BackFollowing the declaration of State of Emergency aimed at preventing the spread of Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Human Rights Defender received complaints from persons with disabilities requesting the Defender's support in accessing information.
With regard to the accessibility of information, the Defender records the following:
Full access to information for persons with disabilities is an important guarantee for ensuring their rights.
(1) Access to information guarantees not only realization of the rights of persons with disabilities but also the opportunity to properly perform their duties during the State of Emergency.
(2) During the State of Emergency, public authorities work in an emergency regime, and their activities is reasonably accompanied by difficulties. Nevertheless, additional efforts should be made regardless of such difficulties.
In the current situation, the full access to official information by all members of society is of particular importance.
Hence, access to information for persons with disabilities should be ensured so that they can independently access necessary information. This can be ensured, for example, by using sign language interpretation during press conferences, adding subtitles to videos, accompanying the main official websites with audio-visual adjustments, etc.
(3) It is important that certain educational, cultural or sport programs are currently being carried out online, however, to the extent possible, these programs should also be accessible to persons with disabilities.
(4) The Human Rights Defender urges media representatives and journalists, where possible, to make important publications on the state of State of Emergency to persons with disabilities.
(5) The Human Rights Defender initiated awareness raising activities conditioned by the State of Emergency and soon information will be published through accessible means, including in Braille, with sign language interpretation and in the national languages of minorities living in the country. The Human Rights Defender’s official website is adapted both for persons with low vision and with visual impairments: a sound management system is created and currently, measures are taken to improve its work.
Source: Office of the Human Rights Defender, Armenia
