPO press release about adoption of the Treaty. The treaty, officially known as the “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled” eliminates copyright roadblocks that have created an international “book famine” for those who need alternative formats to standard print information. Read the 2013 article on this website about the WIPO Treaty.