Rolling Rains Report:

CRPD and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)

People come to disability through a variety of means. Landmines is one preventable cause. below the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) hails the passage of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Landmine survivors and all people with disabilities can now count on a powerful tool to ensure their rights are respected and their needs met, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said today, hailing the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Disability Rights Convention).

The Convention, considered the first major human rights treaty of this century, was signed in December 2006. It will enter into force tomorrow, 30 days after the deposit of the 20th ratification (by Ecuador, on 3 April 2008).

"Like the Mine Ban Treaty just over ten years ago, the Disability Rights Convention is the result of a close partnership between governments and civil society organizations, whose contribution was crucial in achieving a strong legal instrument," said Firoz Ali Alizada, Advisor to the Afghan Landmine Survivors' Organization (ALSO), stressing the high levels of participation of the disability community – including landmine survivors – in the process.

"We are confident that the Disability Rights Convention will help bring about real change in the lives of landmine survivors, through the adoption of effective legislation and a shift in attitude," Alizada added.

In mine-affected countries, the Disability Rights Convention will complement the obligations for assisting landmine victims contained in the Mine Ban Treaty and strengthen the notion that providing comprehensive assistance to landmine survivors and other people with disability is fundamentally a human rights issue.

"Unfortunately, despite repeated verbal commitments, support for landmine survivors is still lacking in many countries, and decisive action is needed to turn promises into real improvements for survivors, their families, and communities," said ICBL Executive Director Sylvie Brigot.

Of the 24 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty that have identified themselves as having the most pressing needs in terms of victim assistance, only four have so far ratified the Disability Rights Convention: Croatia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Peru. The ICBL urges all countries to join the Convention and start adopting national legislation to put it into practice as soon as possible.

As the international community prepares to meet in Dublin from 19 May 2008 to negotiate a new treaty to ban cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, the ICBL expressed the hope that the principles of equality and inclusion enshrined in the Disability Rights Convention will be fully reflected in the new treaty.

"From the experience of the Mine Ban Treaty, we have learned the importance of placing concrete requirements on states for victim assistance. We hope the new treaty will include solid implementation and reporting requirements in this area," Brigot said.

Background

The ICBL's Landmine Monitor Report 2007 estimates the global number of landmine survivors at 473,000 but actual numbers are likely to be higher.

During the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2004, the following 23 countries identified themselves as having significant numbers of mine survivors and needs for assistance, but also the greatest responsibility to act: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Croatia, Dem. Rep. of Congo, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uganda and Yemen. Ethiopia later added itself to the list.

Through the Nairobi Action Plan, adopted at the end of the First Review Conference in 2004, States Parties to the treaty pledged to enhance efforts for the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of landmine survivors during the period 2005-2009.

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please call the ICBL office in Geneva: +41 (0)22 920 03 25

Source: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/ASAZ-7E9H9Z?OpenDocument

Disability Rights in China

The news note below on the rights of Chinese with disabilities is provided in anticipation of the Paralympic Games:

Last week, the Chinese government adopted a law amendment to better protect the country's more than 83 million persons with a disability, in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in September..."

The amendment to the Law on Protection of the Disabled, which has been discussed twice by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in February and April, was expected to go into effect on 1 July 2008.

"Caring for persons with a disability is a sign of social progress, and is an important part of building a harmonious society," said China's government official Wu Bangguo at the meeting. "Persons with a disability should be guaranteed the right to play a fair role in social life and share the fruits of our country's economic and social development", he added.

It is the first law amendment adopted by the 11th NPC Standing Committee, which convened its first meeting in March this year.

The amendment added details about stable financial support, better medical care and rehabilitation for persons with a disability, along with favorable jobs and tax policies. Governments at county level or above should provide stable funding and draw up annual plans to persons with a disability. Governments and social organizations, enterprises, and non-government organizations should have a quota of persons with a disability on their payroll, and should contribute to persons with a disability in other aspects if they failed to meet the quota. Government purchase should also give priority to products or services provided by persons with a disability, according to the amendment.

Furthermore, the amendment also made clearer the legal consequences of violating the rights and interests of persons with a disability.

China is the host of the Beijing 2008 Paralympics in September 2008 as well as the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou in 2010.

According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), the country has about 83 million disabled, accounting for 6.34 percent of the population. More than 75 percent of persons with a disability live in rural areas.

www.cdpf.org.cn/english/index.htm

Wellington City Council and Tourism for All

A public forum held by the Wellington City Council at Te Papa earlier this month was entitled “Tourism for All” and concentrated on a number of aspects around accessible tourism for people with disabilities (PWDs) and seniors. Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, is probably the most proactive jurisdiction in the country when it comes to access tourism, and the forum, driven by the council’s Disability reference Group (DRG), was opened by Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast.

Guest speaker Sandra Rhodda from Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth said that the New Zealand tourism and hospitality industry ignores the boomer, senior, and access tourism market to its peril.

She suggested that PWDs, seniors, and boomers are all part of the same equation. In spite of the fact that the world population is dominated by baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965 and now aged 43 to 62), in spite of the fact that this age group has the most disposable income, in spite of the fact that as these boomers age, they will swell enormously the ranks of the seniors market (25% of New Zealand’s population will be 65+ by 2040) and the ranks of PWDs, in spite of the fact that already over half of international visitors to New Zealand are over 45 (as are over 70% of cruise passengers in New Zealand), in spite of the fact that PWDs are the worlds largest minority group (e.g., 17% of New Zealanders have a disability), Rhodda pointed out that these groups are apparently rarely considered in New Zealand tourism and hospitality planning and market targeting. Unlike in countries overseas, very few New Zealand businesses or jurisdictions are gearing up to meet the demands of these groups, and there is little New Zealand research providing information on their size, spending power, habits, or needs.

A presentation by the Barrier Free New Zealand Trust (BFNZT) outlined how it plans to create a “one-stop” website of accessible venues for all people. The website will include accommodation venues, conference facilities, restaurants, bars, and cafes, and event centres. The BFNZT is a charitable trust, made up of consumers and individuals with experience and expertise in local government, the building industry and the disability sector.

Garth Stewart of NZ Bus outlined how his company will invest $40m over the next two and a half years on 90 new buses, and plans to have 95% of their fleet fully accessible by end of 2009. New customer service training and accessible bus stops are planned, together with GPS and Real Time services (up-to-date information by internet, phone, or txt).

Patrick FizGerald8360 from Squiz NZ described a plan to develop the online and print version of the “Accessible Wellington” map so that it remains up to date, interactive, and so that the visually impaired and blind would have full access to the information.

Michael Grace from Positively Wellington Tourism (the local marketing organization) made a plea for sector cooperation in increasing the accessible tourism offer in Wellington. He noted that there was currently no disability-specific accreditation scheme in New Zealand and in fact his organization depended on self-assessment by operators who listed their business on the Positively Wellington site. He discussed the various pros and cons of various international accreditation systems, and the adoption of an Independent Qualmark type rating system for disability accreditation.

The DRG reported back to the community on its work plan progress over the previous 12 months. Of particular importance was mobility parking, access to the railway station, the Kilbirnie Community Sports Centre, bus driver training with Stage Coach, input into the councils draft annual plan, and issues relating to the Footpath Management Policy. A project called the Kumutoto Open Spaces, which has reconnected the city waterfront to the CBD, was reported on. Project improvements included having ramps at a 1-in-15 gradient (as opposed to the legislated 1-in- 12), colour contrasts, and hand rails. However, a ramp to the water’s edge was not included despite the recommendations of the DRG. The DRG intends in the coming year to raise the issue of access gangways on the inter-island ferries, provide further Universal Access training, submit on the council’s Draft Annual Plan, progress issues with the council’s website in respect to accessibility, and work closely with the Greater Wellington regional Council to implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission Report into Accessible Land Transport.

Open Letter to José Manuel Barroso from the European Disability Forum

Open Letter to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission:

Brussels, 22 April 2008

Dear President,

It is with great satisfaction that I am writing to you, following public announcements made by your services that a proposal for a European directive fighting discrimination against disabled people will be proposed to the College of Commissioners at the end of June as part of a comprehensive ‘Social package’.

This is the best response that you, together with Commissioner Vladimir Špidla, could give to the ‘1million4disability’ campaign that EDF has led over last year, and that has gathered the support of over 1.364.984 citizens including prominent national and European politicians, representatives of a wide variety of civil society organizations, trade unions, and heads of State. It is also very significant as it is the first citizen’s initiative that is followed up by the European Commission, even before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. All citizens will rejoice of your decision, as it sets a positive example of democratic dialogue between the European Commission and the people of Europe.

EDF had been campaigning for a disability specific directive since 2000. In 2003, at the closing of the European Year of People with Disabilities, the European Commission, while stating that the time was not ripe, announced that there would be a disability specific directive.

This directive is also a first significant step in the process of implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that the European Commission is about to ratify, as non discrimination is a prominent element in this new binding Human Rights instrument, which covers civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.

EDF would like to express its gratitude and support for such an important initiative, which will contribute to strengthening non discrimination acquis, and to establishing a strong link between disability, non discrimination and Human Rights, across the European Union.

Until today, too many citizens with disabilities have remained among the most invisible and neglected, segregated in institutions or even in their homes; they have been denied access to education, employment, transport, social or health services, they have been unable to access information, watch television, to go to cinemas and restaurants as any other citizen…

A European legislation will allow persons with disabilities to have access to the same rights across the EU, and to benefit for the first time from free movement rights, from which they have been so long deprived.

50 million disabled persons across Europe and their families are looking forward to an ambitious and effective legislation tackling rights of disabled people in all areas of life, able to create change and making the EU the most advanced region for disability rights. EDF has drafted a proposal for legislation with the support of legal experts, published on our website. We are at the disposal of your services for further contributions.

It is also critical that such legislation adequately addresses the situations of multiple discrimination, in which all disabled people may find themselves, regardless of their age, sex, religion or belief, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. EDF is also calling on all EU institutions to move forward the debate on legislative measures that will strengthen provisions fighting discrimination on all grounds of Article 13.

EDF is also calling on the Council of the EU, the Member States who will be called to decide on such a proposal, and the European Parliament that has supported a disability specific directive in so many statements, resolutions and reports over the last seven years, to carry forward such disability legislation, which will undoubtedly bring citizens closer to the European Union.

Yannis Vardakastanis

President of the European Disability Forum

Read a selection of key support messages in favour of European disability legislation: http://www.1million4disability.eu/supporters.asp?langue=EN

For more information, please contact: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, EDF Communication and Press Officer; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; Mobile phone: (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; E-mail: communication@edf-feph.org

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is the European umbrella organisation representing the interests of 50 million disabled citizens in Europe. EDF membership includes national umbrella organisations of disabled people from all EU/EEA countries, as well as European NGOs representing the different types of disabilities, organisations and individuals committed to disability issues. The mission of the European Disability Forum is to ensure disabled people full access to fundamental and human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation in Europe.

Lettre ouverte à José Manuel Barroso,
Président de la Commission européenne

Bruxelles, 22 avril 2008

Monsieur le Président,

C’est avec une immense satisfaction que je vous adresse ce courrier, suite à l’annonce publiée par vos services stipulant qu’une directive européenne de lutte contre la discrimination des personnes handicapées serait proposée au Collège des Commissaires à la fin du mois de juin, dans le cadre d’un ‘paquet social’ global.

C’est la meilleure réponse que vous pouviez offrir, conjointement avec le Commissaire Vladimir Spidla, à la campagne ‘1million4disability’ (Un million pour le handicap) orchestrée l’an dernier par le FEPH et qui a rallié le soutien de plus de 1.364.984 citoyens, dont d’éminents responsables politiques nationaux et européens, des représentants d’une large palette d’organisations de la société civile, des syndicats et des chefs d’Etat. Il s’agit d’un événement marquant vu que cette initiative de démocratie participative est la première à être mise en œuvre par la Commission européenne, avant même l’entrée en vigueur du Traité de Lisbonne. Tous les citoyens se réjouiront de votre décision qui constitue un exemple positif de dialogue démocratique entre la Commission européenne et la population européenne.

Le FEPH fait campagne en faveur d’une directive axée sur le handicap depuis l’an 2000. En 2003, lors de la clôture de l’Année européenne des personnes handicapées, bien qu’en précisant que le moment n’était pas encore l’approprié, la Commission européenne avait annoncé qu’il y aurait une directive axée sur le handicap.

Cette directive constitue également une première avancée de taille dans le processus de mise en œuvre de la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits des personnes handicapées que la Commission européenne est sur le point de ratifier. En effet, la non-discrimination constitue un élément prépondérant de ce nouvel instrument contraignant afférent aux droits de l’Homme qui couvre les droits civils, politiques, sociaux, économiques et culturels des personnes handicapées.

Le FEPH souhaiterait exprimer sa gratitude et apporter son appui à une initiative d’une telle importance qui permettra de consolider les acquis en terme de non-discrimination et de tisser un lien solide entre le handicap, la non-discrimination et les droits de l’Homme dans toute l’Union européenne.

Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, trop de citoyens handicapés sont restés invisibles, ont été laissés à l’écart, confinés dans des institutions, voire même dans leurs maisons. L’accès à l’éducation, à l’emploi, au transport, aux services sociaux et de santé leur a été trop longtemps refusé. Ils n’ont pas été en mesure d’avoir accès à l’information, de regarder la télévision, de se rendre au cinéma ou au restaurant comme le citoyen lambda…

Une législation européenne permettra aux personnes handicapées de jouir des mêmes droits dans toute l’UE, de bénéficier pour la première fois des droits à la libre circulation dont elles ont été si longtemps privées.

50 millions de personnes handicapées de toute l’Europe et leurs familles espèrent une législation ambitieuse et efficace qui examine les droits des personnes handicapées dans tous les domaines de la vie quotidienne, capable de susciter le changement et de faire de l’UE la région la plus à la pointe en matière de droits des personnes handicapées. Le FEPH a rédigé une proposition de législation avec l’aide de juristes et l’a publiée sur son site web. Nous restons à la disposition de vos services pour toute aide complémentaire.

Il est également impératif qu’une telle législation aborde adéquatement les situations de discrimination multiple que toutes les personnes handicapées sont susceptibles de rencontrer indépendamment de leur âge, de leur sexe, de leur religion ou de leurs convictions, de leur origine ethnique ou de leur orientation sexuelle. Le FEPH exhorte également les institutions européennes à faire progresser le débat sur les mesures législatives qui renforceront les dispositions visant à lutter contre la discrimination fondée sur l’ensemble des motifs énoncés dans l’Article 13.

Le FEPH invite aussi le Conseil de l’UE, les Etats membres qui seront appelés à se prononcer sur une telle proposition, ainsi que le Parlement européen qui s’est exprimé en faveur d’une directive axée sur le handicap dans de nombreuses déclarations, résolutions ou rapports publiés ces sept dernières années, à faire avancer la législation en matière de handicap qui rapprochera indubitablement les citoyens de l’Union européenne.

Yannis Vardakastanis

Président du Forum européen des personnes handicapées.

Lisez une sélection de déclarations clé en faveur d’une législation européenne en matière de handicap: http://www.1million4disability.eu/supporters.asp?langue=EN

Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, Responsable de Communication et Presse; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; GSM : (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; Courriel: communication@edf-feph.org

Le Forum européen des personnes handicapées (FEPH) est la plateforme européenne qui représente les intérêts de 50 millions de citoyens handicapés au sein de l’Union européenne. Les organisations membres du FEPH incluent les plateformes nationales des personnes handicapées de tous les Etats membres de l’UE et de l’Espace économique européen, ainsi que les ONG européennes représentant les différents types de handicap. La mission du FEPH est de garantir le respect total des droits fondamentaux et humains des personnes handicapées par le biais d’une implication active dans le développement et application des politiques européennes.

An Endemic Epidemic Gets the Media Coverge it Deserves

"Ludwig van Beethoven (the famous deaf composer) would not be allowed to fly alone on a Tiger Airways flight if he were alive today, because of the Singapore-owned airline's purported policy on deaf passengers."
.

A representative of Tiger Airways Australia told the group last month they could not make an interstate flight without a care provider who could hear. The group was allowed on the March 4 flight eventually, but was then sent a note by the flight attendant that they will not be allowed to fly alone on the airline again, the Herald Sun newspaper reported.

Source:
Airline Slammed on Deaf Policy

Airline Slammed on Deaf Policy

By ROD McGUIRK – 1 day ago

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Ludwig van Beethoven would not be allowed to fly alone on a Tiger Airways flight if he were alive today because of the Singapore-owned airline's purported policy on deaf passengers, a government minister said Friday.

Bill Shorten used the example of Beethoven — who famously continued composing until his death in 1827 despite losing his hearing — in condemning the treatment of deaf passengers by the Australian subsidiary of Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways.

The policy bars deaf passengers from flying unless accompanied by a fare-paying adult care provider, a Tiger Airways reservations agent who said she goes by only one name, Jinky, told The Associated Press.

But airline spokesman Matt Hobbs denied that the airline had such a policy, and said he was investigating why air crews and call center staff in the Philippines were telling passengers otherwise.

Shorten, Australia's parliamentary secretary for disabilities and children's services, said he telephoned the airline Friday to tell them that barring deaf people from flying alone was wrong.

"Under this, Beethoven would never have been able to catch a plane" on his own, Shorten told Sky Television. "Just because people are deaf doesn't mean that they're stupid."

A group of four deaf adults has lodged a complaint with the Australian government's anti-discrimination watchdog agency after a representative of Tiger Airways Australia told them last month that they could not make an interstate flight without a care provider who could hear, the Herald Sun newspaper reported Friday.

The group was eventually permitted to take their seats on the March 4 flight but a flight attendant told them they would not be allowed to fly alone again on the airline, the newspaper said.

Hobbs, Tiger Airways Australia's head of corporate communications, said the cabin manager had written the four a note saying: "In future, so you know, you'll need to travel with a carer for safety reasons."

"We're clarifying with all staff that deaf people do not require a carer to travel with them," Hobbs said, adding that he could not explain the widespread misunderstanding within his company.

"We are apologetic and very sorry that the people involved in this feel in any way that they've been discriminated against or upset by this in any way," he said.

Hobbs said his company's sister airline, Tiger Airways Singapore, had changed its policy that once required deaf passengers to be accompanied by a care provider.

The Australian subsidiary of Singapore-based Tiger Aviation entered the Australian domestic aviation market last November. Its Australian competitors allow deaf passengers to fly alone.

Philippines: Access 2010 - First National Conference on Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities

The First National Conference on Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities March 27-28, 2008 at the Great Eastern Hotel, Quezon City, Philippines. The objectives of the conference were "to promote transport accessibility as an entry point to building a non-handicapping environment for persons with disabilities."

At the end of the Conference the participants shall have:

• Developed common inter-sectoral understanding and dialogue on public transport and accessibility issues.
• Linked the call for accessible transportation to efforts on creating non-handicapping public transport facilities and physical environments.
• Identified the consideration needed for drawing an intervention plan for increasing inter-sectoral partnership for transport and accessibility issues.
• Recommended measures to address the identified gaps and issues in the public transportation system that limits the mobility of persons with disabilities resulted from the regional transport summits held in 2007.
• Drawn and formulated a National Plan of Action for an accessible public transportation system for persons with disabilities in the country.

“ACCESS 2010”:

DECLARATION OF SUPPORT AND COMMITMENT

We, the participants of the Access 2010: First National Conference on Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities belonging to the government and the private sectors, declare to commit ourselves to work together in a common platform and uphold the principles of :

Respect for the dignity and rights of all persons with disabilities; and,

Empowering them to live independently and participate fully and equally in all aspects of community life especially the women with disabilities whose involvement in community activities have been undermined because of gender
biases and discriminations.

We pledge to participate actively and unfailingly in the implementation of the National Plan of Action for an Accessible Land, Rail, Air and Sea Public Transportation System for Persons with Disabilities in the country.

Further, we resolve in particular to achieve the following five-point action agenda in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, BIWAKO Millennium Framework for Action Towards an Inclusive, Barrier-Free and Rights-Based Society for Persons with Disabilities and the Accessibility Law:

1. Formulate strategies that will improve attitudes and behavior towards persons
with disabilities particularly in the public transport sector;

2. Undertake comprehensive review of accessibility standards for planning of
public transport systems, as well as universal vehicular standards for
indigenous public transport;

3. Provide opportunities for the development of a strong multi-sectoral
partnership for public transport accessibility;

4. Improve existing public transport systems and ensure new and renovated public
transport systems are accessible; and,

5. Provide education and training for public transportation stakeholders on
accessibility issues facing persons with disabilities.

To achieve this five-point agenda, the participants commit to undertake the following:

Assist in the development of an effective mechanism for the implementation and monitoring of laws and policies pertaining to the accessibility of transportation services provided to the public;

Review and amend existing policies, guidelines and standards on public transport systems as well as universal vehicular standards for indigenous public transport that restricts mobility resulting in the discrimination of persons with disabilities in the transport industry;

Actively support the development of a strong multi-sectoral partnership for public transport accessibility among government organizations, non-government organizations and the sector of persons with disabilities that will result in a pro-active public transportation industry responsive to the enjoyment of persons with disabilities of their rights as Filipino citizens;

Support the development of existing transport systems to include standards in the designs of vehicles and other transportation facilities as well as ensure that new and renovated public transport systems are accessible; and,

Provide continuing capability-building activities for public transportation stakeholders on accessibility for the effective implementation of guidelines/policies/standards as well as ensure that persons with disabilities have the same access and are treated in a dignified and non-discriminatory manner.

Finally, in support of the above five-point agenda, we urge all persons with disabilities to organize themselves in all levels of the political subdivisions of our country so that with one voice they can call for government’s affirmative action in pursuit of the attainment of the objectives of this Declaration.

Signed this 28th day of March 2008 at Great Eastern Hotel, Quezon City.

Undersecretary Anneli R. Lontoc –DOTC
Asst. Secretary Elmer A. Soneja – DOTC
Director Ildefonso T. Patdu, Jr. - DOTC
Undersecretary Rosie Lovely Romulo –NCDA
Asst. Secretary Nora Salazar – NCDA
Michael P. Davies – CBM-Seapro
ies

ADA: US is Playing With Broken Toys

The 20th nation has ratified the United nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD.)

Ecuador was the tipping point nation. This means that the document will attain force of law on May 3.

It is no secret that the United States has not been supportive of this culmination of 30 year's work by the disability community. The US disability community has written and vigorously promoted the ADA Restoration Act as a remedy to US abdication of the core intent of the ADA. It now appears that the next phase in the backslide will take the form of benign disinterest and subtle claims that the ADA and CRPD are equivalent. It remains for the united disability community to mount an effective public education initiative to turn aside such patronizing dismissal of our political will as:

"We recognize that many other states may consider the convention a useful tool as they develop their own national framework for persons with disabilities," said U.S. mission spokesman Richard Grenell.

"But for the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 2001, was the most sweeping legislation to provide access for people with disabilities."

The momentum for justice on disability rights has bypassed the United States. Case in point, in practice the ADA does not provide the coherent and fundamental human rights affirmation on leisure and tourism contained in Chapter 30 of the Convention.

Speaking to US readers explicitly for the moment - It is in our best interest as a nation to admit our failure to live up to our own promise as embodied in the ADA. It is time to join the international community rather than cower behind protests of having been "first." Protests of psuedo-support are a disingenuous disservice to the disability community. False assurances that the existing - and complacent - US system is the endpoint to be sought is also a disservice to business. Without a vision equivalent to that of Chapter 30 of the CRPD the tourism industry in the US will fall further and further behind the rest of the world.

* Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN03333101

See also:

Secretary-General Ban hails entry into force of treaty on disability rights

[UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (left) addressing the signing ceremony of the Convention last year]

UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (left) addressing the signing ceremony of the Convention last year
3 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the entry into force of the first international treaty on the human rights of persons with disabilities, after the required twentieth country ratified the landmark convention today.

“It is a historic moment in our quest for realization of the universal human rights for ALL persons, creating a fully inclusive society for all,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson Marie Okabe said in a statement celebrating the rapid progress of the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted in December 2006.

“The Convention will be a powerful tool to eradicate the obstacle faced by persons with disabilities,” she said, pointing to discrimination, segregation from society, economic marginalization, and lack of opportunities for participation in social, political and economic decision-making processes.

Today’s ratification by Ecuador means that the Convention, along with an optional protocol that will allow individuals and groups to petition for relief, will be legally binding as of 3 May. Tunisia and Jordan also ratified the treaty earlier this week.

Through today’s statement, the Secretary-General also congratulated the States that have ratified or acceded to the Convention. Some 126 countries have signed the Convention since 30 March 2007, and 71 have signed the optional protocol.

“It is estimated that there are at least 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide, of whom approximately 80 percent live in less developed countries,” Ms. Okabe noted.

As many as two-thirds of United Nations Member States do not have any legal protection for people with disabilities, according to the UN Focal Point on Disability Akiko Ito, even though they comprise one in 10 of the global population.

“The Convention, together with its Optional Protocol, is deeply rooted in the firm commitment of the international community to rectifying the egregious neglect and dehumanizing practices that violate the human rights of persons with disabilities,” Ms. Okabe concluded, calling on all States that have not yet done so to accede or ratify it without delay.

In a statement issued this past weekend, more than 20 UN departments, agencies, programmes, and funds pledged their support to implementing the convention.

The newly-formed Inter-Agency Support Group for the Convention said that support will focus on six main areas: policies to support the purpose and objectives of the Convention; programmes including international cooperation; capacity-building of Member States, civil society, and the UN system; research and access to knowledge on disabilities; accessibility; and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Source:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26199&Cr=&Cr1=

From Tourism-Review.com

A special issue of the magazine Ethical has been published on Barrier-Free Tourism. The 13 page pdf download is available here.

Articles include:

Tourism Accessible for All in Europe
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For those who associate tourism only with holiday and leisure and luxury it should be mentioned that tourism is a sector of remarkable economic importance. The European tourism economy contributes to about 5 % (depending on its definition up to 11 %) to the GDP of the European Union and provides between 8 and 24 million jobs (depending on the definition of the sector). Furthermore, it should be taken into account that tourism is indispensably linked with travel...

Case Study: Economic Advantages of Accessible Tourism in Germany
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In November 2002 Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour commissioned a project group, comprising the University of Münster and the consulting firms NEUMANNCONSULT and Reppel + Lorenz, to conduct a study on the economic impulses of accessible Tourism for All. For the first time reliable data and statements were brought together, which represent the customer’s potential and manner regarding accessible Tourism in Germany...

Merging Architecture and Accessibility
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In the Nordic countries, improving disabled people's access to museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions has been an important consideration for a number of years. It is evident that museum buildings and the way displayed objects are presented should embrace all visitors; one of the challenges confronting museums at the turn of the twenty-first century is to ensure the greatest possible accessibility for all without compromising the architectural expression...

Providing Services in an Accessible Manner
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Access is about the absence of barriers to the use of facilities. Although this is usually seen in terms of physical access or access to informa¬tion and communication, poorly trained staff can represent a serious barrier for disabled people if they are unable to provide services in an appropriate, non-discriminatory way...
Barrier-Free Asia?

2000 Bali Declaration on Barrier-Free Tourism for People with Disabilities

The 2000 Bali Conference on Inclusive Tourism was a watershed in the field. Below is the conference report.

Regional Training Workshop on Promotion of Accessible Tourism (24-28 September 2000)

Report: Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities (24-27 September 2000)
Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Recommendations

A. Issues

People with disabilities and older persons are growing groups and consumers of tourism services. Families with young children are beginning to travel more. These three groups have similar needs for accessible tourism. However, the majority of tourism service providers in the ESCAP region do not, as yet, understand the economic and social significance of early action to create barrier-free tourism.

The built environment (buildings, streets, parks, public transportation and communication infrastructure) has a major impact on the quality of tourism experience, especially concerning its safety, convenience, efficiency and enjoyment aspects. There is insufficient integration of the planning and development of the built environment and tourism development, both within and across countries.

To create tourism that caters to the full range of consumer needs, there is a need to improve the useability of transportation, accommodation, tourism sites and services, and tour programmes.

B. Promotion of tourism for all

1. Guiding principles

Persons with disabilities have equal right of access to all tourism infrastructure, products and services, including employment opportunities and benefits that the tourism industry can provide. The tourism industry should provide the same choices for all consumers to ensure the full participation of persons with disabilities, and protection of the individual's right to travel with dignity.

Tourism master plans, policies and programmes should incorporate the principle of universal access to tourism infrastructure, products and services. Furthermore, access improvement in tourism benefits many other groups, including older persons and families with young children. The inclusion of universal design in tourism development can create environments, products and services that are useable by a wide spectrum of consumers, irrespective of their experience, knowledge, skills, age, gender, as well as their physical, sensory, communication and cognitive abilities. Thus the spirit of barrier-free tourism means the reduction of all physical and non-physical barriers and dangers so that they do not adversely affect tourism experiences and activities.

With regard to tourism access improvement, it is important for all concerned to take into consideration the rights and needs of diverse user groups, including single disability groups, persons with multiple disabilities, and women and girls with disabilities.

2. Strategic actions

(a) People with disabilities and disabled persons' organizations should:

1. Develop empowerment programmes focusing on skills for advocacy and negotiation with the tourism industry;
2. Acquire skills in appraising tourism facilities, programmes and services, and in recommending action to raise their quality, as appropriate;
3. Learn to conduct access surveys;
4. Document and share information on the quality of tourism components and user experiences (accommodation, transportation, tourism sites and services, tour programmes, and information and communications systems);
5. Create local access guides and maps for in-country and foreign visitors;
6. Serve as resource persons or advisors to training institutions and policy-making bodies concerned with tourism services;
7. Communicate rights and needs in an effective manner to people encountered in the course of travel, especially those who are unaware and inexperienced concerning disabled persons or discriminatory in their behaviour;
8. Strengthen craft production and marketing skills among persons with disabilities as an economically viable interface with the tourism industry;
9. Support disabled persons in acquiring training and employment in the tourism industry.

(b) Government authorities should:

1. Train immigration officers and ministry of foreign affairs staff concerned with visa applications on disabled person-friendly procedures to be observed in a systematic manner;
2. Work towards uniform disabled person-friendly immigration procedures at the subregional level;
3. Improve the accessibility of immigration offices to facilitate travel document application by all tourists, including tourists with disabilities;
4. Exempt from customs duty all assistive devices required by disabled persons for supporting their activities of daily living, including computers required by blind persons;
5. Update annually a list of items that should be exempted from customs duty;
6. Simplify customs clearance procedures for all assistive devices required by disabled persons for supporting their activities of daily living, including computers required by blind persons;
7. Train customs officers on ways of communicating with disabled persons, especially with deaf and hard of hearing persons.

(c) Tourism service providers should:

1. Develop in-house programmes to raise awareness, sensitivity and skill levels to provide more appropriate services for persons with disabilities;
2. Communicate more with disabled persons and their organizations to exchange accurate and reliable information for strengthening tourism services to better meet diverse consumer needs;
3. Encourage tourism service providers to make their websites accessible for disabled persons, especially blind persons;
4. Involve disabled persons with the requisite experience and skills in conducting access surveys of premises and to serve as resource persons and advisors in improving tourism services;
5. Introduce barrier-free tourism into the agendas of their regular meetings;
6. Introduce accessibility as a criterion in the ranking of hotels and restaurants.

(d) Tourism training institutions should:

1. Include in training curricula (for all levels) the following contents concerning a client focus that respects the rights and needs of diverse consumer groups, including persons with disabilities: attitude, knowledge and skills development, as well as cross-cultural understanding and appreciation;
2. Develop and use training modules for sensitizing front-line service staff to relate, in an appropriate manner, with disabled travellers.

(e) Inter-governmental organizations should:

1. Foster inter-country exchange and networking concerning experiences and practices on endeavours towards barrier-free tourism;
2. Identify, inter-regionally and within the ESCAP region, best practices in the promotion of barrier-free tourism for wider reference and possible adaptation in the ESCAP region;
3. Facilitate, in cooperation with subregional organizations, inter-country discussion towards the adoption of uniform disabled person-friendly immigration procedures;
4. Work towards the lifting of discriminatory and restrictive conditions, such as the requirements of an accompanying person and medical certification, that are imposed on travellers with disabilities;
5. Explore possible means of granting accreditation to tourism industry establishments that are accessible by disabled persons;
6. Develop an outline of core contents for training tourism personnel;
7. Develop training content and capability to strengthen passenger services at transport interchanges (bus, railway, ferry, ship and airplane terminals);
8. Promote the application of universal design principles to improve the accessibility of tourism sites, especially cultural, heritage and pilgrimage sites.

Organization of the Workshop-cum-Conference

A. Background

ESCAP organized the Regional Training Workshop on Promotion of Accessible Tourism (24-28 September 2000) in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities (24-27 September 2000). The Workshop-cum-Conference were held at Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Social Welfare Board, Government of Indonesia. The Conference, organized by the Community Based Rehabilitation Development and Training Centre, Solo, Indonesia, was co-sponsored by ESCAP, the Nippon Foundation and the Indonesian Society for the Care of Disabled Children. The hosting of both events constituted a contribution of the Government of Indonesia to regional cooperation in support of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.

B. Objectives

The Conference was organized to provide a forum for the discussion of major issues related to accessible tourism for people with disabilities, with a view to identifying key policy and strategy elements for promoting barrier-free tourism. The proposal for such a Conference had been discussed at the Eighteenth Session of the Regional Interagency Committee for Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee on Disability-related Concerns held in November 1999.

The Workshop was organized to provide participants from ESCAP developing countries with training on a multisectoral approach to the promotion of barrier-free tourism.

C. Attendance

Two hundred participants (200) attended the Workshop-cum-Conference seminar. They were from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. They included persons with disabilities, tourism officials, tourism industry representatives and human resources development experts from hospitality management institutions. There were three resource persons from Peru, Singapore and South Africa. Their expertise covered the following areas: promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, and citizens' participation on accessibility issues, training persons with disabilities as trainers on the conduct of access surveys, access-related awareness raising among professionals responsible for the design and maintenance of the built environment, barrier-free design and its strategic application.

D. Opening
The First Lady of Indonesia inaugurated the Conference. His Excellency Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, delivered the keynote statement at the opening session. His Excellency Mr I Gede Ardika, Minister of Culture and Tourism addressed the participants. There was a rich programme of performances by local persons with diverse disabilities.

E. Programme

The substantive programme of the Workshop-cum-Conference was composed of eight plenary sessions of technical presentations and two group discussion sessions. The technical presentations covered the following: regional overview of universal design principles, rights and needs of persons with disabilities, priorities for strategic action, quality of life and tourism, tourism for people with disabilities, human resources development in tourism, travel health, and the access survey as an empowerment tool.

A field visit programme was organized for the participants to observe Balinese cultural activities and interact with Balinese disabled persons who were engaged in those activities, as well as in craft production.

The resource persons conducted a special training session for the Workshop participants on: strategic interventions for the promotion of accessible tourism; collaboration with tourism authorities on access improvement; and working on access improvement among disabled persons living in urban poverty, and the rights of persons with disabilities.

F. Adoption of the report and closing
The participants adopted their report, including the recommendations and the Bali Declaration on Barrier-free Tourism for People with Disabilities, on 27 September 2000. The Bali Declaration is annexed to this report.

In adopting the report, nine participants formed a networking group on tourism for people with disabilities. The group agreed to disseminate the recommendations and the Bali Declaration through their respective networks. Group members also agreed to maintain e-mail contact with one another, and to provide mutual support and encouragement on follow-up action.

The Minister of Culture of Tourism, Government of Indonesia, received the finalized Bali Declaration from the participants and pledged his commitment to follow-up action in support of the implementation of its operative provisions.

Tourism in the The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a historic document because of the prominence that it gives to Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development.

To hone in on those topics when reading the CRPD head straight for Chapter 30 entitled, Participation in Cultural Life, Recreation, Leisure and Sport. Then backtrack to Chapters 18 through 21 for Liberty of Movement and Nationality through Freedom of Expression and Opinion, and Access to Information.)

The manual Human Rights. Yes! published by the University of Minnesota provides simple analyses and is helpful for those preparing to advocate for ratification of CRPD. Chapter 14 The Right to Sport and Culture has a section called Tourism that is its module on disability and travel.

Before I offer a critique let me begin by noting that two of the three citations for the section are my research and admit that this section could have been better if my original work had provided the authors with a more well-rounded argument. Specifically, my work would have been more adequate if it had clearly distinguished between physical accessibility to venues, fixtures, and facilities and program accessibility to services and other non-physical entities. Only when both are addressed is inclusion possible.

There are also particular experiences in my own life that make a critique of Human Rights. Yes! and similar tools of special significance to me.

As an undergraduate at the University of Washington I was recruited to do statewide education on Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. I declined the position but retained a keen interest in the process of public education on the rights of my community. As a professional educator at Santa Clara University I was involved in university administration of compliance plans during the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Over the intervening decades I have had numerous opportunities to observe how seemingly small errors in the public education and enforcement processes related to major disability rights legislation can have disproportionately disappointing consequences.

Without serious, systematic, and coordinated efforts to communicate the intent, scope, and consequences of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this historic moment will slip away and its promise remain unfulfilled.

Human Rights. Yes! succeeds at best practices in course design through good sequencing, defined scope, specific learning goals, appropriate language level, and clear graphic design. In the discussion of tourism it makes clear the unique role of the CRPD in the area of tourism and disability:

Responsible tourism development and tourism that respects the human rights
of persons with disabilities must consider inclusion in planning, designing, and implementing tourism projects. Most important, disabled peoples organizations must participate in such processes and need to engage in accessible tourism advocacy. The CRPD, which is the only major international human rights treaty to explicitly mention tourism, requires States to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to tourism and tourist services.

That is it:

• Affirms Inclusive Destination Development (which is in turn founded on Universal Design)
• Assigns legitimacy to disabled peoples organizations (DPOs)
• Specifies consultative and transparent planning and management processes
• States that the CRPD is unique among human rights treaties in addressing tourism
• Observes that States are required to assure access to tourism and tourist services

Critiquing the training module on tourism as a stand-alone tool and doing so in light of the paragraph quoted and outlined above I find the module’s sidebar to be incomplete and unrepresentative of what it aims to address, namely “The Barriers Faced by Tourists with Disabilities”:

• Inaccessible airport transfer and ill-trained airport staff
• Lack of accessible transport
• Inaccessible hotel rooms
• Professional staff not trained to inform and advise about accessibility issues
• Lack of information about a specific attraction's accessibility (e.g., museums, castles, exhibitions)
• Non-adapted toilets in restaurants and public places
• Inaccessible restaurants and tourist attractions
• Inaccessible streets (e.g., no curb cuts, cars blocking wheelchair access
• lanes)
• Lack of disability equipment rental (wheelchairs, bath chairs, toilet raisers,
• electric scooters)

All these are barriers commonly faced. The question is, “By whom?” The underlying problem is two-fold.

First the examples overwhelmingly reflect those with mobility impairments. Second the examples do not capture the important distinction between physical accessibility (well represented in the examples) and program accessibility (overlooked). (Program accessibility means access to all programs and services offered to non-disabled people once physical barriers are eliminated.)

This list of barriers is followed immediately by “Exercise 14.5: Speaking Up for Accessible Tourism.“ The learning objective of the exercise is, “To examine discrimination in tourism and tourism development and to consider how to take action against it.” I have not field-tested this exercise in role-playing a presentation to a “Tourism Development Board” but I would make some predictions based on experience.

My assumption is that the intended goal of the exercise is to (learn to) convince the board to use their authority in the interest of travelers with disabilities. The chapter’s introductory section stipulates the participation of DPOs for any solution to be legitimate. This suggests a solution-oriented presentation incorporating the foremost cultural product of disability culture for addressing the built environment - the seven principles of Universal Design. Yet the exercise does not present Universal Design either in isolation or as a component of Inclusive Destination Development thus making the logical link to the Board’s area of authority for destination management.

I would predict that by failing to prepare participants with these conceptual tools and by norming the exercise on an implicit person with a mobility impairment the exercise would most frequently result in:

• A laundry list of anecdotal stories of barrier encountered during travel
• A preponderance of physical and attitudinal barriers being recounted
• Superficial reference to or application of Universal Design as a set of mandated measurements (building code specifications) rather than as the design approach with no pre-mandated design solutions
• A scarcity of solutions presented (actionable items that are within the domain of the Board)
• Low participation by exercise participants with non-mobility related disabilities

In fairness to the authors of Human Rights. Yes! the topic of Universal Design is discussed in Chapter 2 on Accessibility. The seven principles are listed. The exercise there explicitly encourages reflection on Universal Design as applied to “people with physical, sensory, learning, intellectual, psycho-social, and multiple disabilities.” Barriers to accessibility are broken down into the four categories of physical, informational, institutional, and attitudinal. However, it would be helpful to review, in Chapter 14, the principles of Universal Design introduced 12 chapters earlier and add some intellectual scaffolding to help participants transition from four abstract categories of barriers to the solution-oriented distinction between physical and program accessibility in tourism. Such a modification would improve the exercise.

For legislative milestones such as CRPD to be sustainable they must be either 1) constantly supported by the legal mechanisms such as monitoring, enforcement, and modification 2) find sustainability outside the legal system or 3) both.

The purpose of the Second International Conference on Inclusive Tourism (ICAT 2007) held in Bangkok in November of 2007 was to promote a rights-based approach to tourism. Citing the the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights –based Society for Persons with Disabilities (BMF), Biwako Plus Five and the Plan of Action for Sustainable Tourism Development in Asia and the Pacific (Phase II 2006-2012). The message of its opening keynote, “Inclusive Tourism: A New Strategic Alliance for the Disability Rights Movement,” was that the most promising means of sustaining inclusion in tourism outside the legal system is the travel and hospitality industry itself. In fact, the claim was made that the industry is moving rapidly to self-standardize to meet the burgeoning demand for travel by persons with disabilities.

The grassroots and institutional efforts of individuals and DPOs around the world to promote ratification of and educate the public on the implications of CRPD play a pivotal role in shaping the industry’s support. That support will be effective and durable to the extent that DPOs succeed in speaking with a unified voice that reflects distilled cultural wisdom such as Universal Design and represents the current experience of their constituency.

However, their constituencies also have ongoing direct access to the industry as consumers, guests, consultants, travel industry employees, academics, and focus-group participants. The legitimacy of DPOs depends on paying attention to the groundswell of interest in this topic by people with disabilities.

A strategy for success in establishing Inclusive Tourism and inclusive Destination Development practices involves careful attention to constituent education on the part of DPOs. It should provide consumers with disabilities with awareness of their rights. It must also make them competent to offer solutions consistent with the overall interests of those in their community with disabilities other than or more extensive than their own. Careful attention to the training we provide on this subject within our own community can make sustainability of the gains promised by CRPD a reality.

Further Resources:

Full Text of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
http://tinyurl.com/3b72g8

Conference Recommendations from the Second International Conference on Inclusive Tourism (ICAT 2007)
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002056.html

"To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues" - CRPD

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been called the pinnacle of legal accomplishments protecting the rights of individuals. It is well on its way to ratification. It is also the subject of an upcoming blog swarm (blog carnival/festchrift). The Rolling Rains Report will contribute on the subject of travel and disability:

The rights to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport are reflected in a number of international human rights law instruments, including, for example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Specialized conventions also reflect these rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)...

While reflected in various human rights instruments, these rights are not as well-developed as other human rights and are often forgotten. The right of persons with disabilities to participate in a wide array of cultural, recreational, sporting, and leisure activities is recognized as central to full inclusion for disabled people and is therefore defined in some detail in Article 30 of the CRPD. For this reason the CRPD is an important development in human rights law on participation in culture, sport, recreation and related activities.

Source:

Human Rights. Yes! Chapter 14 The Right to Sport and Culture
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/TB6/index2.html

The Rolling Rains Report Featured Entrant in the National Geographic and Ashoka's Changemakers Geotourism Challenge

The proposal to open three Centers of Excellence in Inclusive Tourism that is being considered by Echoing Green Foundation and publicy discussed at Ashoka's Changemakers' Geotourism Challenge has generated 80 comments from around the world here:

http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/5952

The Rolling Rains Report Featured Entrant in the National Geographic and Ashoka's Changemakers Geotourism Challenge

Global competition will uncover most innovative projects that support better tourism

[San Jose, CA, USA] – The National Geographic Society and Ashoka’s Changemakers have introduced the first Geotourism Challenge to identify and showcase innovators in tourism development, management, and marketing.

The one-of-a-kind online collaborative competition is designed to raise awareness about how tourism can help sustain, enhance and preserve local culture and environment.

The Rolling Rains Report is a featured entrant in this initiative at - http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/5951. The Rolling Rains Report is an experiment in achieving social inclusion. As a daily online publication it provides research and educational material emphasizing the quality of tourist experience of a group who has historically been denied access to tourism - people with disabilities.

At the Geotourism Challenge an expanded project is proposed. The Centers of Excellence in Inclusive Tourism Project will bring to scale sustainable inclusive tourism development projects piloted in Asia and the Americas. The project goal is to make the tourism industry an authentic partner in the aspirations, rights, and culture of the disability community by establishing local collaboratives, directed by people with disabilities, to provide tourism product creation, infrastructure design, and destination development services to the tourism and hospitality industry. Matching the profit motive of industry to the pent-up demand for travel opportunities among people with disabilities will be the purpose of three Centers of Excellence in Inclusive Tourism currently under consideration for funding and launch in September 2008. People with disabilities of the USA alone spend $13.6 billion annually on travel. Tourist destinations recognize the market advantage they gain by accommodating this travel sector. One of the world’s largest industries, tourism, can create lasting social change for one of the world’s fastest growing underserved populations, people with disabilities - including aging Baby Boomers and their parents.

Discussion of the Centers of Excellence in Inclusive Tourism proposal is drawing worldwide participation at - http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/5952

The Geotourism Challenge is Changemakers’ 15th collaborative competition and draws on Ashoka’s 27 years of experience in identifying leading social entrepreneurs around the world. To date, the competitions have sourced more than 2,000 local innovations on various themes from more than 125 countries. The Rolling Rains Report is honored to be recognized as a leader in the global movement to create social change through the tourism sector and the foremost voice for Inclusive Tourism and Inclusive Destination Development.

Anyone can participate and comment on entries. Everyone is invited to improve all entries through online collaboration. A panel of expert judges will choose approximately a dozen finalists who demonstrate innovation, social impact and sustainability. Judges include: Keith Bellows, VP, National Geographic Society, Editor-in-Chief, NG Traveler; Susan Berresford Past President, The Ford Foundation; Leonard Cordiner, CEO, whl travel; and Nachiket Mor, President, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth.

The finalists will have the opportunity to present their innovations at The Geotourism Challenge Summit this fall. Three winners will be chosen by online voting and receive $5,000 each.

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About National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 300 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; music; radio; films; books; DVDs; maps; school publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise. National Geographic has funded more than 8,800 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com or visit the Web page for the Center for Sustainable Destinations at www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/.

About Ashoka’s Changemakers

Changemakers is building the world's first global online “open source” community that competes to surface the best social solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. Changemakers focuses on thematic, collaborative competitions, inviting innovators from around the world to profile and collaborate with a global community of investors, thought leaders and enthusiasts. To date Changemakers has launched 14 successful collaborative competitions and attracted more than 2,000 high-impact solutions from more than 125 countries. Changemakers builds on Ashoka’s 27-year history identifying and selecting leading social entrepreneurs and its belief in “Everyone a Changemaker” global society. Get involved. Find out more about how to nominate, enter, comment and vote in our collaborative competitions at www.changemakers.net

For more information please contact:

Delyse Sylvester
Director of Communication
Ashoka's Changemakers
250-551-0570
dsylvester@ashoka.org

About Scott Rains and the Rolling Rains Report

Dr. Scott Rains writes daily on travel and issues in the tourism industry of interest to people with disabilities.
His work appears online at http://www.RollingRains.com and http://withtv.typepad.com/weblog/travel/ . Rains’ articles have also appeared in New Mobility, Emerging Horizons, Contours, Design for All India, Accessible Portugal, Audacity, Travel and Transitions, eTur Brazil, Co-Walking Korea, Turismo Polibea, Current Rehabilitation, [with]TV, and Disaboom among others. For his research on the topic of Universal Design and the travel and hospitality industry he was appointed as Resident Scholar at the Center for Cultural Studies of the University of California Santa Cruz (2004-05)

For more information please contact:

Dr. Scott Rains
Publisher, The Rolling Rains Report
srains at oco dot net

Walking the Talk in the UK

The Times reports that government compliance with its own regulations on inclusion hit a hard patch. The original timeline seems rather aggressive for something so important and comprehensive. Still, justice delayed is justice denied:

The disclosure comes as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), chaired by Trevor Phillips, last week began its first inquiry into human rights in Britain. The commission was set up last year to replace the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Along with all other public bodies it was meant to implement an overarching equality scheme, setting out its position for its staff on race, gender, disability and other potential areas of discrimination by January 1 this year. It failed to do so, prompting ministers to lay a statutory instrument before Parliament, extending the deadline to April 1 this year.

Full article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3524788.ece

TSA Excess and the Safety of a Traveler With a Disability

WFTV in Florida reports on overzealous airport security in the US endangering the life of a traveler with a disability:

James Hoyne, 14, has a feeding tube in his stomach and carries a back-up in a sealed clear plastic bag. Hoyne said two weeks ago a TSA officer insisted on opening the sterile equipment, contaminating his back-up feeding tube which he later needed.

"I said 'Please don't open it' and she said 'I have to open it whether you like it or not. If I can't open it, I can't let you on the plane,'" Hoyne said of his conversation with the TSA screener.

Full story:
http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/15511359/detail.html

European Regulation on Air Passengers' Rights

Brussels, 5 March 2008 – Guaranteeing full accessibility of disabled passengers to the transport system and overcoming the existing barriers in Europe remain a priority for the European disability movement, but also for the European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, as he expressed yesterday during a meeting with Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum (EDF): “I can guarantee you my full commitment to advance access of disabled people the transport system’, said the Commissioner.

Referring to the recent entering into force of the European Regulation on Air Passengers’ Rights, Barrot highlighted the importance of a proper implementation of this key text: "adopting the Regulation was only the first step; we will now use all our means to make sure that it is also correctly implemented, but most important, we need disabled users’ support to do it well”.

Yannis Vardakastanis welcomed Barrot’s commitment to disability issues and stressed the important role of 50 million disabled people in the European integration process: “By securing access of disabled people to all forms of transport, the European Union is responding to the needs of citizens at the very grass root level, contributing to the improvement of their daily lives” said Vardakastanis to the Commissioner.

The discussion also focused on the forthcoming European Regulations on maritime and coach passenger rights, currently in preparation. “The Regulations will be proposed in the course of 2008; we will particularly make sure that the discrimination of passengers with disabilities will be addresses in these texts through a series of specific measures”, promised the European Commissioner. Barrot also thanked the European Disability Forum for the numerous cases of discrimination reported in the field of maritime transport and agreed on the need to simultaneously address the rights of disabled passengers and the accessibility requirements to be applied to this sector.

During the meeting, EDF President presented to the Commissioner the proposal for a comprehensive European disability Directive, tackling disabled people’s discrimination in all fields of life, including transport. Welcoming the proposal and congratulating the EDF for the success of its campaign “1million4disability” in favour of the disability Directive, Barrot recognised the specificities of the discrimination faced by disabled people, “made of prejudges and stereotyped , but also of structural barriers”

For more information on the EDF campaign “1million4disability”: www.1million4disability.eu

For more information, please contact: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, EDF Communication and Press Officer; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; Mobile phone: (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; E-mail: communication@edf-feph.org

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is the European umbrella organisation representing the interests of 50 million disabled citizens in Europe. EDF membership includes national umbrella organisations of disabled people from all EU/EEA countries, as well as European NGOs representing the different types of disabilities, organisations and individuals committed to disability issues. The mission of the European Disability Forum is to ensure disabled people full access to fundamental and human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation in Europe.

Forum européen des personnes handicapées (French)

>>> Communiqué de presse

Les droits des passagers handicapés, au cœur de l’agenda européenne

Rencontre hier à Bruxelles entre Jacques Barrot, Commissaire européen au Transport, et Yannis Vardakastanis, leader du mouvement européen des personnes handicapées

Bruxelles, 5 mars 2008 – Garantir une totale accessibilité des passagers handicapées au système de transport et surmonter les barrières existantes en Europe demeurent parmi les grandes priorités du mouvement européen des personnes handicapées, mais aussi parmi celles du Commissaire européen au Transport, Jacques Barrot, tel qu’il l’a exprimé hier lors de sa réunion avec le Président du Forum européen des personnes handicapées (FEPH), Yannis Vardaksatanis : “Je peux vous garantir mon engagement total afin de faire progresser l’accès des personnes handicapées au système des transports“, a déclaré le Commissaire.

Faisant référence au Règlement européen sur les droits des passagers aériens handicapés, récemment entré en vigueur, Barrot a souligné l’importance d’une bonne application de ce texte clé: "l’adoption du règlement n’était que le premier pas; désormais nous utiliserons tous les moyens à notre disposition afin d’assurer sa correcte application, et pour bien le faire, nous avons besoin du soutien des usagers handicapés”.

Yannis Vardakastanis a favorablement accueilli l’engagement de M. Barrot envers les questions liées au handicap et a souligné l’important rôle que les 50 millions de personnes handicapées jouent dans le processus de construction européenne: “En assurant l’accès des personnes handicapées à toutes les formes de transport, l’Union européenne répond aux besoins des citoyens de base et contribue à améliorer leurs vies de manière tangible” a exprimé Vardakastanis au Commissaire.

La discussion s’est également focalisée sur les futurs règlements européens en matière des droits des passagers maritimes et des autocars, en cours de préparation. “Les règlements seront proposés au cours de 2008; en particulier nous nous assurerons de la prise en compte de la discrimination à laquelle les passagers handicapés font face et cela, à travers des mesures spécifiques”, a promis le Commissaire européen. Barrot a également remercié le Forum européen des personnes handicapées pour les nombreux cas de discrimination dont l’organisation lui a fait part dans le domaine du transport maritime. Il a par ailleurs exprimé son accord sur la nécessité de travailler simultanément dans l’amélioration des droits des passagers handicapés et les critères d’accessibilité qui devront être appliqués dans ce secteur.

Au cours de la réunion, le Président du FEPH a présenté au Commissaire la proposition de directive européenne en matière de handicap actuellement promue par le Forum, dont le but est de combattre la discrimination des personnes handicapées dans tous les domaines de la vie, y compris les transports. Barrot a favorablement accueilli cette proposition et félicité le FEPH pour le succès de sa campagne “1million4disability” en faveur de la directive, tout en reconnaissant les spécificités liées à la discrimination des personnes handicapées, “faite de préjugés et des stéréotypes, mais également, de barrières structurelles”.

Pour plus d’information sur la campagne du FEPH “1million4disability”: www.1million4disability.eu

Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, Responsable de Communication et Presse; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; GSM : (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; Courriel: communication@edf-feph.org

Le Forum européen des personnes handicapées (FEPH) est la plateforme européenne qui représente les intérêts de 50 millions de citoyens handicapés au sein de l’Union européenne. Les organisations membres du FEPH incluent les plateformes nationales des personnes handicapées de tous les Etats membres de l’UE et de l’Espace économique européen, ainsi que les ONG européennes représentant les différents types de handicap. La mission du FEPH est de garantir le respect total des droits fondamentaux et humains des personnes handicapées par le biais d’une implication active dans le développement et application des politiques européennes.

Blind Hotel Guests Charged for Guide Dogs

First the good news, this couple has been reimbursed their $85:

A blind couple are angry they were charged cleaning costs after spending their honeymoon with their two guide dogs in a Wellington hotel... the Central Terrace Heights serviced apartments.

They were shocked when they were charged $85 for professional carpet cleaning [for dog hairs], the Dominion Post reported...

Terrace Heights Serviced Apartments operations manager Rob Rameka said many Wellington hotels would not let guide dogs stay but the Central Group did not discriminate and did blind people a favour by accepting them.

"We did something nice for them because they wanted a harbour view, which I kinda thought was funny because they're blind ... but we put them in a nice room," he said.

The full article:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10491958

Brian Sterner on CNN Yesterday & the Today Show Tomorrow

A quadriplegic in Florida is abused on videotape -- at the police station. (Note response received from Commissioner Al Higginbotham below.)

Follow- up:

Dear Scott,

Thank you for sharing with me your concerns regarding the incident at Orient Road Jail. As you may or may not know, I myself am a paraplegic. The actions of the guards and other employees involved were deplorable, unacceptable, and not typical of most employees of Hillsborough County or of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. I have urged Sheriff David Gee to investigate and respond seriously to the actions of his deputies. We look forward to hearing Sheriff Gee’s findings.

Sincerely,

Al Higginbotham
HigginbothamA@HillsboroughCounty.ORG
[Commissioner Hillsborough County District 4 ]

“Working together we will make a difference.”

Tampa Bay
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/02/deputies-suspen.html

MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23131766/

Live Leak:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0d7_1202840119

The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/12/florida-police-dump-quadr_n_86290.html

(Note: CNN has placed an ad for Valentines Day pajamas before the news clip. There does not appear to be an "opt out" function for the ad.):

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/02/12/deeson.fl.disabled.man.dumped.wtsp

Access to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a California-based non-profit law firm, filed a class action complaint today in federal court challenging the Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA) on behalf of visitors with disabilities. The complaint may be downloaded here.
The press release follows.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA) and the National Park Service (NPS) are discriminating against individuals with disabilities by denying them access to GGNRA parks. In order to end this discrimination, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a California-based non-profit law firm, filed a class action complaint today in federal court on behalf of all people with mobility and vision disabilities who have been denied access to GGNRA parks. GGNRA has been obliged to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Spanning over 75,000 acres of land and water from San Mateo to Marin County, GGNRA is the country’s largest national park in an urban area and attracts more than 13 million visitors a year. The park includes such national landmarks as Alcatraz, the Presidio, the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, Crissy Field, and Forts Point and Mason. It contains 1,273 plant and animal species, encompasses 59 miles of bay and ocean shoreline, and has military fortifications that span centuries of California history from the Spanish conquistadors to Cold War-era Nike missile sites.

“What makes this case especially frustrating,” said Laurence Paradis, executive director of DRA, “is that we have been working in good faith with the GGNRA for over a year in an effort to achieve a plan to bring this agency into compliance with federal law. In the end, all we obtained was another year of delayed access for people with disabilities.” DRA attorney Julia Pinover echoed the sentiment, “This is not rocket science. We’re not seeking accessibility in the most remote part of the Amazon, we’re talking about long overdue accessible restrooms, visitors’ centers, parking, exhibits, trails and programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. This case is really about how our national parks systematically exclude people with disabilities and, in doing so, fail to fulfill our local and national policy of inclusion.” Although access requirements took effect in 1973, now, in 2008, GGNRA still does not provide basic accommodations to allow access.

Plaintiff Laurie Gray, a wheelchair user with a visual impairment, organizes and leads outdoors trips for groups of people with various disabilities to facilitate outdoor experiences and the enjoyment of the natural wonders of the Bay Area. Gray stated, “It’s astonishing that decades after the Rehabilitation Act was passed, the GGNRA still won’t make the most basic accommodations, never mind considering the possibility that groups of people with disabilities might occasionally travel together and need group accommodations.” Co-plaintiff Ann Sieck, like many Bay Area residents, has a life long love of the outdoors and is frustrated that she cannot enjoy what GGRNA has to offer. “The pervasive access barriers discourage people with disabilities and their families from visiting the parks. I think many people have just given up.”

DRA previously reached a settlement agreement with the State of California in 2005 to improve accessibility at parks statewide.

Svayam Receives Pro Forma Apology from Jet Airways

Backsliding on issues of air travel safety for people with disabilities has recently been a frequent issue here. One issue in India with Jet Airways has reached an unsatisfactory conclusion:

Ms. Sminu Jindal travelled by Jet Airways to Bangkok and back, on the Christmas vacations on 25th December 2007 and return on 01 Jan 2008. She was shocked to see the lack of sensitivity, ill-trained ground staff, absent essential services and above all how the Airliner like Jet Airways treat people with reduced mobility. Although Jet Airways issued a public apology, when media highlighted the incident, however, that doesn't solve the problem of millions of other people with disability whose voice doesn't reach the public/media.

Specifically, the apology indicates that Jet Airways will provide aisle chairs only on international flights. Such assurances by Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer certainly make for interesting case studies of worst practices in the anthology of business cases that I provide to faculty colleagues. However, I think he and I both share the ideal that such examples should be on the decrease rather than on the increase.

I would advise Jet Airways that their policy failure has already had negative impact on the company's international reputation. The smart business decision would be to consistently apply internationally recognized standards of non-discrimination and protect against further brand erosion.

Download apology from Jet Airways as .pdf

For more on this case see Svayam:
http://www.svayam.com/?q=node/411

ASTA Files Comments with the Department of Transportation on Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation

Press release:

ASTA, [the American Society of Travel Agents] filed comments today with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the issue of Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation. ASTA provided the DOT with numerous recommendations for updating the more than 20-year old rules that currently govern the process of Denied Boarding Compensation practices.

“This is unfortunately an issue that affects most passengers at one time or another,” said Cheryl Hudak, CTC, ASTA president and CEO. “ASTA’s recommendations, if implemented, would reduce the number of instances in which airline passengers are involuntarily bumped and, in the event that an airline is forced to bump a passenger, create a more stable and acceptable process for doing so.”

In its comments, ASTA:

• Stated that it is in favor of doubling the ceiling on compensation for involuntarily bumped passengers.

• Suggested that ceiling caps should be adjusted automatically every five years and based on the Consumer Price Index Consumer-Price-Index Oct-07 (CPI).

• Objected to the DOT permitting airlines to establish, without any control, preference as to who will be involuntarily bumped when they are unable to secure volunteers. The DOT currently allows airlines to decide who will be involuntarily bumped based on the price of a passenger’s ticket.

• Argued that anyone with a confirmed seat assignment should never be bumped. ASTA also suggested that if an airline reserves the right to bump passengers based on the price of their ticket, the airline should warn the passenger of this risk at the time of purchase.

• Argued that compensation practices for international and domestic travel should be treated identically and based on a combination of length of delay and distance.

• ASTA recommended that the rules abolish the use of vouchers in favor of cash payments, stating that only cash payments will create a full incentive for airlines to closely manage Denied Boarding Compensation.

For additional information or to read any of ASTA’s filed comments on Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation, please visit, ASTA.org.

The mission of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable and growing and a rewarding field in which to work, invest and do business.

Contact: Kristina Rundquist/Sarah Wilhite, Phone: 703-739-8710

ENAT Project on Accessibility Standardization

The European Union brings together a diversity of languages, cultures, and political jurisdictions. It probably comes as no surprise then to learn that the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) discovered 40 different sets of accessibility standards among its members.

Work to synthesize or even correlate such variety is time consuming and charged with political conundrums. One project undertaken by OSSATE makes a start at correlation. You may download the report here. Download file

Related Reading:

Tourism Accessible for All in Europe (Leidner)
Download file

Análise da Consulta Nacional: Especificações técnicas para fabricação de veículos para transporte coletivo de passaeiros (Portuguese)

Convidamos V.Sas. para participar da Reunião de Análise da Consulta Nacional do Projeto 00:001.64-001 - Transporte - Especificações técnicas para fabricação de veículos de características urbanas para transporte coletivo de passageiros, da ABNT/CEE-00: 001.64 - Comissão de Estudo Especial Temporária de Fabricação de Veículo Acessível, a ser realizada conforme programação a seguir:

Data: 11 e 12 de fevereiro de 2008

Horário: das 9:00 às 17:00

Local: Av. Paulista, 726 - 10º andar - São Paulo - SP

Pauta: - Projeto 00:001.64-001 - Transporte - Especificações técnicas para fabricação de veículos de características urbanas para transporte coletivo de passageiros - Análise da Consulta Nacional

SOLICITAMOS CONFIRMAR PRESENÇA COM O SR. RODRIGO CANOSA, ATRAVÉS:

- Telefone: (11) 3017-3623
- e-mail: rodrigo.canosa@abnt.org.br

Na certeza de podermos contar com a valiosa e imprescindível presença de V.Sa. ou de seu representante, subscrevemo-nos.

Atenciosamente,

Rodrigo Sansivieri F. Canosa

Gerência do Processo de Normalização

ABNT - R. Minas Gerais, 190 - Higienópolis

01244-010 - São Paulo - SP

( (11) 3017- 3623

* rodrigo.canosa@abnt.org.br

Visite nossos sites: www.abnt.org.br / www.abntnet.com.br

Decreto do Passeio Livre ( 45.904/05) - (Portuguese)

A nova lei, com data de 23 de janeiro, foi publicada no Diário Oficial de hoje, quinta-feira, 24.

Depois da transformação visual da nossa cidade, incentivado pelo Programa Cidade Limpa, agora são as calçadas que vão fazer a diferença. Além da estética, o mais importante é a acessibilidade. Se já é difícil circular na maioria dos passeios públicos de São Paulo, imagine para quem tem uma deficiência ou mobilidade reduzida - como idosos, mães com carrinhos de bebê, obesos ou pessoas com uma perna quebrada, por exemplo?

De autoria da vereadora Mara Gabrilli, a lei 14.675, de 23 de janeiro de 2008, vai implantar na cidade o Programa Emergencial de Calçadas - PEC. A partir de hoje, a Prefeitura de São Paulo, por meio da Secretaria de Coordenação de Subprefeituras, vai reformar as calçadas de São Paulo de modo a atender o Decreto do Passeio Livre ( 45.904/05). Por Lei, o morador é o responsável pela sua calçada e, caso não faça a adequação, pode ser multado. Mas, para incentivar as reformas, é a Prefeitura quem vai arcar com os custos das novas calçadas que estiverem dentro das rotas estratégicas determinadas pela Secretaria Municipal da Pessoa com Deficiência e Mobilidade Reduzida (SMPED).

São Paulo tem 30 milhões de metros lineares de calçadas

As rotas serão especificadas por um sistema de georeferenciamento desenvolvido pela SMPED. "Cada Rota Estratégica e de Segurança terá de dois a cinco quilômetros e vai contemplar as vias com serviços públicos e privados, como saúde, educação, esporte, cultura, correios, bancos, entre outros, e, principalmente, paradas ou estações para embarque e dsembarque de passageiros do transporte público", informa a vereadora Mara Gabrilli. "Temos, pelo menos, 31 rotas, uma em cada Subprefeitura da cidade", complementa. O cronograma de rotas e obras será determinado trimestralmente e publicadas no Portal da Prefeitura de São Paulo. "É essencial, que, além da população, o próprio Poder Público se conscientize da importância da acessibilidade para todos. O Projeto de Lei da vereadora Mara Gabrilli vai nesse sentido", comenta o secretário das Subprefeituras e Subprefeito da Sé, Andrea Matarazzo.

Como a Prefeitura será a responsável pelas reforma das calçadas, ao munícipe caberá a manutenção delas. Para se ter uma idéia, desde 2005 a Prefeitura aplicou mais de 8 mil multas aos cidadãos que não conservaram sua calçada. Para estipular um novo valor de multa - na verdade, um "incentivo" para que o munícipe cuide da nova calçada -, esta lei altera a Lei 10.508/88, que dispõe sobre limpeza de imóveis, passeios públicos e dá outras providências. Segundo a antiga legislação, o valor da multa aos munícipes era de R$ 200 reais por metro linear de calçada, corrigido anualmente pelo IPCA. A partir da aprovação do PEC, a multa será de mil reais pelo mesmo metro linear.


Mais informações

Assessoria de Imprensa

Vereadora Mara Gabrilli

Jorn.Resp.: Claudia Carletto

fones: 11 3396-4899 // 8385-3443

Bangkok Recommendations on Accessible Tourism in Asia and the Pacific

The following recommendations are the result of the CAT 2007 Conference held at UNESCAP in Bangkok, November 22-24, 2007.

Bangkok Recommendations on Accessible Tourism in Asia and the Pacific

We, the representatives of Governments, tourism business sector and tourism-related professional organizations, accessibility experts, disabled people's organizations and other civil society organizations, met in Bangkok, Thailand from 22 -24 November 2007 at the Second International Conference on Accessible Tourism,

Appreciate the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Royal Government of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for their hospitality and support for the Conference, which was jointly organized with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Disabled Peoples' International Asia-Pacific (DPI);

Acknowledge the commitment made by the Royal Government of Thailand as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) civil society, in particular, Disabled People’s International – Asia Pacific (DPI-AP) and the Asia and Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) for their leadership in promoting accessible tourism;

Recognize the significance of all international and regional documents on disability, in particular, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD), the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF) and the Biwako Plus Five, the supplement to the BMF;

Also welcome that accessibility to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public is a right articulated in CRPD Article 9.
Note the Plan of Action for Sustainable Tourism Development in Asia and the Pacific Phase II (2006-2012), launched by ESCAP, which pays due attention to the needs of improving accessibility for travelers with disabilities;

Recognize further the Bali Declaration on Barrier-free Tourism for People with Disabilities in 2000 and the Sanya Declaration on Accessible Tourism in Asia and the Pacific in 2006 both of which affirmed our commitment to promote accessible tourism;

Affirm our shared belief in the full social inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities;
Recognize persons with disabilities, older persons and cross-generational families as an increasingly important tourism and travel market segment;

Recognize further that inclusive accessible tourism entails removal of attitudinal and institutional barriers in society, and encompasses accessibility in the physical environment, in transportation, information and communications and other facilities and services that consequently benefit not only persons with different disabilities, but also older persons, families with young children and all other travelers.

To achieve the goal of creating an inclusive, barrier-free, and rights-based society for all;

We recommend that:

1) Governments sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol and implement the provisions therein;

2) Those, who are responsible for tourism promotion and disability matters at all levels in government, take legislative and administrative measures to promote accessible tourism, in particular by, including relevant provisions and/actions on it in overall economic/social development policies and plans and in tourism development policies and plans;

3) Government focal points on disability and tourism policy, tourism industry, accessibility experts, disabled persons' organizations and other civil society organizations build partnerships for effective study, promotion, implementation, and monitoring of accessible tourism;

4) Governments as well as business, academia, disabled people's organizations and the media make use of research to promote awareness of the importance of accessible tourism and knowledge of the travel needs of persons with different disabilities and cross-generational travelers;

5) Governments, business, and academia collaborate effectively with disabled people's organizations to establish, and where necessary amend, standards and practices to assure uniform international minimum standards and promote innovation in best practices through application of the principles of Universal Design ;

6) Governments create a national committee on inclusive accessible tourism to coordinate the effective implementation of measures to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities in tourism and monitor related progress. The committee should consist of representatives from ministries responsible for tourism, social and infrastructure development, building, and transport, associations representing travel agents, hotels and restaurants, organizations and individuals representing persons with disabilities and tourism education and training institutes;

7) The following measures be taken by the travel and hospitality industry;

Introduce accessibility as a criterion in the rating of hotels and restaurants;
Present awards for outstanding achievements relating to accessible tourism;

8) The travel industry ensures that its employees and staff are properly trained to communicate with and provide services to travelers with disabilities and older travelers;

9) Accessible tourism caters to the needs of persons with different disabilities;

10) Governments and employers take affirmative actions to increase number of persons with disabilities working in the tourism industry;

11) Governments provide economic and other types of incentives to promote accessible tourism for the industry;

12) Governments as well as other stakeholders acknowledge the following seven elements as essential components of effective accessible tourism and take measures for each element, as recommended hereafter;

a) Travel planning;
b) Access to information;
c) Inclusive transportation;
d) Accessible tourism attractions;
e) Accessible accommodation;
f) Mainstream services for all tourists;
g) Destination experiences;

a) Travel planning

The travel and hospitality industry should include data relevant to travel with disabilities in travel planning materials;
Travel planning professionals should equip themselves with knowledge and resources on the needs of travelers with disabilities;

b) Access to information;
Information should be provided in accessible format;

c) Inclusive transportation;
Governments need to establish and enforce accessibility policy on various modes of transportation (air, sea and land) and make it mandatory;

The transportation industry must take responsibility for the provision of high-quality services equal to or above that of industry norm; Transport operators are responsible for the provision of seamless connectivity between different types of transportation and this needs to be monitored by the transportation authorities.

d) Accessible tourist attractions;
Governments ensure facilities and services are accessible;
Tourism providers ensure accessible information at points of services; Government, travel and hospitality industry, disabled persons organizations, and experts develop and disseminate of technical guidelines on improving accessibility of historical attractions;

e) Accessible accommodation;
The principles of Universal Design are to be used in the construction of all accommodations;
International/ regional standards on accommodations applying universal design so that all facilities and rooms in accommodations are accessible for all; Accessible accommodation should cater to the needs ofpersons with different disabilities and levels of functionality;

f) Mainstream services for all tourists;
Governments, travel and hospitality industry and the civil society should promote the understanding on mainstreaming, which means that persons with disabilities are included as a norm that the built environment and technology is usable by the widest range of people operating in the widest range of situations without special or separate design, and that all staff must be competent to accommodate persons with disabilities;
Accessible tourism information should be an integral part of mainstream tourism information;

g) Destination experiences;
The travel and hospitality industry should ensure the positive destination experiences of persons with disabilities through the application of Universal Design in the creation of place, products, and policies;
The travel and hospitality industry should ensure the positive destination experiences of persons with disabilities through the regular training for all employees on the　needs of persons with disabilities;
Involve Governments, tourism authorities, and consumer /human rights advocates to　monitor and evaluate the quality of accessible tourism;.

13) Educational Institutions develop and improve on curriculum to include subjects related to accessible tourism in travel-related training and education;

14) All relevant stakeholders mentioned in these recommendations utilize appropriate technology to improve on accessible tourism;

15) All relevant stakeholders collaborate to provide innovative and affordable solutions to promote accessible tourism in rural context;

16) UN ESCAP provides regional policy and technical guidelines and appropriate expertise to accelerate the growth of accessible tourism

A Paradigm Shift from "Charity" to "Rights & Dignity" - An Essay by C. Mahesh

- A write-up based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
- C. Mahesh

The process of drafting and adopting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the member countries of the United Nations has now brought the issues of discrimination and exclusion faced by persons with disabilities to centre stage.

The universal definition and understanding of Disability has rightfully moved from being a merely 'Medical' to a 'Human Rights' framework and heralded a paradigm shift from 'charity' to 'rights based' approach.

continued:

Article 1 of the Convention says "The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity."

In Oct 2007, India has become one of the first few countries to ratify this convention a move that h