UN Global Digital Compact: Advancing Disability Rights and Digital Accessibility

On September 22, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Global Digital Compact (GDC), an Annex to the Pact for the Future, following more than three years of negotiations among UN Member States Delegations with the input of civil society. The final official text and details of the implementation and monitoring of the GDC are just being released as of this publication. While digital assistive technologies were not explicitly mentioned as an area of focus, many dispositions of the Global Digital Compact directly support digital accessibility for Persons with Disabilities by:

• Explicitly affirming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in its core principles while referencing Human Rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
• Including digital accessibility requirements in several sections with a commitment by 2023 to: “Increase the availability, accessibility, and affordability of digital technology platforms, services, software, and educational curricula… and accessible user interfaces for persons with disabilities” (13.b).
• Emphasizing the importance of building digital skills for persons with disabilities
• Setting the stage for safeguards for the safe and ethical use of AI.
• Calling for technology companies to involve persons of all abilities in their product development cycle.
• Specifying that disaggregated data should be available by disability status.

G3ict monitored and made recommendations in all stages of the negotiations of this text as a UN ECOSOC-accredited organization and a member of its Round Table on Digital Inclusion. The G3ict Advocacy Team and DASH Work Group took the opportunity to meet during the 17^th Conference of States Parties (COSP) with more than 25 country delegates and United Nations officials supportive of its advocacy work. G3ict Team members included persons with disabilities, industry, and accessibility professionals. Coordination meetings among all stakeholders helped further align priorities that should be addressed in the initial drafts of the GDC. During the final negotiation stages, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy, Guy Ryder, provided encouragement and precious advice to Ambassador Gallegos, G3ict Chair of the Board and Axel Leblois, Founder and President Emeritus of G3ict to reach out to country delegations actively supporting the inclusion of disability and digital accessibility language in the final text of the GDC, including the Group of Friends of the CRPD.

Next steps:

G3ict and its DASH Work Group will explore ways to expand current frameworks for Digital Accessibility Advocacy in cooperation with multiple stakeholders and the support of international organizations. To kick off the process, a meeting is scheduled during the 2024 M-Enabling Summit on October 15-17.

Our sincere appreciation goes to the DASH Work Group Members for their valuable input, Jenny Lay-Flurrie and Rylin Rodgers, Microsoft, for hosting our coordination meeting during the 17^th Session of the COSP in New York, to the Disability Inclusion Team of the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General, and the G3ict Delegation Members active on the floor during the 17^th COSP:

G3ict Dash Work Group Delegation to the 17th COSP

• Ambassador Luis Gallegos, G3ict Honorary Board Chair, G3ict
• Ms. Susan Mazrui, G3ict Board Chair, and AT&T Director of Global Public Policy
• Mr. Marc Workman, CEO, World Blind Union (WBU), and DASH Work Group Co-Chair
• Mr. Andrew Kirkpatrick, G3ict Senior Fellow, and DASH Work Group Co-Chair
• Ms. Rylin Rodgers, Disability Policy Advisor, Microsoft
• Dr. David Sloan, Chief Accessibility Officer, TPGi - A Vispero Company
• Ms. Janina Sajka, Digital Accessibility Consultant, Level Access
• Mr. Shadi Abou-Zahra, Principal Accessibility Standards and Policy Manager, Amazon's Devices and Services
• Mr. Tony Colantonio, Founder and Managing Partner, Journeyable
• Dr. Elizabeth Lockwood, CBM Global Representative to the United Nations, CBM Global Disability Inclusion and World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)
• Mr. Axel Leblois, G3ict Founder and President Emeritus
• Ms. Francesca Cesa Bianchi, G3ict Vice President, Institutional Relations and Advocacy
• Dr. Mohammed Ali Loutfy, G3ict Director for Capacity Building and Advocacy, and DASH Work Group Secretariat, Co-Chair of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities on Sustainable Development (SGPWD).