Document sans titre
Access to public spaces
and amenities for people with disabilities A recent report from the Council
of Europe Standing Committee on Social Cohesion reflects on the issue of accessibility
to public buildings and infrastructures. This report complements the CoE s 10-year
Disability Action Plan that aims to make progress in ensuring equal rights for
disabled people.
In recent years, Member
States have adopted measures to ensure accessibility to public spaces for disabled
people, but results have not always met expectations. Regulations and standards
are not always applied.
The report points out that
the concept of accessibility and the principle of universal design (application
of integrative standards and technology to public spaces and amenities to promote
more independent living) should be incorporated in spatial planning at all levels
(local, regional, national). The report gives recommendations, including the
promotion of the United Nations Standard Rules and the Council of Europe s Action
Plan, the signature and ratification of relevant legal instruments such as the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the development
of integrated national and regional accessibility policies, the establishment
of accessibility mediators at national and local level, financial support for
NGOs in the field, a European for sharing good practice on ways of applying
the principle of universal design and local and regional accessibility action
plans including the setting-up of regional advisory bodies and local-level committees
on access to public amenities.
To read the report: the
Council of Europe website, https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CG(13)41PART2&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&Sit
Home
