Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
World Blind Union - WBU

Ivory Coast

Download 'WBU Reports on the UN Standard Rules' as a PDF file (195 KB)

---

© Dimitris Michailakis 1997

Association Nationale des Femmes Aveugles de Cote d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast
No reply was received from the Government of the Ivory Coast.
Compare with the following Country Report(s): WFD

General policy

There is no officially recognized disability policy. Since the adoption of the Rules the government has conveyed the message of full participation by the international day of disabled persons.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by general legislation. There is no judicial mechanism to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. There is, however, a governmental body (administrative) for that purpose.

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to education, employment, the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, political rights, access to court of law, the right to privacy and property rights.

No new legislation concerning disability has been enacted, since the adoption of the Rules.

Accessibility

There are no rules to ensure accessibility of the built environment. No responsible body exists to observe accessibility in the built environment. There are no special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments, are attitudinal factors, lack of legislation and regulations, lack of planning and design capacity, lack of knowledge, research and information, lack of user participation, lack of co-operation from other organizations/institutions and lack of enforcement mechanism. There is no disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers.

Sign language has no officially recognized status, is not used as the first language in education of deaf people and is not recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are no government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. No measures are provided in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and others.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. There are no legal provisions mandating the representatives of persons with disabilities to participate in policy-making or to work with governmental institutions. Organizations of persons with disabilities are sometimes consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. Consultations occur at the national level. No support is given to organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in government, legislatures, judicial authorities, political parties and NGOs. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities and contribute to public awareness.

Co-ordination of work

The co-ordinating committee is reporting to the Ministry of Employment. The committee includes representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The government expects the committee to participate in policy development and to perform other tasks.

The adoption of the Rules has not led to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy.

---

Contents of the WBU Report | Compare with the following Country Report(s): WFD