On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ARTICLE 19 underscores the right of people with disabilities (PWDs) to access information on an equal basis with abled persons. This right is firmly enshrined in international law and Tunisia’s national obligations. Despite progress in Tunisia’s legal framework on access to information, significant environmental and institutional barriers still impede the full realisation of this right for PWDs. As Tunisia intensifies efforts to digitise its public administration, ARTICLE 19 urges authorities to prioritise inclusive digital transformation that ensures equal access to information for all. This step is crucial for enabling PWDs to exercise their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights fully.
The right of access to information held by public bodies (RTI) is a fundamental human right recognised under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Tunisia in 1969. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by Tunisia in 2008, strengthens this guarantee. Article 21 of the CRPD obliges states to ‘take all appropriate measures to ensure that people with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others, and through all forms of communication of their choice.”
Globally, digitalisation has been recognised as a transformative tool to enhance RTI for marginalised groups, including PWDs. In its 2020 resolution, the Human Rights Council recognised digitalisation as a valuable means to improve access to information and urged states to ‘facilitat[e] and promot[e] access to and use of communications and digital technologies.’ The 2022 report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) emphasised the importance of inclusive and accessible public information, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable groups.
Practical steps for inclusive access to information for PWDs require:
- Providing public information in accessible formats and technologies tailored to various disabilities in an easy, prompt, effective and practical manner and without additional costs or fees; and
- Facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication methods, in official interactions.
In Tunisia, RTI is a constitutional right guaranteed in Article 38 of the 2022 Constitution. Law No. 2016-22 gives legal force to the constitutional right by providing a framework for requesting access to information in line with the principle of maximum disclosure. Article 9 of the law mandates assistance to PWDs, yet civil society working on disability rights continues to report significant challenges faced by PWDs in exercising their RTI effectively.
Recent government initiatives to — such as Circular No. 3 in January 2024 and new policies aimed at simplifying and digitalising administrative procedures — present opportunities to advance RTI. However, digital transformation must address existing gaps in implementation to ensure equitable access for PWDs.
ARTICLE 19 calls on Tunisian authorities to integrate inclusivity and accessibility into its digital transformation agenda through the following key actions:
- Close enforcement gaps in RTI laws to uphold the rights of PWDs to receive easy, prompt, effective and practical access to public information and support their active and meaningful public participation.
- Ensure that all public digital platforms and information systems are accessible to PWDs.
- Collaborate with civil society, especially organisations representing PWDs, to design and implement inclusive digitalisation policies.