International Day of persons with disabilities

Marked on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities focuses on promoting the rights and improving the well-being of persons with disabilities, and increasing awareness of the daily barriers they face.

Standards related to persons with disabilities stem from the principle of “design for all,” the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as relevant national and international regulations and standards that ensure equality, accessibility, and equal participation in society.

International standardization organizations (ISO and IEC) and European standardization organizations (CEN and CENELEC) have developed numerous standards aimed at making products, services, and environments accessible to persons with disabilities. Some of these standards and related documents are:

• ISO/IEC Guide 71:2014 – provides guidance for experts developing standards with instructions on how to adequately consider accessibility requirements during the preparation of standards related to systems for use—products, services, and the built environment.
• ISO 21542:2021 – specifies requirements and recommendations for elements of building constructions, assemblies, components, equipment, and products, concerning the design and construction aspects of usability and accessibility of buildings, movement within buildings, exiting them under normal conditions, and evacuation in the event of fire.
• ISO 30071-1:2019 – provides a code of practice for creating accessible information and communication technology products and services, which enables organizations to integrate the accessibility of these technologies into their normal business processes.
• EN ISO 9999:2022 – covers the classification and terminology for assistive products for persons with disabilities.
• CEN ISO/TR 22411:2021 – provides ergonomic data and guidance for the application of ISO/IEC Guide 71, serving as guidelines to support the development of more accessible products, systems, and environments.
• EN 17210:2022 – addresses the accessibility and usability of the built environment (functional requirements and verification methodology), with specific requirements for architects and civil engineers.
• EN 17161:2020 – gives requirements and recommendations enabling an organization to broaden its circle of users by identifying different needs, characteristics, capabilities, and preferences, through the direct or indirect involvement of users and the application of accessibility knowledge in its procedures and processes.

All listed documents are available at the Institute for Standardization of Serbia, and the following have been adopted from them as national standards and related documents: SRPS EN ISO 9999:2022, SRPS CEN ISO/TR 22411:2021, SRPS EN 17210:2022, and SRPS EN 17161:2020.