CRPD
Rights Tracker
Reports
(Art. 21) Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
(Art. 21) Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
List of Issue
Please provide information on the measures taken:
To ensure access to information and communications, including with regard to public events, television and radio, through accessible means, modes and formats of communication, such as sign language, Braille, audio or tactile information, augmentative and alternative communication, Easy Read and pictograms;
To adopt the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative standards when developing or publishing content on the Internet;
To promote the adoption of a national sign language, in close consultation with the deaf community.
Alternative Reports
DPOs Coalition Report (OHANA)
The 1945 Constitution in Article 28 E, as well as Law No. 9 of 1999, Law No. 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Disclosure, and Law 8/2016 affirm the guarantee of the rights to expression, opinion, and information. The Government's report mentions the ITE Law as a regulation that guarantees access to information, even though in practice it is often used to limit freedom of expression through offenses of insult or hate speech. This applies generally, which is highly likely to also occur to persons with disabilities. In the election socialization for persons with disabilities, the Teras Police Chief appealed to be wise in social media use so as not to be ensnared by the ITE Law.
Sign Language. To date, Sign Language Interpreters (JBI) are still very limited and not mainstream in government activities or other public services. This is due to several factors, including: 1) the government has not mandated the provision of sign language interpreters (JBI) in national or local budgets; 2) the sector/ministry/institution where JBI certification falls has not been determined; 3) The Difference between SIBI and BISINDO.
Furthermore, sign language courses by the Deaf organizations' own version have not been accommodated by the government, especially by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Sign language in the education sector is also not yet available, and schools still use the government's version of sign language. In fact, the majority of Deaf persons understand BISINDO better. The implication is that writing produced by persons with hearing disabilities who study in Special Needs Schools (SLB) using SIBI is difficult to understand and does not conform to writing rules.
To date, there is no single information media platform that is accessible to all types of disabilities. Some TV channels do use sign language, but only during news programs for only a few hours. This is due to the lack of government assertiveness in regulating media owners to also provide content or information that is accessible to persons with disabilities, whether for entertainment or news purposes.
Response List of Issue (Coalition/OHANA)
Access of persons with disabilities to information, especially those with hearing and visual disabilities, is still very limited. Visually impaired persons mostly rely on radio as a source of information, while deaf persons rely more on online information. Meanwhile, television service providers do not all provide sign language interpreters, including local television. In the meantime, website/online-based information providers, including government websites, public service providers, or private companies, are also not fully accessible to various disabilities that meet the World Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Initiative.
Information that can be obtained by persons with intellectual disabilities is also very rare. Overall in Indonesia, people with intellectual disabilities are highly dependent on others/companions to obtain any information, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, people with intellectual disabilities were mostly given easy-to-understand cause-and-effect information, but were frightened and prohibited from leaving the house without further explanation.
Response List of Issue (HWDI)
The formulation of regulations at the national and regional levels related to the rights to expression, opinion, and information has not been sensitive to the interests of women with disabilities. Although Law 8/2016 guarantees this right.
In addition, Government Regulation No. 27 of 2019 concerning Accessibility Facilities for Creations for Persons with Disabilities in Reading and Using Braille Script, Audio Books, and other means.
This is illustrated by several facts, that the East Java Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2011 Concerning Public Services affirms public information access, which recognizes the storage and management of information, as well as the mechanism for conveying information in Braille. Furthermore, this Regional Regulation has not been maximized, including:
This Regional Regulation has not accommodated all forms of information delivery accessible to various other disabilities, such as sign language, interpreters, easy-reading format, large print, etc.
The absence of coercive aspects in its implementation, so the provision of information is still based on the voluntary action of the information provider.
Another regional regulation that has not accommodated communication means for various disabilities is the East Java Governor Regulation No. 33/2014 Concerning Technical Instructions for East Java Provincial Regional Regulation No. 11 of 2011 Concerning Nutritional Improvement. This results in the information covered in the Regional Regulation not being conveyed to women with disabilities, because it does not include sign language, interpreters, easy-reading format, large print, and so on as means of communication.
At the Regency/City level, Sidoarjo Regent Regulation No. 27/2018 Concerning the Implementation of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Sidoarjo Regency, as well as Pasuruan Regency Regional Regulation No. 4/2018 concerning Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, have also not fully accommodated the forms of information delivery accessible to various types of disabilities.
Central Java, Central Java Governor Regulation No. 11 of 2017 concerning the Implementation Regulation of Regional Regulation No. 11 of 2014 concerning the Fulfillment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; a. provision of special signs, sounds, and visuals in the form of images, writing, signal lights in places of development infrastructure or public facilities including early disaster warning tools and b. provision of mass media as a source of information and means of communication among persons with disabilities. The provision of accessibility related to communication tools is still limited to tangible objects, such as bells, lights, visual images, and so on. This mindset is very contradictory to the CRPD, because persons with disabilities (including persons with hearing disabilities) also have the right to communicate with other humans using accessible communication tools, such as sign language. (ALREADY INCLUDED IN ARTICLE 9).
Proposed List of Issue
In its report, the Government of Indonesia stated that the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo) has been organizing training and facilitation regarding IT in disability rehabilitation centers since 2008; It has launched a website for persons with hearing and visual disabilities. Created by the state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkom, in collaboration with relevant parties; It creates games and software applications for persons with visual disabilities. The Committee needs to ask how Kemenkominfo ensures that information providers, both state-owned and private, provide accessible information for various disabilities? Are there regulations made to require information providers to also accommodate various disabilities? Are there sanctions for those who do not provide? How are the monitoring and evaluation carried out?
Committee Recommendations
Establish age-appropriate mechanisms to ensure access to information, communication, assistive devices and technologies, as well as sign language for children with disabilities;
Implement measures, in close consultation and active involvement of the Deaf community, to increase the number of sign language interpreters and to facilitate access to sign language interpreters of choice for official interactions
Establish a legal and policy framework to ensure accessibility of all public information, including from television and media services, for all persons with disabilities in accessible formats such as Braille, deaf-blind interpretation, sign language, Easy Read, simple language, audio description, text, and subtitles, and allocate adequate funding for implementation.
ⓘ Indicators
Mechanism to ensure access to information, communication, and assistive devices
Keterlibatan komunitas Tuli dalam peningkatan JBI; Involvement of the Deaf community in increasing Sign Language Interpreters (JBI); Policy and law on public information accessibility