Accessibility 2014, para. 28

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Paragraph text: States parties are obliged to adopt, promulgate and monitor national accessibility standards. If no relevant legislation is in place, adopting a suitable legal framework is the first step. States parties should undertake a comprehensive review of the laws on accessibility in order to identify, monitor and address gaps in legislation and implementation. Disability laws often fail to include ICT in their definition of accessibility, and disability rights laws concerned with non-discriminatory access in areas such as procurement, employment and education often fail to include access to ICT and the many goods and services central to modern society that are offered through ICT. It is important that the review and adoption of these laws and regulations are carried out in close consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations (art. 4, para. 3), as well as all other relevant stakeholders, including members of the academic community and expert associations of architects, urban planners, engineers and designers. Legislation should incorporate and be based on the principle of universal design, as required by the Convention (art. 4, para. 1 (f)). It should provide for the mandatory application of accessibility standards and for sanctions, including fines, for those who fail to apply them.

Topic(s)

Person(s) affected