Persons with
disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, often face barriers to
participation in all aspects of society. Barriers can take a variety of forms,
including those relating to the physical environment or to information and
communications technology (ICT), or those resulting from legislation or policy,
or from societal attitudes or discrimination. The result is that persons with
disabilities do not have equal access to society or services, including
education, employment, health care, transportation, political participation or
justice.
Accessibility
and inclusion of persons with disabilities are fundamental rights recognized by
the CRPD and are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the enjoyment
of other rights. The CRPD (Article 9, accessibility) seeks to enable persons
with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of
life and development. It calls upon States Parties to take appropriate measures
to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to all aspects of society,
on an equal basis with others, as well as to identify and eliminate obstacles
and barriers to accessibility.
The
commemoration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2012
provides an opportunity to address this exclusion by focusing on promoting
accessibility and removing all types of barriers in society.
