A/HRC/16/38
disability in disaster; (b) a capacity-building project on inclusive national development
strategies; (c) a regional seminar on Accessibility of the Environment, Universal Design,
Tourism and Development; (d) a working group on Haiti Reconstruction, which was
created to ensure that reconstruction efforts after the Haiti earthquake involved people with
disabilities during all stages and that all rebuilt and newly built infrastructure was fully
accessible to and usable by people with disabilities52. The GPDD and the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) co-organized a meeting on Reconstruction in Haiti and
Innovative Universal Design in March 201053.
44.
The Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies
(G3ict), a flagship advocacy initiative of the United Nations Global Alliance for
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Development. G3ict is a publicprivate partnership dedicated to facilitating the implementation around the world of the
Digital Accessibility Agenda defined by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
It fosters harmonization and standardization by facilitating ongoing
discussions with the participation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the
Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee
(TEITAC) and other leading standards development organizations via forums and Webbased activities54. G3ict and the ITU, for example, jointly produced an e-Accessibility
Policy Toolkit for Policy Makers, which was developed in cooperation with over 60 experts
from industry, NGOs, Governments and academic institutions from around the world55.
The ITU, in cooperation with G3ict, is promoting systematic capacity-building programmes
on all continents on how to align requirements for accessible broadcasting and
telecommunications services. This sector represents an opportunity for short-term results
for persons with disabilities since in most countries one single entity controls a few
operators serving the entire population. It is also worth noting that regulatory authorities
exist in most countries today.
45.
The Digital Accessibility & Inclusion Index for Persons with Disabilities was
developed with the support of Disabled People's International (DPI) and the American law
firm Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC.56. Coordination of public procurement – ICT
devices for governments – has been informally established by the United States Access
Board which invited international participants to its TEITAC sessions, a multi-stakeholder
committee charged with the definition of public procurement ICT standards including the
European Commission, Japan, Canada and Australia.
IV.
Challenges facing international cooperation
46.
The submissions to the present report indicate that many States and other actors are
actively involved in promoting international cooperation to support the implementation of
the Convention and to realize the rights of persons with disabilities. In spite of this growing
52
53
54
55
56
See report “Disability and International Cooperation and Development: A review of Policies and
Practices”, the World Bank and Cooperazione Italiana allo Sviluppo, June 2010. Regarding the
Working Group on Reconstruction, see www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1533.
See www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1533.
See submission of G3ict at www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disability/docs/study/G3ict.doc and
www.g3ict.org/about.
For further information, see www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org.
See www.g3ict.org/about.
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