1. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Title of presentation Accessibility Obligations of the Convention of the Rights of the People with Disabilities and solutions and suggestions given by the Committee of rights of people with Disabilities - Helsinki, 25. November 2014 1

2. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Accessibility is fundamental in the dialogue with State Parties  There are many man created barriers prohibiting persons with disabilities, regardless of impairment, the ability of living a life on equal foot compared to others  The question on accessibility and how to break down those barriers is fundamental in the dialogue with every State Party from List of Issues through Concluding Observations, Petitions and Concluding Observations  Accessibility is also the fundamental issue in every dialogue between persons with disabilities and politicians and civil servants, and even with many actors in the private sector  Accessibility is also a core issue in international cooperation 2

3. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee The fundamentals of accessibility  Accessibility is a precondition making it possible for persons with disabilities to participate on equal foot in society  Accessibility is necessary in all spheres of society in relation to the building environment, outdoor environment, information, communication of all kinds and to transport  Accessibility must go hand-in-hand with individualized reasonable accommodation and personal assistance  Accessibility is lacking and thereby creating barriers for persons with disabilities to live a life on equal foot 3

4. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Accessibility is a human right  Not just a precondition, but a human right  Freedom of movement is a human right  Access to information and communication is a human right to be able to utilize the freedom to opinion and expression  Access to public service for all on equal terms is a human right  Everyone is guaranteed access to all places with public service  Accessibility is one of the general principles of the UN CRPD (article 3) 4

5. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee General Comment number 2  The obligations according to accessibility is described in article 9 of the UN CRPD  The history of/and understanding of article 9 of the UN CRPD can be drawn from General Comment number 2  The content of General Comment is among others drawn out of the dialogue with and within State Parties and within the Petitions that the UN CRPD committee have dealt with so far  The General Comment to not only cover barriers in the future but also barriers of the past, including historic buildings and monuments 5

6. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Core challenges of accessibility  Lack of accessibility in all spheres and everywhere, regardless of past, present or future  Lack of national and international recognized binding regulations and standards  Lack of political willingness to find the necessary resources to combat barriers of accessibility  Lack of efficient monitoring mechanisms, including lack of sufficient and reliable data  Lack of realistic and implementable plan of actions on gradually breaking down barriers of accessibility, and not creating new ones  Lack of recognition of accessibility as a crosscutting and interdependent human rights issue  Lack of understanding of the benefit of including organizations of persons with disabilities in planning for elimination of barriers of accessibility 6

7. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Obligations of the State Party  It is an obligation of the State Party to assess the challenges of breaking down barriers of accessibility, and necessary  It is an obligation of the State Party to decide on the plan of action with concrete short-term, mid-term and long-term measurable targets covering barriers of the past, present and future  The State Party must decide on the necessary legislation, standardization, resources, monitoring and penalty mechanisms, including guaranteeing sufficient legal remedies to persons with disabilities and their representative organizations  Denial of taking the necessary measures to eliminate barriers of accessibility is an act of discrimination on the grounds of disability  The issue of accessibility is also to be included in all international cooperation  Guarantee necessary reasonable accommodation and/or individualized personal assistance  Include persons with disabilities through their representative organizations in the elimination of barriers of accessibility 7

8. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Examples of COB  The Committee recommends that sufficient resources be allocated to ensure monitoring and implementation of the Disability Standards and requirements. (Australia)  The Committee recommends that the State party develop an overarching inclusive approach to accessibility in accordance with Article 9 of the Convention. The building standards should not be limited to buildings of a minimum size or capacity, but should apply to all public facilities in accordance with article 9. The Committee also recommends decreasing the timelines of staged plans that currently operate in some cities and Länder and also the plan for subtitling ORF programs. (Austria) 8

9. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Petitions as a tool  The Swedish case/petition  the Hungarian case/petition 9

10. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Resources regarding accessibility  http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/ Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx  http://www.un.org/disabilities/  http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.or g/en/compilations-made-ida 10

11. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Stig Langvad, Independent Expert Member, CRPD Committee Questions and debate  All questions are okay to ask  Not all questions can be answered  Remember I am only speaking on behalf of myself and not the UN CRPD Committee as such! 11