A/HRC/37/25 justice for women and girls who face specific barriers. 15 In addition, in conjunction with article 7, the Convention addresses the specific situation of boys and girls with disabilities, recognizing the right to express their views in all matters affecting them and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to do so (arts. 7 (3) and 13 (1)). Targeting multiple and intersecting discrimination beyond the grounds of age and sex should help to address the specific challenges that persons with different types of impairment face, including persons with albinism, deaf persons, deafblind persons and persons with psychosocial or intellectual impairments. Additionally, persons with disabilities who are migrants, refugees, indigenous people, people living in rural areas, poor people, intersex persons and others face specific forms of exclusion that should be considered in the administration of justice and by all judicial mechanisms and actors. III. Access to justice of persons with disabilities A. Equality before the courts and right to a fair trial 17. The Convention calls for substantive equality, “which includes both equality of opportunities and equality of outcomes”, 16 and article 13 (1) explicitly requires States parties to “ensure access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others”. The right to equality before the courts and tribunals and to a fair trial is a key element of human rights protection and serves as a procedural means to safeguard the rule of law.17 18. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has stressed that persons with disabilities are entitled to all rights and procedural safeguards during the pretrial, trial and post-trial phases, including the right to a fair trial, presumption of innocence, the rights of defence and the right to be heard in person, as well as all the other rights granted to other persons.18 While all procedural guarantees apply equally to persons with disabilities, the present report will concentrate on those elements that most commonly pose barriers to ensuring access to justice on an equal basis with others. 19. Access to justice must effectively be guaranteed in all cases to ensure that no individual is deprived, in procedural terms, of his or her right to claim justice. 19 In relation to persons with disabilities, whether with respect to criminal proceedings or in civil matters access to justice is most often denied as a result of lack of accessibility of and access to information, procedural accommodations, the right to claim justice and stand trial, respect for presumption of innocence and legal aid. 1. Accessibility and access to information 20. Persons with disabilities may face physical barriers to accessibility, such as barriers which render the act of physically entering police stations or courts impossible. Communication barriers may prevent access to information, understanding legal procedures or exchanges with judges, lawyers and other interlocutors. Further, many persons with disabilities are impeded from accessing courts and claiming their rights as a result of confinement to institutions or being isolated in their homes, without recourse to outside contact to lodge complaints. In addition, lack of information on their rights and how to invoke them before courts and authorities pose barriers to seeking remedies. 21. Effective access to information and communication allows persons with disabilities to know and defend their rights. The use of accessible information and communications technologies, in particular through their application to delivering government services (egovernance), can contribute to improving access to justice and access to information. The 15 16 17 18 19 6 Ibid., para. 52. Ibid., para. 9. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 32, para. 2. Makarov v. Lithuania (CRPD/C/18/D/30/2015). See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 32, para. 9.