The Committee of Ministers, in its composition restricted to Representatives of the States members of the1Partial Agreement in the social and public health field,Referring to its Resolution (59) 23 of 16 November 1959 on the extension of the activities of the Council ofEurope in the social and cultural fields;Having regard to Resolution (96) 35 of 2 October 1996 revising the Partial Agreement in the Social andPublic Health Field, and resolved to continue, on the basis of revised rules replacing those set out inResolution (59) 23, the activities hitherto carried out and developed by virtue of that resolution, aimed at,inter alia,integrating people with disabilities into the community with a view to defining and contributing to theimplementation at European level of a model coherent policy for people with disabilities, based on theprinciples of full citizenship and independent living, implying the elimination of barriers to integration,whatever their nature, whether psychological, educational, family-related, cultural, social, professional,financial or architectural;Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its members and thatthis aim may be pursued,inter alia,by the adoption of common rules in the disability policy field for thepurpose of promoting the protection of political, civil, social, cultural and educational rights;Bearing in mind the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 5)and the principles embodied in the revisedHaving regard to Recommendation No. R (92) 6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on acoherent policy for people with disabilities;Having regard to Resolution ResAP(2001)1 of the Committee of Ministers on the introduction of theprinciples of Universal Design into the curricula of all occupations working on the built environment (“TomarResolution”) and to Resolution ResAP(2001)3 of the Committee of Ministers “Towards full citizenship ofpersons with disabilities through inclusive new technologies”;Having regard to the Ministerial Declaration on People with Disabilities “Progressing towards full participationas citizens”, adopted at the 2nd European Conference of Ministers responsible for integration policies forpeople with disabilities held in Malaga (Spain) on 7 and 8 May 2003;Having regard to the Action Plan of the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council ofEurope, adopted in Warsaw on 17 May 2005, which lays down the principal tasks of the Council of Europe inthe coming years;Having regard to Recommendation Rec(2006)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the“Council of Europe Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation of people with disabilities insociety: improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in Europe 2006-2015”, which states that “theapplication of Universal Design principles is of paramount importance for improving the accessibility of theenvironment and the usability of products”;Having regard to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1592 (2003) “Towards full social inclusion ofpeople with disabilities”;

Having regard to the 1983 Convention concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (DisabledPersons) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (No. C159) and the corresponding ILORecommendation on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) (No. R168) (1983);Having regard to the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons withDisabilities (1993), to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) (2001), and to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006;Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights and fundamental freedomsand the need for people with disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without any discrimination;Considering that failure to promote the rights of citizens with disabilities and to ensure equality ofopportunities is a violation of human dignity;Considering that ensuring equal opportunities for members of all groups in society contributes to securingdemocracy and social cohesion;Convinced that the human rights based approach to ensuring the integration and full participation of peoplewith disabilities in society should be incorporated in all relevant policy areas at international, national,regional and local level;Acknowledging the fact that in the process of integration of people with disabilities into society, a conceptualand methodological shift has been taking place in Europe since the middle of the 20th century, namely a shiftfrom approaches identifying and eliminating existing barriers that prevent the participation of people withdisabilities within society to an emphasis on avoiding the creation of new barriers of any kind, in order toensure equal and democratic rights in society for all individuals, regardless of age, abilities or culturalbackground;Addressing the challenge of developing mainstream solutions with built-in adaptability and compatibility,accommodating as many people as possible, including people with disabilities, on the basis of the generalidea that planning and shaping policies, built environments, information, products and services should bemade responsive to the needs of people with diverse abilities;Acknowledging the work carried out by the Council of Europe’s Committee on the Rehabilitation andIntegration of People with Disabilities (CD-P-RR) and its subordinate body, the Committee of Experts onUniversal Design (Accessibility) (P-RR-UD), and their recommendations on the application of UniversalDesign principles, as they appear in the report “Achieving full participation through Universal Design”,Recommends that the governments of the member states of the Partial Agreement in the Social and PublicHealth Field, having due regard to their specific national, regional or local structures and respectiveresponsibilities:i.promote full participation in community life, and in particular, prevent the creation of new barriers bydesigning, from the outset, solutions that are accessible and usable for all; and in doing so, take into accountand integrate as appropriate in their policy, legislation and practice the principles of Universal Design;ii.be guided, in their processes of integrating Universal Design principles in policy, legislation andpractice, by the measures advocated in the appendix to this resolution;iii.promote the application of Universal Design in the implementation of Recommendation Rec(2006)5of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the Council of Europe Action Plan to promote the rightsand full participation of people with disabilities in society: improving the quality of life of people withdisabilities in Europe 2006-2015;iv.assure to this end the widest possible dissemination of this resolution amongst all parties concerned,for example through awareness-raising campaigns and co-operation with the private sector and civil society,involving, in particular, non-governmental organisations of people with disabilities.

Universal Design is a strategy which aims to make the design and composition of different environments,products, communication, information technology and services accessible and understandable to, as well asusable by, everyone, to the greatest extent in the most independent and natural manner possible, preferably2without the need for adaptation or specialised solutions.The aim of Universal Design is to make the built environment, communication, products and servicesaccessible and usable to the greatest extent possible.It promotes a shift towards user-centred design by following a holistic approach and aiming to accommodatethe needs of people with disabilities, regardless of any changes they might experience in the course of theirlives.Consequently, Universal Design is a concept that extends beyond the issues of mere accessibility ofbuildings for people with disabilities and should become an integrated part of policies and planning in allaspects of society.

2. Recommendations to governments

Governments should accept Universal Design as a philosophy and strategy supporting implementation of fullcitizenship and independent living of all people, including people with disabilities. In doing so, governmentsare invited to take note of the report: “Achieving full participation through Universal Design” drafted by theCommittee of Experts on Universal Design (Accessibility) (Partial Agreement) (P-RR-UD) in co-operationwith Mr S. Ginnerup, Consultant, where the concept of Universal Design is introduced as an adequate3strategy with special attention to the action lines of the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan 2006-2015.Considering that, as stated in Recommendation Rec(2006)5, “the estimated proportion of persons withdisabilities in the total population in Europe is 10%-15%, that the main causes of disability are disease,accidents and disabling conditions among the elderly, and that the number of disabled people is expected togrow steadily due to increasing life expectancy,inter alia…”,governments should put in place measuresaimed at integrating people with disabilities as fully-fledged members of society, allowing for theirparticipation in public life (employment, political participation, etc.) and in promoting social inclusion by givingthem a greater choice and control.Governments should take full advantage of the potential of Universal Design to cope with ageing and theincreasing number of people with disabilities, as implementing and enforcing Universal Design strategies canfacilitate the promotion of equal rights of all citizens in all aspects of society. The overview of historicalevents and the current situation demonstrate that the work done to improve accessibility, including UniversalDesign measures, has led to greater participation of people with disabilities in public life.Public and private bodies should be involved on an equal footing since progress in human rights atinternational, European, national or regional level relies heavily on governments and elective bodies asdriving forces, whereas it is often the private sector that leads the technological advancement.

Member states should take actions incorporating the principles of Universal Design, encompassing allaspects of society, for example the built environment, information and communications technology (ICT)networks, transport, services, tourism, products and goods, information, employment and education.Co-ordinated initiatives should be undertaken through the Council of Europe Action Plan to promote therights and full participation of people with disabilities in society: improving the quality of life of people withdisabilities in Europe 2006-2015, carefully examining how its key action lines relate to Universal Design andaccessibility.In order to develop, implement and maintain Universal Design strategies, incentives should be given to keyactors in different sectors of society, public as well as private. With countries organising their social lifedifferently in Europe, both the market and legislation are important arenas and should be addressed bypolicy makers.2.1.Adoption and decision

Policy makers should first of all adopt a co-ordinated, harmonised and intersectorial approach to UniversalDesign. Policies on disability at national levels should be inclusive and mainstreaming, incorporatingUniversal Design, which should be acknowledged and promoted in the development, implementation andmonitoring of policies. Bearing in mind that these policies touch upon equal opportunity issues, they shouldbe applied at the highest level of legal responsibility, and should include enforcement measures in line with4the framework provided by the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan 2006-2015. Examples of basicissues to be decided upon are the suggested actions to improve participation in political, public and culturallife, to provide for accessible and inclusive communication systems and information, education, builtenvironment, transport systems, health care and research and development. This may be achieved byapplying Universal Design strategies.The input of experienced representatives of user organisations, in particular those where services aremanaged and controlled by people with disabilities, research groups and knowledge centres should beensured at all levels where decisions are made on principles of Universal Design. The divergingrequirements of various categories of people can in this way be taken into account, and involvement ofexperienced user representatives can also help mobilise the critical mass required for triggering politicalaction.2.2.Co-ordination

Policy makers should involve key actors from all sectors of society, public as well as private, centralised aswell as decentralised. Co-ordination is important on a European level, too, as co-ordination between memberstates and sharing of knowledge and best practices simplifies the process for governments, planners anddesigners, in addition to making European societies more coherent for people with disabilities. At nationallevel it should be ensured that different ministries co-ordinate their work from the initial stages, for examplewithin the framework of the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan 2006-2015. Co-ordination between, andstimulation of, public and private partnerships are vital as well. Target agreements should be concluded inorder to allow for such co-ordination.Incentives should be given to designers, architects and engineers to consider the needs of people ofdifferent ages, abilities and cultural origins at the earliest stages of designing, for example through theinclusion of Universal Design requirements in public procurement. This should be accompanied by aninformation flow on Universal Design for professionals, by making compliance with standards on accessibilitycompulsory and by following up with quality assessment procedures.

Governments should set up a framework for the education sector to instil the principles of Universal Design.Education professionals should be involved in this process and contribute to the introduction of the principlesof Universal Design into curricula. In particular all occupations working on the built environment should doso, but those offering services, information and products should also cater for this. Courses in teachingUniversal Design should be set up, and teaching material complying with Universal Design principles shouldbe produced. Considering that it is sometimes difficult for governments to have an influence on curricula, theallocation of money to Universal Design training programmes may be a means of raising awareness withinthe education sector.Courses should be planned at all levels, ranging from basic to more specialised and aimed at differentprofessions, preferably backed by an advisory service from experts on Universal Design.Researchers, knowledge centres and representatives of end user groups should be asked to contribute withclearly defined user requirements for guidelines and standards, based on research comprising a multitude ofuser groups.In order to make marketers and developers target broader user groups and markets, policy makers shouldbe at the forefront by including Universal Design features in public procurement. Job markets in the privateas well as the public sector should be opened to wider groups of people by target agreements withmanagers and employers.2.3.Implementation

Legislative measures and provisions should be introduced in order to create a basic framework for theimplementation of Universal Design strategies.Governments should provide information on legislative measures, social services, products, assistivetechnology etc. to citizens and user organisations empowering users to make their own decisions.Acceptance of Universal Design requires new ways of thinking. Governments should, therefore, raise publicawareness about Universal Design with the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan 2006-2015 as anobvious opportunity.Responsibility in Universal Design issues should be assigned to key persons in organisations to ensureacceptance throughout. A taskforce of influential captains of industry could be one way of promoting socialinteraction between all citizens, especially with people with disabilities. Adequate financial resources shouldbe provided in order to allow for Universal Design action plans to be implemented, and these should beaccompanied by procedures for the conveying of detailed requirements, guidelines and standards.Especially important are plans for improved accessibility to the existing environment, using Universal Designmethods. Non-physical environments, such as information technology and communication, should also beaddressed.Cost-benefit analyses of the application of Universal Design and the communication of the results should becarried out to provide for greater visibility of the effects of Universal Design.Knowledge centres on Universal Design with the defined task of ensuring easy access to information for thepublic and stakeholders should be established. A collection of examples of good practice of the use ofUniversal Design should be provided by such centres.2.4.Evaluation

Resolution ResAP(2007)3

“Achieving full participation through Universal Design”

1.

General principles and definitions

2.

Recommendations to governments