Complete presentation
Speaker:
Rodolfo Cattani
Session:
The needs of the citizens C1
Title:
The access of persons with disabilities to Government products
and services in the information and knowledge based society
First of all I would like to express on behalf of the European Disability Forum
which I have the honour to represent at this conference today, our great
satisfaction for having been invited to speak to you about the challenging issue
of how to ensure people with disabilities the access to governments products and
services in the information and knowledge based society.
Let me very briefly introduce the European Disability Forum, which was created
in 1996 and established in 1997 in Brussels as an independent European
umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities. Today, EDF is composed of
17 national councils of disabled people's organisations, one from each member
state plus Norway and Iceland and of about 50 European non governmental
organisations representing European networks of organisations of specific
categories of persons with disabilities.
EDF is the umbrella organisation of the Disability Movement in Europe, the
voice of 50 million persons with disabilities and parents of disabled people not
able to represent themselves.
Non discrimination plus positive action results in social inclusion
The European Congress on People with Disabilities organised in Madrid by the
Spanish Presidency, the European Commission and the European Disability
Forum in March 2002, welcomed the proclamation of 2003 as the European year
of people with disabilities as an event which must act to raise public awareness
of the rights of Europeans with disabilities.
The "Madrid Declaration", which was approved at the end of the congress, sets
down the vision which should provide the conceptual framework for action for
the European Year at the European, national, regional and local level.
In its preamble the Madrid Declaration states very clearly that there must be a
new approach to disability, as it is a human rights issue.
Disabled people are entitled to the same human rights as all other citizens and in
order to achieve this goal all communities should seek to ensure that disabled
people can enjoy the full range of human rights, civil, political, social, economic
and cultural as acknowledged by the different international conventions and the
EU treaties as well as in the different national constitutions.
Disabled people want equal opportunities and not charity; they expect the society
to be modified to include and accommodate the needs of all persons, including
their own ones. Disabled people demand access to all societal resources, i.e.
inclusive education, new technologies, health and social services, sports and
leisure activities, consumer goods and services.
Barriers in society lead to discrimination and social exclusion. The way our
society is organised often prevents disabled persons to fully enjoy their human
rights and isolates them from the community.
Disabled people have unacceptable low levels of education and employment and
the majority of them live in a situation of real poverty, compared with nondisabled citizens.
Disabled people are invisible citizens, because the discrimination they face is
sometimes based on prejudice against them, or even it is caused by the fact that
they are largely forgotten and ignored. This results in the creation and
reinforcement of environmental and attitudinal barriers which prevent them from
taking part in society.
As disabled people form a very diverse social group, only policies that respect
that diversity will work.
The recently adopted new Charter of Fundamental Rights acknowledges that to
achieve equality for disabled people the right not to be discriminated against has
to be complemented by the right to benefit from measures designed to ensure
their independence, integration and participation in the community life.
The European Year of People with Disabilities must produce an advancement of
the disability agenda and this requires the active support of the national, regional
and local authorities throughout the year 2003 and beyond.
What do we expect from them?
EU authorities and national authorities in EU and accession countries should
review the scope of community and national legal frameworks aiming at
combating discrimination practices in all fields, with particular regard to
legislation on accessibility to ensure that disabled people have the same right of
access to all public and social facilities as other people.
Local authorities should be stimulated to integrate the needs of people with
disabilities in urban and community policy, draft plans of action on disability in
collaboration with the representative organisations and set up joint committees to
carry out the relevant activities.
We consider that access to information is a vital element to ensure equal
participation in and access to the information and knowledge based society for
citizens with disabilities. These citizens have the same rights to access to
government goods, services and systems as everybody else, but are still heavily
affected by the so called "digital divide", i.e. the gap between those who benefit
from the information and knowledge based society and those who do not.
Disabled people still have only little or partial access to information and
communication technologies, especially those with a sensory and cognitive
impairment. This is due to a lack of consideration of their specific functional
requirements.
There are two main means of ensuring that persons with disabilities benefit from
ICT. The first is based on the principle of design for all. This principle lays down
generic guidelines for designing mainstream products and services which must
accommodate a broader average of users; this means designing mainstream
products and devices that meet the needs of most users including many of those
with disabilities. However, design for the broader average will not always
accommodate the needs of those with severe disabilities or very particular user
requirements. Access to technologies for such users can best be achieved by the
second means: designing special products and services or in some cases adapting
or interfacing existing products or technologies to meet the user's specific
requirements. Moreover, design and modifications needed to accommodate
people with disabilities actually benefit everyone.
The use of information and communication technologies promises great potential
savings, but if they are not made accessible to all users, they represent a real
danger of additional exclusion.
Telephone systems and websites are currently considered the most relevant, but
very soon the access to public terminals will become a priority. Smart cards must
also be fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Horizontal user requirements for access to ICT involve interlinking technology,
accessible man-machine interfaces as well as harmonisation of legislation, user
participation etc., not least in the field of public procurement legislation. Generic
user requirements include the principle of universal design for development and
standardisation work and issues like functionality and accessibility of solutions,
aspects of comprehensible solutions for people with learning disabilities,
accessible user interfaces, privacy, health and safety issues and the ease of use
for different groups of disabled people. It is also important to remember that the
interests of disabled people are not limited to the social or health sector, but
cover all fields of their life. Therefore, the access to public services and the
information about all these issues is an essential principle of democracy.
As already mentioned, 2003 will be the Year of People with Disabilities all over
Europe and work has already begun in order to produce a general and
comprehensive non-discrimination directive on the ground of disability. The
policies of the European Union and of the member states regarding persons with
disabilities should take into account their needs when preparing general
measures and enact specific measures to ensure equal opportunities.
The scope of possible specific legislative initiatives in this area could include:
services based on ICTs, accessibility obligations on the private sector in relation
to ICTs, availability of assistive technology for those who need it, in order to
make use of ICTs. Possible basis for such legislation could le to ensure equality
of opportunity for all citizens and workers, including those who are disabled.
Harmonised consumer legislation might also provide the basis for change.
An example of progressive legislation regarding disability might be the
"Americans with Disabilities Act" (ADA) which requires that covered entities
furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services, where necessary, to ensure
effective communication with disabled individuals, unless doing so would result
in a fundamental alteration to the program or service or in an undue burden. In
the USA the "Architectural and Transportation Measures Compliance Board"
("Access Board") issued an accessibility standard for electronic and information
technology covered by section 508 of the "Rehabilitation Act". This disposition
requires the Access Board to publish standards setting forth a definition of
electronic and information technology and the technical and functional
performance criteria necessary for such technology to comply with the
regulation. Section 508 also requires that when general agencies develop,
procure, maintain or use electronic and information technology they shall ensure
the electronic and information technology allows federal employees (and
members of the public seeking information or services from a federal agency)
with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is
comparable to the access to and the use of information and data by individuals
who are not disabled, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.
Section 508 is also a prime example of a strictly legislative regulatory and
standards procedure for public procurement. The US have shown that hardheaded procurement standards can and do work, thereby initiating a whole chain
reaction for change in other related areas.
This could be an interesting example for Europe. On 13 June 2002 the European
Parliament went a stage further with regard to websites and public procurement.
Among others the following points were agreed: that public procurement policies
of the EU mandate accessibility by persons with disabilities which would prove
to be a major influencing factor in promoting access to ICTs. The member states
and the European Commission should require that organisations which receive
public funding should comply with the guidelines, that the promotion of the
WAI guidelines towards the private sector should start as soon as possible.
We expect that public procurement will increasingly become an important issue
from now on, although there is wide disparity between member countries.
Besides, some fundamental legal principles need to be followed, like free
movement of goods and services, non discrimination and equal treatment.
To conclude, I would like to draw your attention to the principle of “universal
service obligation” which is an essential factor not only in the
telecommunications area but also for the inclusion of disadvantaged users into
society. Universal service provision should also be considered as a general
principle meaning that all services and the relevant equipment must be accessible
and usable for all customers. From our perspective this is the real challenge for
European administrations and institutions at all levels.
Rodolfo Cattani