Universal Periodic Review

Offer barrier-free websites, subtitling of public and private TV broadcasters, barrier-free access to theatre and film presentations, museums, galleries, etc

Proponent:

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

Although Austria 2024 has made progress in the accessibility of services for people with disabilities, many challenges remain. In the area of sign language interpreting services in particular, there is still a significant shortage of trained interpreters. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, only around 130 sign language interpreters are available for around 10,000 deaf people in Austria, which significantly limits equal participation in social life (update from the Austrian Disability Council, 2024: https://www.behindertenrat.at/2024/09/ausbau-von-gebaerdensprachdolmetsch/). While the new funding guideline from the Ministry of Social Affairs, which aims to increase the number of interpreters, is an important improvement, it is also a reaction to the ongoing bottlenecks and not the result of successful prevention. The expansion of training opportunities for sign language interpreters, both in university and non-university programmes, is urgently needed to meet the demand. Nevertheless, it remains questionable whether these measures will be able to close the existing gaps in the short term. In addition, there is still a need for optimisation in the area of digital accessibility. Although services in plain language, subtitles and sign language interpreters have now been
have now been integrated into audiovisual formats, but the comprehensive implementation is inadequate. Not all public and private institutions offer this accessibility in the same quality and frequency, which continues to make it difficult for people with disabilities to participate BMASGK. So while the efforts are a step in the right direction, the actual implementation and sufficient provision of resources remain an ongoing challenge (offers from the BMASGK: <a href= https://www.sozialministerium.at/Services/Neuigkeiten-und-Termine/gebaerdensprach-dolmetschangebote.html< https://www.sozialministerium.at/Services/Neuigkeiten-und-Termine/gebaerdensprach-dolmetschangebote.html).