Toronto,
June 30th, 2016 – Today is an historic
day as Canada became the 20th country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty (full name is the Marrakesh
Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and
Persons with Print Disabilities).
The twenty ratifying countries will be able to enjoy the benefits enshrined in
the treaty that are meant to extend the
same access to literature and information for print disabled persons that
non-print disabled persons already enjoy.
“This is another
historical day for our movement,” said Arnt Holte, President of WBU. “It was a
great victory when we managed to get a treaty securing accessible books for
blind and print disabled persons, but the real victory was achieved today –
when Canada became the 20th country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty. The treaty will enter into force in three months, on September 30th, and then millions of blind and partially sighted persons will be able to access literature and educational materials, enabling them to better participate in all aspects of their society," he added.
The WBU led the
international campaign in partnership with the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO)
to achieve the development of an international treaty that would put an
end to the global “book famine,” which refers to the less than ten percent of
published materials being available in accessible formats and often less than
one percent in developing countries. The great achievement today offers much
cause for celebration for the WBU and its partners.
“After many years of hard work by countless people in the blindness
community and partners from a range of sectors, we are now at the start of a
new phase of our work,” said Maryanne Diamond, WBU Chair of the Right to Read
campaign and a leader in the fight for the Marrakesh Treaty.
However, we still have much work to do in order to end the book
famine. “As we celebrate and look to the future, we cannot forget that worldwide
ratification is still a long way off,” said Ms. Diamond. “We need to continue
our work together to ensure the treaty can be implemented and used by blind and
print disabled people irrespective of where they live in the world,” she added.
The WBU calls for every single country to ratify the treaty, and then to effectively implement its provisions for the
production and cross-border sharing of accessible works in order to achieve the
treaty’s overarching
goal of furthering the human rights of persons with print disabilities by
promoting their access to literature and information.
To learn more about the Marrakesh Treaty, how it will help end the book
famine as well as about our Ratification and Implementation Campaign and what
you can do to encourage your government to ratify the treaty, visit our Campaign Page: www.worldblindunion.org/
English/our-work/our-priorities/Pages/right-2-read-campaign.aspx
The World Blind Union
(WBU) is the global organization representing the estimated 285 million
people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. Members consist of
organizations run by blind people advocating on their own behalf and organizations that serve the blind,
in over 190 countries, as well as international organizations working in the
field of vision impairment. Visit our website at www.wbu.ngo
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For further information, please contact:
World Blind Union
Caitlin Reid
Communications Officer & Project Coordinator - Marrakesh Treaty Ratification and Implementation Campaign
Caitlin.Reid@wbu.ngo