A new book “Accessible Technology & the Developing World” discusses the failures of inaccessible technology in resource constraint settings (developing world) and provides examples of increasing accessibility. In the opening chapter ‘Development for All: How Human Rights Break Down Barriers to Technology’ I provide an overview:

Development efforts—the provision of support to countries with lesser economic resources—have long overlooked persons with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) tries to rectify this with a stand-alone provision on inclusive development, ensuring that efforts to accelerate economic growth and related factors are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities. This chapter discusses the rationale behind the stand-alone provision and the potential it holds for more equitable and inclusive growth, including the role that technology plays in increasing accessibility.

How Human Rights Break Down Barriers to Technology, in: Lazar/Stein, Accessible Technology & the Developing World, Oxford University Press 2021 

On July 15 I will discuss supported decision-making at IASSIDD, here is the abstract:

With the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in force in a majority of the world’s countries, the necessity to frame human rights inclusively and accessibly is firmly established. The move from wanting to “fix” people by focusing on perceived deficits and medical aspects of impairment to needing to “fix” societies by reducing attitudinal barriers is underway, still haltingly in many places.

Enabling and empowering persons with disabilities is comparatively easily done on an individual basis. The negotiation of the Convention itself is a case in point on how processes can shift quite dramatically, when the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities is made possible. Importantly, a lot can be learned generally from this and related processes in how marginalized groups can and should contribute to mainstream policy and law development.

The profound challenges of the Convention’s implementation arise at the law and policy level and in its application to larger institutions. How does one shift from well-tested routines and carefully planned and well-intentioned procedures to an approach that empowers people to live independently? How does one move from cotton-wooling people to embracing their need – and right – to make mistakes, go overboard and transgress?

A core expression of the right of all persons with disabilities to equally enjoy all human rights is the right to act their legal capacity. The application of this provision (Article 12 CRPD) raises some profound challenges in enabling the decision-making of persons with disabilities.

But does it really?

Granted: there is a need for more assistance, increased support and added resources. But is there really such a difference in what we describe as supported decision-making for persons with disabilities to what people in the so-called mainstream practice every day? How, exactly, is the process of a prime minister being advised by an army of advisers different from supporting the decision-making of someone who has an intellectual impairment?

Not wanting to diminish the responsibilities of prime ministers and the complexity of some of the issues placed before them: it appears that we are all too easily pushing the decision-making of persons with disabilities into a special realm with separate rules and different standards, which are also linked to status and its attached economic might.

The idea of inclusion is not just that we enable persons with disabilities to be equal, to enjoy the same rights and freedoms – as they should have already for a long time. The challenge lies in questioning the ways in which the mainstream operates routinely and how persons with disabilities – due to being labeled “different” and “special” and “needy” – are missing out.

None of the representatives in mainstream society and leadership positions would ever think that they have support in decision-making. But very few people actually make bigger purchases or investments without consulting “someone.” The social and cultural codes that are applied here, are frequently denied to persons with disabilities, particularly in those settings where they are separated and treated “differently.”

Persons who have guardians point to the impact of their guardianship on their social and societal standing. They report feeling stigmatized and sensing the effect of their guardianship in areas of life beyond their guardianship’s scope. While well intentioned and often reasonably applied, guardianship creates and reinforces stigma. The CRPD provides an opportunity to revisit engrained routines and calls into question the most well meaning of policies.

Revising such policies, including some important legal questions that require thorough examination, a core obligation of the CRPD has to be upheld and implemented: ensuring the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities at every stage (Article 4 (3) CRPD). As the first experiences prove, meaningful participation fundamentally changes the conversation; it also improves the quality of the outcome in immeasurable ways.

Inclusion also means that we keep in mind that the Conventions is not a special set of provisions for persons with disabilities: it is firmly grounded in the human rights obligations that precede it. Importantly, the right to act legal capacity is also enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: Article 15 thereof. If one ponders the significant changes that women’s liberation has brought across the globe – and not withstanding the manifold gaps that still mar the road to gender equality – one gleans the profoundness of the paradigm shift that is encapsulated in the right to act legal capacity.

In going forward it is in everyone’s interest to ensure the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities. The obligation of the CRPD should be used to advance the quality of the debate rather than be viewed as a cumbersome obstacle. It is equally important to remember the ways in which society can push itself, e.g. changes and ongoing challenges in gender equality. The support for decision-making of those in power, e.g. prime ministers, should be our guiding light in ensuring the empowerment of persons with disabilities to make their own decisions – including: mistakes!

A campaign by UNFPA from 2007, still holds very true

A helpful illustration on the health impact of violence against women by the World Health Organization: women exposed to violence are amongst others twice as likely to suffer from mental health problems and also twice as likely to abuse substances such as alcohol, among others. Note that more than a third of incidents of violence – 38% – are reportedly committed by intimate partners.

On the occasion of Women’s Day, a series of graphic graphics by the UK’s DFID on the situation of women and girls in developing countries focusing on obstacles to personal and corresponding overall economic & societal development:

In her message in celebration of Women’s Day, Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Executive Director states:

My message today is simple and straightforward. This year on International Women’s Day, we say enough is enough. Discrimination and violence against women and girls has no place in the 21^st century. It is time for Governments to keep their promises and protect human rights in line with the international conventions and agreements that they signed onto. A promise is a promise.

In a NYTimes Editorial the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign is featured with a particularly poignant text. Lawrence Downes quotes a self-advocate of Bestbuddies, John Franklin Stephens to explain why the “r-word” is unacceptable. By the way this week is “End the R Word” campaign week:

 I know people who care about language who do not see themselves as heartless and who do not see “retardation” as anything to get worked up about. To them, banishing the R-word for another clinical-sounding term is like linguistic Febreze: masking unpleasantries with cloying euphemisms.In this, as in other cases of discrimination, it’s probably best to let those affected speak for themselves.

Here is John Franklin Stephens, a man from Virginia with Down syndrome who serves as a “global messenger” for the Special Olympics. He has written op-ed articles giving lucid voice to thoughts you may never have heard before:

“The hardest thing about having an intellectual disability is the loneliness,” he once wrote in The Denver Post. “We are aware when all the rest of you stop and just look at us. We are aware when you look at us and just say, ‘unh huh,’ and then move on, talking to each other. You mean no harm, but you have no idea how alone we feel even when we are with you.”

“So, what’s wrong with ‘retard’?,” he asked. “I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be. We are something outside the ‘in’ group. We are someone that is not your kind.”

A photograph of the two finance ministers of Germany and the United States of America, respectively, conferring. Mr. Schäuble of Germany has been a wheel-chair user following an assassination attempt in 1990.

A group of women who participated in the suffragettes celebration of the Olympic opening ceremony plan to become activists and march to the UK parliament in October to stand up for women’s equality, reports the Guardian.

Ahead of the Paralympic Games, the Guardian reports on an initiative to train persons with disabilities as reports for the games, another indicator of the efforts aimed at creating the most accessible and inclusive Olympic experience of all times.

Amnesty International Slovenia has developed a tool-kit on creating posters against racism.

One of the many superb examples to jump-start discussions about diversity, equality and how prejudices stand in the way of enjoying them:

Two videos of note featuring Senior Australian of the Year, Professor Ron McCallum:

Australian of the Year Ron McCallum

Ron McCallum Movie

Four years ago, the Australian government seized control of 73 indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The Age reports that in Ampilatwatja, 350 km north-east of Alice Springs, Richard Downs, the leader of the Alyawarr people asked that no pictures be taken of his people as it embarrasses them to be pictured living in dirt.

Along dirt streets littered with rubbish and abandoned vehicles, he points out a $500,000 building, the home and office of a government business manager, one of 60 appointed across the territory to supervise delivery of government services under the emergency intervention. ”That’s all we got over four years … a government business manager living here who everyone in the community tries to avoid and doesn’t listen to,” Downs says. Downs says 500 of his people living in Ampilatwatja have been treated as outcasts from white man’s decision-making. ”No one has asked us what will work for us,” he says.

Federal funding for homelands has been capped at $20 million a year for three years and runs out next year. No government funding is available for new houses on homelands, leaving people living in substandard, overcrowded accommodation with poor infrastructure.

The Guardian reports on findings by the High Pay Commission, which suggests that current trends unaltered, the gap between the very rich and the poor could reach levels last seen under the reign of Queen Victoria by 2030.

A  brave and reconciliatory response by the mother of Northern Irish police man Ronan Kerr , who was killed April second by a bomb as reported by BBC:

“We don’t want to go back into the dark days again of fear and terror.”

“This is at a time when we are striving for a neutral police force for the good of our country and I urge all Catholic members not to be deterred.”

“We all need to stand up and be counted and to strive for equality.”

On the occasion of women’s day, an indepth look by the NYTimes at the challenges women in Egypt face as the movement for a change of government makes its way.

The BBC features an unsung hero on the theory behind the current uprisings of societies in the Middle East: Dr. Gene Sharp is credited with sketching what it takes for people to rise and demand equality, justice, accountability and other features of democracy.

For what they are worth – and they are worth a lot less than one is made to believe  – diamonds can have a bloody history. As a reminder some recent reports by Human Rights Watch on the conflict related origins of some of the gems as well as the child and slave labour that often is part of the chain of production of the precious commodity.

As always, The Atlantic piece by Edward Jay Epstein on “Have you ever tried to sell a Diamond?,” here as a reminder on the actual value of diamonds and the power of marketing.

The NYTimes online has a series on the “Realm of Senses“: it features the New York impressions and perceptions of people who have lost a sense. Pictures by Béatrice de Géa accompany the description of people like Katherine Vasquez who does not have sense in her legs and feels like “walking on clouds” when exploring the city in her wheelchair and Martin Greenberg, who is deaf-blin and “captures the city through its vibrations.”

An important Op-Ed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus in the NYTimes on sticking to the principles of the brilliant idea to provide microfinance to those in need of (economic) empowerment and criticizing those who loose sight of the intentions and focus on the potential profits.

The NYTimes reports that India is discussing the constitutional recognition of the right to food. While obviously part of a political debate, which also eyes likely effects in upcoming elections, the essential question is: should there be a right, an entitlement to have access to basic food stuffs?

The BBC relays a study reported by the British Medical Journal suggesting that health related inequality is currently greater than it was during the Great Depression in the 1920ies.

After a while – two years to be exact – returning to the issue of soccer & human rights ahead of the World Cup in South Africa. The NYTimes has a piece on the history of soccer in the host country. As one interviewee describes it, soccer “was a way to keep us out of trouble, a form of freedom, a chance to meet people from different areas.” The piece highlights the repercussions of Apartheid one-and-a-half decades after its end as “complicated.”  Tellingly, South Africa had four different federations: for blacks, whites, Indians and the so-called coloreds.

ECRI – the Council of Europe’s Commission Against Racism and Intolerance – has released its latest Report on Austria. The Commission states among others:

Racism in public discourse remains a worrying issue, in the absence of an adequate response by the authorities. Far-right political parties have openly exploited prejudice against minorities, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Jews and Muslims and their statements have not been always condemned by mainstream political parties in a sufficiently strong manner. In addition, some media have contributed to creating an atmosphere of hostility against members of minority groups and asylum seekers.

In its previous Report on Austria, the Commission had voiced concern “that the press has contributed to a certain “ethnicisation” of crimes, particularly as regards Black Africans and drug dealing or Eastern Europeans and certain types of organised crime.”

As the red carpet rolls out ahead of women’s day and briefly also for the Academy Awards, Kim Elsesser – a research scholar at the Center for Study of Women at the University of California – highlights the separation of the best actor and best actress in an Op-Ed in the NYTimes.

Picture credit Kelly Blair/NYTimes

The Guardian reports about a Report by the National Equality Panel. It highlights income disparities: “richest 10% is more than 100 times better off than the poorest 10%”. An unemployed father of three observes:

“If you don’t feel secure, you are always on tenterhooks, you snap at the children. It is a mental strain. Sometimes you feel you just want to roll over and give up. Your resilience is worn away, there is nothing left to rely on.”

Data of the report can be found here.

“Thinking beyond the label” is an advocacy campaign aimed at debunking myths about inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work place. Highlighting the ease with which one tends to “label” people using the classic self-make labels, the campaign plays with stereotypes and “labels” respectively.

An example is the following add in which a woman clothed in an eclectic mix of patterns as “pattern deficient”:

As the tragedy in Haiti unfolds, the Wall Street Journal observes: “while natural calamities do not discriminate between rich countries and poor ones, their effects almost invariably do (…) The difference is a function of a wealth-generating and law-abiding society that can afford, among other things, the expense of proper building codes.”

In an Op-Ed in the Observer, singer Régine Chassagne states:

“Many Haitians expect to be let down. History shows they are right to feel that way. Haitians know that they have been wronged many, many times. What we are seeing on the news right now is more than a natural disaster. This earthquake has torn away the veil and revealed the crushing poverty that has been allowed by the west’s centuries of disregard.”

Happy New Year! The European Union is dedicating 2010 to the fight against poverty and social exclusion, see EU framework on poverty + social exclusion.

(The image states:  I (HEART) RAEDNIG – 42 million Americans are functionally illiterate. Join Jumpstart in the fight against illiteracy.)

There are many initiatives to boost people’s ability to read and write, as the right to education and attain the skills to read and write are still not being fulfilled for many people. A particularly striking campaign is underway in the United States, where jumpstart is using the famous “I love New York” icon to highlight the need to ensure that everyone has a chance to learn to read and write:

(The image states: I (HEART) NWE YROK – 22% of New Yorkers can’t read. Join Jumpstart in the fight against illiteracy.)

Time and again the consequences of female infanticide – the preference for boys leading to sex-selective abortions – are discussed in the media. The latest report comes from China where the combination of the one-child policy mixed with a preference for males has created a gap of 32 million in the generation of under 20-year-olds.

Beware – divorce in the Holy See! Citing concerning over implications of some of the European Union laws on the Vatican’s legislation, particularly potential conflicts with church principles, the Vatican will seize to automatically adopt the laws of the Italian legislature.

This is hardly surprising, given the EU’s latest push at the UN’s General Assembly for adoption of a declaration on decriminalizing homosexuality. A move that – equally unsurprising – met with some fearce resistance, leading to support from “only” 66 countries.

The Annual Austrian Income Report by the Federal Auditors reveals more of the same: women earn significantly less than men, even in the public sector where – officially – equal pay for equal work is “implemented.” Even more worrisome: the gap between rich and poor is widening considerably: While the lowest 10% are loosing compared to ten years ago, the highest 10% have added some 24% during this time.

As many flock to celebrate Christmas, it is obvious that an increasing number of people cannot put food on the table, let alone a festive dinner. Ireland, which knows deep-seated poverty too well is tackling one side of the increasing crisis: begging. The WP reports that “aggressive” begging can now be fined with € 700. Civil society representatives are squarely criticising the questionable attempt to curb begging without addressing the root causes.

As the year comes to an end, some of the human rights issues that should have been tackled and were regrettably not:

E. Benjamin Skinner highlights the growth of slavery and points out that the focus on human trafficking – as pressing as this human rights violation of epic proportions is – has narrowed the issue. “The idea that all prostitutes are slaves and all slaves are prostitutes belittles the suffering of all victims.” And: “for every one woman or child enslaved in commercial sex, there are at least 15 men, women, and children enslaved in other fields such as domestic work or agricultural labor.” Read “A World Enslaved” here.

The crisis in Zimbabwe is going from really bad to worse. The NYTimes reports with this picture of children picking up corn that a passing truck had lost: 

Merely four weeks before the world celebrates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “All persons are born equal in rights …” 

From the Washington Post, Tom Toles.

A street vendor in SOHO – South of Houston – in New York City had these ducks on sale, which sign “I love you” in American Sign Language: 

This is pretty neat, the United Nations Postal Administration has put out a set of stamps in the six official languages of the United Nations, one is in Braille featuring the letters “UN”, there is also one in sign-language:

Politics & religion are the two issues one is not to raise at a dinner table. So, good that Colin Powell made the following statement in a Sunday morning television interview, which was generally widely reported. However, the following, regrettably necessary, statement was not covered as widely as it should be:

“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.”