People’s Advocates call on the Commission for Exceptional Situations to establish for audiovisual media institutions (especially national televisions) the obligation to ensure the mimic-gestural interpreting of official information on the epidemiological situation in the country, as well as, on the decisions taken by the Commission for Exceptional Situations.

A recommendation in this regard was mentioned in the endeavor submitted on behalf of the chairman of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, the prime minister, Ion Chicu.

In the endeavor, there is recommended to print in Braille the most important information on protection measures and methods of dissemination of COVID-19.

In order to enable  persons with disabilities to live independently and to fully participate in all aspects of life, the state must take appropriate measures to ensure access for these persons, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transport, to information and means of communication, including information and communication technologies and systems, and other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and rural areas.

It is mentioned in the endeavor that, this is an obligation of the state, assumed by ratifying the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is particularly important for all people to be sufficiently well informed about the seriousness and nature of the threat, the means of protection, to take the appropriate security measures and to contribute in this way to decrease the danger to their health and public health.

The Ombudsmen underline that, it is also important to provide truthful information on the evolution related to the current epidemiological situation, as the actions taken by the authorities for this purpose, and to target all categories of people, so that all citizens receive information in a comprehensible and familiar language for them. Among the people who have specific needs for access to information are people with visual disabilities, people with hearing disabilities, people with intellectual or cognitive disabilities, people with motor disabilities (who cannot hold or browse publications), other people who deal with impediments in accessing information.

In order to ensure the access of the persons given to the information, the authorities have to develop some norms of adapting the information and communication systems to their requirements, as well as those of using alternative modes of communication within these systems (Braille system, audible version, mimic – gestural interpreting, etc). In this way, all people will be ensured with the right to “seek, receive and send information and ideas of any kind”, as well as, the right to information access related to health.

2020 /04/ 07