Declarations by Participants Africa Regional Workshop on the Marrakesh Treaty Nairobi, 29th – 30th November 2021 Panari Hotel

We, participants to the Africa Regional Workshop on the Marrakesh Treaty held on 29^th to 30^th November 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya;

REAFFIRMING the freedom of persons with disabilities to seek, receive and access information on an equal basis with others and through forms of communication of their choice, as defined by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

CONCERNED that in many African States, laws protecting intellectual property rights continue to constitute an unreasonable barrier to access by persons with disabilities to published works in formats accessible to them

ACKNOWLEDGING that the Marrakesh Treaty facilitates access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled by requiring Contracting Parties to provide, in their national copyright laws, limitations or exceptions to facilitate the availability of works in accessible format copies for beneficiary persons

APPRECIATING the partnership between the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the World Blind Union (WBU), the African Disability Forum (ADF) and the African Union of the Blind (AFUB) in convening this Workshop

THEREFORE call upon;

1. All African governments to expedite the ratification, implementation and enforcement of the Marrakesh Treaty and to integrate it into relevant national action plans
2. Development agencies to foster partnerships and allocate resources towards advocacy for the ratification, implementation and enforcement of the Marrakesh Treaty in Africa
3. Content creators and distributors in Africa to adopt inclusive publishing and distribution of content in line with the Marrakesh Treaty
4. The World Blind Union to sustain the capacity development of its national members, particularly in Africa, towards advocacy for the ratification, implementation and enforcement of the Marrakesh Treaty
5. The African Union of the Blind to facilitate mechanisms to popularize the Marrakesh Treaty among member states in order to expedite its ratification, implementation and enforcement
6. National organizations of persons who are blind or visually impaired in Africa to provide leadership in advocating for the ratification, implementation, enforcement and monitoring of the Marrakesh Treaty in their countries.

END

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