Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB) has conducted a workshop on the Marrakesh treaty with relevant stakeholders in Addis Ababa City. Participants from F.D.R.E Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, F.D.R.E Ministry of Innovation of Technology, Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority, and Ethiopian Writers Association have attended the workshop.

Discussions were made on Information accessibility in the context of United nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. And way forward was set on the importance of working together in crafting the implementation proclamation (amendment) for the Marrakesh treaty.

Ethiopia have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on July 7, 2010 by ratification Proclamation No. 676/2010, and the and signed the Marrakesh treaty in November 2020. As per Article 9, sub article 4 of the F.D.R.E Constitution “All international agreements ratified by Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land.”

Here are major articles from United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) regarding information accessibility.

Article 4.1.g dictated states parties to undertake or promote research and development of, and to promote the availability and use of new technologies, including information and communications technologies, mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, suitable for persons with disabilities, giving priority to technologies at an affordable cost.

Article 9 dictated States Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.

Article 21 dictated States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others and through all forms of communication of their choice. This includes Providing information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost.

Article 30 Sub article 3 3. Dictates States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.

This workshop is conducted as part of the Enabling Capabilities project funded by Danish Association of the Blind.