23 September 2013: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched a report on the potential of information and communication technology (ICT) to promote the social and economic inclusion of people with disabilities, including indicators to measure disability inclusion through ICTs.

‘The ICT Opportunity for a Disability-Inclusive Development Framework’ was launched at UN Headquarters in New York, US, during the High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development, on 23 September 2013. The report was produced by a multi-stakeholder alliance of organizations, including the UN Broadband Commission for Development, the International Disability Alliance, ITU, Microsoft, and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Based on expert input from 150 people working ICT, disability and development issues in 55 countries, the report analyzes barriers and proposes priority actions and indicators for measuring progress on disability inclusion through ICTs.

In his foreword to the report, Luis Gallegos, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the UN in Geneva and Vice President and Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for 2013, said no one should be excluded from using mobile phones, the Internet, televisions, computers and electronics, as these provide access to essential public services and an independent life. He noted Member States’ rapid rate of adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and called for the post-2015 development agenda to reflect the Convention’s accessibility guidelines.

The authors of the report warn that the cost of assistive technologies and delays in providing accessibility features to new products could widen the digital divide, resulting in greater inequalities. They call on government, the private sector and civil society to address existing barriers.

They also propose indicators to measure overall access, accessibility and awareness regarding the use of ICTs by persons with disabilities, as well as indicators specific to health care, education, employment, independent living, government services, and participation in political and public life. Among other recommendations, the report calls on the international community to harmonize standards for accessible ICTs, and for governments to include accessibility requirements in procurement policies. [Publication: The ICT Opportunity for a Disability-Inclusive Development Framework] [ITU Press Release]