Recently in Law & Policy Category

In the quotidian saga of being a mild-mannered day-to-day Superhero-for-disability-rights-in-disguise Graeme Innes goes about the normal tasks of daily living in Sydney.

Hubris crumbles in his wake:

A Sydney cabbie is in the doghouse after refusing to allow a guide dog and its high-profile owner - Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes - into his vehicle.

James Young could not have picked a worse person to turn away than Mr Innes, who is a lawyer and human rights advocate.

He promptly reported the cabbie to the Department for Transport, which launched a prosecution.

Today, Young was fined $750 and ordered to pay $2500 in costs at a Sydney court.

It is by no means the first time Mr Innes and his golden Labrador Jordie have been refused a cab - an offence under federal and state law.

A recent Guide Dogs NSW/ACT survey showed one in three guide dog owners were turned away by cabbies in the past 12 months, with Sydney drivers the worst offender

Full story:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-cabbie-collared-by-disability-boss-20100317-qf2u.html

Happy St Patrick's Day sailors!

At Access Tourism NZ read about new guidelines making maritime travel more accessible for people with disabilities published by Ireland's Department of Transportation and the National Disability Authority (NDA).

by YUKO NARUSHIMA AND BELLINDA KONTOMINAS

March 15, 2010

SHOPS, hotels and offices will soon be forced to widen corridors, install ramps and renovate toilets under new rules to improve access for the elderly, families with prams and people with disabilities.

The federal government will announce minimum access requirements today for public buildings built or renovated from May 1 next year. For the first time, there will be uniform building rules across Australia to end the isolation felt by as many as 4 million people who cannot properly use public facilities. The rules go beyond buildings to swimming pools, cinemas and common areas of blocks of flats available for short-term rent.

The parliamentary secretary for disabilities, Bill Shorten, said the laws would help end years of ''practical apartheid'' that excluded people with disabilities.

''If you couldn't enter a building because of your skin colour or gender, there'd be a human outcry,'' he said. ''Yet every day, people with disabilities have that sort of embarrassment.''

Mr Shorten gave examples of ''unthinking barriers'' such as a step that stopped people entering a shop, or the narrow restaurant door that forced diners to the back entrance, or escalators that moved too fast.

''What does that tell you about yourself?'' he asked. ''When we talk about disability and access it also includes young mums with kids, lots of older people with mobility not as good as it once was.'' The costs on businesses would be minimal and could be recouped in increased trade, Mr Shorten said. ''We're really opening doors. This opens up a lot more buildings to a lot more customers.''

The executive director of the NSW Property Council, Ken Morrison, said there would be extra costs for building owners but the council had opposed some of the more costly and ''unreasonable'' standards before they were removed from draft legislation.

''In early drafts there was a requirement for a total upgrade for disability standards across a whole building, even when one or two floors were being refurbished,'' he said. ''We thought that was too expensive.''

Another ''crazy'' element of the legislation, since removed, required the height of many shopping car parks to be increased, Mr Morrison said.

''Yes, it will cost building owners more money when they do these refurbishments but we believe it is better to have some certainty for builders and building owners.''

Graham Wolfe, executive director of the Housing Industry Association of NSW, said the standards would not be much different from the existing code.

From The Hindu:

KOCHI: A national policy on electronic accessibility, aimed at removing barriers and ensuring that the differently abled have equal access to products and services in the realm of Information and Communications Technology and Electronics (ICTE), is on the anvil.

The draft of the National Policy on Electronic Accessibility has been under the consideration of a committee, which has representatives from the Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, NGOs, and industry organisations such as the Confederation of Indian Industry and Assocham.

Broadly, the policy is expected to cover ICTE products and services of all government institutions, both at the Centre and in the States, and also public sector undertakings, the private sector, research and development agencies, public-funded organisations and the academic community, in the areas of universal design, assistive technology and independent living aids.

Promoting universal design and accessibility standards and guidelines will be an important part of its mandate. Besides awareness creation and capacity- building, it is expected to deal with education, research and development, funding and implementation and monitoring. It is also expected to ensure that the content in print and electronic formats and educational materials, including textbooks, are produced in accessible formats.

Significantly, the private sector was involved in the process, and industry bodies such as the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) have responded "very positively" to the draft, says Javed Abidi, honorary director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People. He hopes it should not take too long for the policy to see the light of day.

The differently-abled may find it difficult to use even devices and gadgets that play an important part in everyday life, such as mobile phones and ATMs, if accessibility issues are not addressed. All the big international manufacturers are making electronic products that cater to the needs of the disabled users but such products are not readily available in India. Such a policy should go a long way towards making them available in the country, and in a manner that is not discriminatory in pricing, Mr. Abidi explains.

"The gap today is that assistive technology is available in India, but persons with disabilities need to have schemes that will provide these to them," says Shilpi Kapoor, managing director, BarrierBreak Technologies, who is also involved in the draft policy discussions. Incentives need to be provided to get more companies to take up research and development of technologies and products for persons with disabilities, and the policy should help to provide the required framework.

As far as the Internet and web sites are concerned, change is "slow," though the National Informatics Centre released accessibility guidelines for all government web sites a year ago, she says. Websites of companies and private sector institutions have a lot of ground to cover when it comes to accessibility, with the global standards-setting organisation, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), having released version 2 of its web content accessibility guidelines in 2008. The policy might give a much-needed push on this front too.

CHENNAI, 25 Jan: Southern Railway may have ramps and wheelchairs for disabled passengers at major stations, but it is not disabled-friendly when it comes to allotting berths for such passengers.

There have been complaints that in many instances lower berths were not allotted to disabled passengers even if reservation was done much in advance. Senior citizens too faced the problem.

"I had booked a ticket for a relative who is disabled people. But, they did not allot a lower berth even after I presented a medical certificate showing that the passenger was disabled and that she would not be able to climb up to any other berth," said Manoj Joy, a resident of Velachery.

"The staff at the counter told me to exchange the berth with some other passenger as it was difficult to allot a lower berth because all berths were occupied. I have often seen young people being allotted lower berths, while senior citizens are given upper or middle berths. Some people agree to exchange their berth, but not everyone is so compassionate," said S Ramachandran, a senior citizen and a frequent traveller by train.

Manoj Joy had to cancel his ticket and book again twice before he got a lower berth on a different date. K Gopinath, member, TN Welfare Board for Disabled feels the number of berths allotted for disabled people is inadequate. "The number of people travelling by train has increased, but the allocation for disabled people has not gone up proportionately," he said.

Activists and associations working for the rights of disabled people had protested when the railway converted a general compartment meant for disabled people into a reserved compartment recently. Shanthi, a Chennai resident who was accompanying Adhishwer Ram, a child with cerebral palsy from the city to Coimbatore by West Coast Express on confirmed reserved tickets recently had a tough time due to overcrowding in the coach meant exclusively for disabled people, in October. The compartment meant to accommodate two disabled persons and their escorts had over 60 people.

Southern Railway chief public relations officer VJ Accamma said that lower berths are allotted to disabled people and also senior citizens depending on availability. "Every train has four berths for disabled people in the portion near the guard's cabin. Apart from this, we have not allocated any particular number of lower berths for senior citizens or disabled in other coaches. Passengers can always make a last minute request for lower berth. We have given some of the lower berths meant for emergency quota for senior citizens in the last minute," she said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Brasil:

 

Publicado em 12 de Janeiro de 2010

A Câmara analisa o Projeto de Lei 5969/09, de autoria do   (PMDB-PB), que estabelece como infração deixar de dar preferência de passagem a pedestres com dificuldade de locomoção permanente ou mobilidade reduzida ou em veículo não motorizado.

A proposta modifica o Código de Trânsito Brasileiro (Lei 9503/97). Pela nova redação, além dos portadores de deficiência física, crianças, idosos e gestantes, também será considerada infração gravíssima quando um motorista não esperar que as pessoas com dificuldade de locomoção permanente ou mobilidade reduzida atravessem a rua.

O autor explica que, apesar de serem pessoas que não se enquadram no conceito de portador de deficiência, elas também, por qualquer motivo, provisório ou permanente, têm dificuldade de se movimentar, tendo a efetiva redução da sua mobilidade, flexibilidade, coordenação motora e percepção.

Definições

Segundo o texto, considera-se como uma pessoa com mobilidade reduzida aquela que, de forma temporária ou permanente, tem limitada a sua capacidade de se relacionar com o meio e de utilizá-lo.

"Entende-se por pessoa com mobilidade reduzida aquela com deficiência, a idosa, a obesa e a gestante, entre outros", exemplifica o deputado. Ele lembra que algumas destas condições limitadoras da mobilidade podem se configurar de natureza permanente ou se agravar com o passar do tempo. "Estas pessoas merecem ser tratadas com mais consideração", argumenta.

Tramitação

O projeto tem caráter conclusivo e será analisado pelas comissões de Viação e Transportes; e de Constituição e Justiça e de Cidadania.

Fonte: Câmara dosa Deputados Federais

Implementing disability-inclusive development in the Pacific and Asia:
Reviewing progress, planning the future

 

An international conference and action planning roundtable

15-17 September 2010

Darwin Convention Centre, Australia

 

FIRST NOTICE

 

Participate in reviews and discussion about practical actions being taken in the Pacific and Asia to ensure that local, national and international development includes people with disability. Review progress with the Australian Government's disability strategy "Development for All", and network with individuals, community groups, local, national and international organizations and government representatives involved in disability-inclusive development. You will be encouraged to contribute your experience and learn from that of others.

 

The two-day conference and one-day action-based roundtable seek practical ways for people with disabilities in the Asia Pacific region and Australian Aboriginal communities to best fulfil their human rights.

 

Join people with disability, disability practitioners, development workers, representatives of disabled people's organizations, community leaders, policy makers, politicians, aid donors, development contractors, academics, government and non government organisations from the Pacific, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Europe in an informed discussion of improving inclusion for persons with disability. The conference will be structured around presentation of papers, discussion, short case studies, workshop sessions on key themes and an opportunity to participate in a one-day roundtable.    

 

THE PROGRAM

The conference will explore: 

·         Progress in implementing disability-inclusive programs, with practical experience from the region   - capacity building, vocational training, community involvement, education, health, livelihoods, gender.

·         Best practice in implementing disability-inclusive development - how DPOs and people with disabilities are working to improve inclusion and equity.

·         Experience in addressing disability in Australian indigenous communities.

·         The economic impact of disability inclusive development.

·         Disability research needs.

·         The impact of policies, legislation and international conventions on action.

 

The roundtable will allow in-depth discussion on:

·         Key experiences in implementing disability-inclusive development.

·         Developing effective partnerships and networks.

·         Expanding partnerships for research, advocacy, service delivery and capacity building.

·         Measuring success and sharing information.

·         Planning for the future.

 

THE SPEAKERS

The conference, workshops and roundtable will include international, regional, national and community-based speakers and discussants.  They will provide a wide range of hands on experience in implementing disability-inclusive development.

 

 

 

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Discuss, network, build capacity, learn, contribute, meet old friends and make new ones in Darwin, September 15-17, 2010.

 

Please email your interest in attending and any special needs you may have.  We will notify you as soon as registration is available.

 

Christine Walton,  ADDC, 

cwalton@cbm.org.au

Dr Pamela Thomas, Australian National University, Pamela.thomas@anu.edu.au

 

REGISTRATION FEES

Registration fees are:

Two-day conference

Government/Institutions/Companies              $660 per person

Individuals and members of NGOs                $550 per person

People with disabilities and students               $330 per person

Roundtable (optional)

All participants                                                 $165 per person

Conference Dinner with Ted Egan

 (Darwin Sailing Club)                                     $  75 (optional)

 

Inclusions: Registration fees include morning and afternoon teas, lunch, welcome reception and drinks at Parliament House, Darwin (14^th), cocktails and tour of Crocosaurus Cove (15^th); farewell drinks (16^th); cocktails after Roundtable (17^th).

 

Accommodation: Special accommodation rates are currently being negotiated.  There are excellent hotels with fully disability-accessible rooms.

Collaboration: The conference is organized by the ADDC and ANU in close collaboration with ACFID, NDS and the Darwin-based organisations Integrated Disability Action and Sommerville Community Services Inc.

 

 

Sandra Rhodda at Access Tourism new Zealand notes:

VisitDenmark has recognized that for people with disabilities to have successful holidays, there must be good physical accessibility to transportation, accommodation, restaurants, museums, and entertainment.  There also must be access to good reliable information about accessibility so that the people can plan holidays appropriate to them.  Therefore, VisitDenmark has, in co-operation with the Danish disability organisations and the tourism industry set up the association "Accessibility for All" with the purpose of running a new tourism labelling scheme for accessibility.

Full story:

http://www.accesstourismnz.org.nz/2010/02/denmark-access-tourism-labelling-scheme/

CHENNAI, 25 Jan: Southern Railway may have ramps and wheelchairs for disabled passengers at major stations, but it is not disabled-friendly when it comes to allotting berths for such passengers.

There have been complaints that in many instances lower berths were not alloted to disabled passengers even if reservation was done much in advance. Senior citizens too faced the problem.

"I had booked a ticket for a relative who is disabled people. But, they did not allot a lower berth even after I presented a medical certificate showing that the passenger was disabled and that she would not be able to climb up to any other berth," said Manoj Joy, a resident of Velachery.

"The staff at the counter told me to exchange the berth with some other passenger as it was difficult to allot a lower berth because all berths were occupied. I have often seen young people being allotted lower berths, while senior citizens are given upper or middle berths. Some people agree to exchange their berth, but not everyone is so compassionate," said S Ramachandran, a senior citizen and a frequent traveller by train.

Manoj Joy had to cancel his ticket and book again twice before he got a lower berth on a different date. K Gopinath, member, TN Welfare Board for Disabled feels the number of berths allotted for disabled people is inadequate. "The number of people travelling by train has increased, but the allocation for disabled people has not gone up proportionately," he said.

Activists and associations working for the rights of disabled people had protested when the railway converted a general compartment meant for disabled people into a reserved compartment recently. Shanthi, a Chennai resident who was accompanying Adhishwer Ram, a child with cerebral palsy from the city to Coimbatore by West Coast Express on confirmed reserved tickets recently had a tough time due to overcrowding in the coach meant exclusively for disabled people, in October. The compartment meant to accommodate two disabled persons and their escorts had over 60 people.

Southern Railway chief public relations officer VJ Accamma said that lower berths are allotted to disabled people and also senior citizens depending on availability. "Every train has four berths for disabled people in the portion near the guard's cabin. Apart from this, we have not allocated any particular number of lower berths for senior citizens or disabled in other coaches. Passengers can always make a last minute request for lower berth. We have given some of the lower berths meant for emergency quota for senior citizens in the last minute," she said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

As I look at the Concept Note describing our upcoming seminar on Inclusive Tourism in Mozambique and read comments on Haiti's tourism I see parallels -- and opportunities:

Haiti was getting ready to capitalise on its sunny weather and tropical scenery to attract tourist to that impoverished island nation when the magnitude-7.0 earthquake rocked the French-speaking country, killing an estimated 200,000 and leaving millions homeless.

New hotels, new attention from international investors and buzz among travellers who have visited in recent years seem to signal a renewed interest in Haiti as a destination. Just two hours away by plane from Miami, Florida, the country had one of the strongest tourist industries in the Caribbean in the 1950s and '60s, according to Americas, the magazine of the Organisation of American States.

However, things began to change with the deterioration of the political climate.

Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic, Haiti's neighbour on the island of Hispaniola, welcomed almost four million people in 2008, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

Source:
http://www.eturbonews.com/14258/tourism-could-play-critical-role-haitis-recovery

Talk of "re-inventing Haiti" has even gone at far as UNWTO. Carlos Vogeler, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO's) regional representative for the Americas recently commented:

Tourism can be one of the vehicles which can help Haiti to not go back to where they were because they were not in very good shape, but to go to a much better condition than the one they had before.

Note this article on RollingRains.com from before the earthquake, "Can Haiti be Brought Back into The World Tourism Circuit?"

In light of the recent disaster and world mobilization to rebuild the country I would say that the answer is, "Yes, if Inclusive Destination development is practiced."

I recommend that Haitian delegates attend the March 1-3 World Bank funded conference in Maputo on tourism, development, and disability. There we can transfer some relevant knowledge to Haiti through these delegates and plan a more tailored event for the country and for relief and reconstruction entities there.

Listen to Haiti's Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour and get a picture of the situation at:  http://www.theworld.org/tag/patrick-delatour/

Está em fase de produção mais uma peça gráfica do Programa Aventura Segura.

O conteúdo do Manual de Orientações para Acessibilidade em Turismo de Aventura está em fase de elaboração, sendo que um dos capítulos que o compõe trará dados sobre uma pesquisa básica do consumidor deficiente ou com mobilidade reduzida. As informações para esta parte do conteúdo do manual estão sendo coletadas com base em uma pesquisa disponível no link abaixo ...

http://www.encuestafacil.com/RespWeb/Qn.aspx?EID=639021.

Participe e conte sua experiência!

O Manual de Orientações para Acessibilidade no Turismo de Aventura trará informações sobre empresas e profissionais que oferecem serviços de Ecoturismo e Turismo de Aventura referentes ao atendimento de clientes com deficiência ou com mobilidade reduzida, estimulando a implementação de recursos para a acessibilidade dessas atividades no Brasil.

 O manual servirá também como ferramenta para orientar a adaptação dos recursos e serviços das atividades de aventura, com base na Norma Técnica "ABNT NBR 15331 - Turismo de aventura - Sistema de gestão da segurança - Requisitos".

O Manual será disponibilizado na íntegra para download no site Aventura Segura (www.aventurasegura.org.br) e a versão impressa será distribuída nos principais eventos do segmento a partir deste ano.

Let's see if we can implant Universal Design thinking into the practice of those rebuilding the poorest country in the Americas. First the immediate response needs our support:


Visit Haiti Disability Disaster Response Community

From the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission:

1.2 Body scanning equipment concerns:

The Commission has asked the Government to set out in detail its proposals and the evidence to justify profiling and the introduction of body scanning equipment at airports, in a letter sent to the Home Secretary.

The Commission fully accepts the Government's responsibility to protect the safety and security of air travellers but is concerned that the proposals to introduce body scanners are likely to have a negative impact on individual's rights to privacy, especially members of particular groups including disabled people, older people, children, transgender people, women and religious groups. Under the Human Rights Act, any infringement of the right to privacy must be justified, necessary and proportionate.
 
The Home Secretary has also raised the issue of profiling in the context of selecting people for scanning. The Commission has serious concerns that the practice of profiling is likely to lead to selection of people on the grounds of race, ethnicity or religion. Such selection is discriminatory, contrary to domestic legislation and international standards, and is harmful to community relations.

The Commission notes that the Home Secretary has said the Government recognises these concerns and the need for further careful consideration of these issues. However, the Commission considers that the Government should proceed with the utmost caution and fully evaluate whether implementation of such policies can be carried out in a way that does not amount to unlawful discrimination.

Source:
Equality and Human Rights News issue 19

Related articles by Zemanta

• Watchdog Warns About Airport Body Scanners (news.sky.com)
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R. Ramasamy (42), an MBA graduate and practising lawyer, who was paralysed below his waist about 17 years ago, will drive again, thanks to the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.

Despite his condition, Mr. Ramasamy wanted to drive. He approached an automobile mechanic to modify his car as well as a two-wheeler. He wanted the clutch, brake and accelerator to be operated with hands. The mechanic obliged -- he mounted the acceleration control on the gear shaft and placed the brake control, using a lever, below it. The clutch could be activated by pushing down the lever attached to the gear rod.

His two-wheeler did not have to undergo much alteration, but for attaching two extra wheels.

Even as the lawyer was looking forward to drive, Regional Transport Officials here refused to register the vehicles without the approval of the Automotive Research Association of India, Pune.

The ARAI informed him that approval could be given only to company manufactured vehicles.

The lawyer filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court Bench here. Accepting his arguments, Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra held that government officials could not refuse to register vehicles altered by local mechanics to suit the needs of physically challenged or to issue driving licence for such vehicles.

"A manufacturer of a particular type of vehicle may not think of manufacturing 'invalid carriage' (vehicle for physically challenged) on account of economic factors such as lack of demand... Even assuming that invalid carriages were still being manufactured, I do not find any restriction in altering a normal vehicle and re-registering it," he said.

The officials were directed to consider the lawyer's applications for registration as well as driving licence afresh in the light of the observations made in the order and to take an appropriate decision within four weeks.

Source:

Ramasamy will enjoy his drive again

http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/25/stories/2008062560470700.htm

Here's what happens when there is no room for people with disabilities even on the way to the inn.

 

--The Coordinator of Research at the US Access Board explains how the Americans With Disabilities Act applies to sidewalks.

 --A lawyer in Barden v. Sacramento discusses the lawsuit, which determined that sidewalks are a government program covered by the ADA.
 
--A plaintiff in Barden v. Sacramento describes the negotiations that led to the settlement.

 "Perils For Pedestrians" appears on public access cable stations in many cities across the United States; and on DISH Network 9411 -- The Universityhouse Channel -- Tuesdays at 9:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 Pacific. You can purchase a DVD of this program by contacting the producer.

"Perils for Pedestrians" is a public affairs series promoting awareness of issues affecting the safety of people who walk and bicycle. We interview pedestrian and bicycling advocates, planners, and government officials about problems such as missing sidewalks and crosswalks, dangerous intersections, barriers to children walking to school, and obstacles to wheelchair users and people with disabilities -- and solutions to those problems.