Article 19 said it is necessary to embrace a human rights approach when handling issues in relation to people with disabilities.
This was during a meeting which debated Tuesday access to information for people with disabilities. It is also imperative to impose public policies which guarantee their presence in media, the organisation said .
Participants emphasised the need to create a toolkit on media handling of disability issues and adopt agreed terms across the globe such as “people with disabilities” rather than “people with specific needs” which, they said, contribute to perpetuating stereotypes and stigma.
Positive discrimination through a quota system was also hailed as a means to ensure the presence of people with disabilities in media.
Positive discrimination, other participants said, is inappropriate. Equality among all citizens needs to be upheld.
Director of the organisation’s Transparency Programme Karim Belhaj Issa said the meeting is intended to raise the awareness of people with disabilit
ies about their right to access information as provided for under law n° 2016-22 of March 24, 2016, on access to information.
The media content meant for people with disabilities is still focused on topical issues (elections for instance), he added.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse