Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
States Parties shall recognise the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
(a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
(b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats;
(c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.
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.
Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.
With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
(b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organise, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
(c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues;
(d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system;
(e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organisation of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities. (Article 30)
Obligations
This article applies and extends traditional rights in relation to cultural life, recreation and leisure to persons with disability. State Parties must recognise the right of persons with disability to take part in the cultural life of community on an equal basis with others. In order to facilitate this, State Parties must ensure that cultural materials, television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities are available in accessible formats. In this respect, paragraph 3 of the article requires State Parties to take all appropriate steps to ensure that intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disability to cultural materials. State Parties must also ensure that premises and facilities associated with cultural performances and services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services are accessible to persons with disability. Additionally, State Parties must ensure, as far as possible, that persons with disability have access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance. Paragraph 2 of the article focuses on the potential and contribution of persons with disability to the cultural life of the community. State Parties are required to take appropriate measures to enable persons with disability to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society. Paragraph 4 goes further, requiring State Parties to recognise, where applicable, the specific cultural and linguistic identity of persons with disability, including in particular, sign languages and deaf culture. Paragraph 5 of the article requires State Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disability can participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities. This includes the obligation to encourage persons with disability to participate in mainstream sport at all levels, and well as to ensure that persons with disability have the opportunity to organise and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities. In order to realise these rights, State Parties must ensure that persons with disability have access to appropriate instruction, training and resources, and to recreation, tourism, leisure and sporting services. State Parties must also ensure that children with disability have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, both within and outside the school system.
Indicators
• Persons with disability take part in cultural life on an equal basis with others.
• Cultural materials are available in accessible formats.
• Persons with disability have access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities in accessible formats.
• Persons with disability have access to places of cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services.
• Persons with disability have access, as far as possible, to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
• Persons with disability have the opportunity to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential.
• Intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access to cultural materials for persons with disability.
• The specific cultural and linguistic identity of persons with disability, including sign languages and deaf culture, is recognised.
• Persons with disability participate in recreational, leisure and sporting activities on an equal basis with others.
• The participation to the fullest extent possible of persons with disability in mainstream sporting activities at all levels is encouraged and promoted.
• Persons with disability have the opportunity and capacity to organise, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities.
• Persons with disability have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues.
• Children with disability have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities.
• Persons with disability have access to services from those involved in the organisation of recreation, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.
Example
The right to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport will be particularly relevant to people who through their work are involved in:
• Working with clients who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Working with clients who interact with the government, for example where the government requires individuals to do something that interferes with their cultural practices