Treaty to help visually impaired to read, stalls

 

This is ironical given that the vast majority, or 90 per cent of 285 million, visually impaired people reside in these countries. The situation has been described as a ‘book famine’.

 

“Children and adults with blindness, low vision or other print disabilities have been denied access to print materials for far too long,” says Michiko Tabata, president of the World Blind Union – Asia Pacific (WBUAP).

 

Lack of books in accessible formats, such as braille, audio or e-books, is preventing millions of persons with print disabilities from harnessing crucial human development opportunities. As a result, persons with print disabilities are being excluded from education, employment, healthcare and participation in just about any aspect of political, economic and social lives.

 

To deal with this, the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled, aims to remove legal obstacles hindering the reproduction of published works in accessible formats and their cross-border dissemination. The treaty paves the way for a legal environment to pursue the goal of accessing “the same book, at the same time and at the same price” by persons with print disabilities, while ensuring that an author’s rights and interests are protected.

 

However, it has yet to enter into force. The treaty requires ratification by 20 countries, but to date that number sits at just 11. Greater efforts are needed to facilitate the ratification so that the benefits of the treaty will reach persons with print disabilities without delay.

 

A report was launched recently to offer a clear rationale and practical legal guidance to realise the principle of ‘leaving no one behind.’ This is a key feature of the newly-adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said Nadia Rasheed, team leader, HIV, health and development, UNDP Bangkok regional hub. “Ratifying and implementing the Marrakesh Treaty are about realising the fundamental rights of one of the most marginalised populations, reducing poverty, and eliminating exclusion to achieve inclusive development, which underpin UNDP’s core development vision.”

 

The importance of greater access to published works in accessible formats is expected to become more pronounced as the world witnesses an increasing number of persons with print disabilities due to population ageing and rapid growth of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes.

 

 

 

A perfect world to grow up in

 

Two decades ago at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, 12-year-old Severn Suzuki reminded world leaders: “Do not forget why you are attending these conferences, who you are doing this for—we are your own children. You are deciding what kind of a world we will grow up in.”

 

The follow-up to the Earth Summit, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) took place in Brazil on June 20-22, 2012, and concluded a two-year negotiation process by adopting the outcome document, ‘The Future We Want’.

 

For many who participated in Rio+20, the highlight was the collection of partnerships and other 'coalitions of the willing' that were formed at the margins of the conference. And business was a key player, through both the UN Global Compact’s Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum and the Business Action for Sustainable Development meetings.

 

Some Thai companies have joined the force, including Thai Optical Group (TOG), an ophthalmic lens manufacturer.

 

TOG managing director Torn Pracharktam signed a pledge agreement to support the Children’s Rights and Business Principles with Unicef in “The Children Sustainability Forum: Business for the future”. The agreement announces the firm’s intention to respect and support the children’s rights in relation to the TOG’s ethics, mission and policy for its corporate sustainability.