Adoption of key concepts and definitions

1. Disability

The United Nations defines persons with disabilities as those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.[1]

2. E-accessibility

E-accessibility – also known as electronic accessibility, or digital accessibility – refers to the ease of use of ICTs, such as the Internet and online services, by persons with disabilities, and is based on the principle that websites should be developed so that all users can access the information.[2]

In order to promote e-accessibility, websites, tools, digital equipment, applications, web-based government services, and digital content must be designed and developed so that people with disabilities, of all ages, can use them. More specifically, individuals must be able to:

  1. Perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web.
  2. Contribute to digital content and online applications.[3]

3. Inclusion

Inclusion refers to the process of giving special attention and treatment to issues that are not automatically covered in (meaning that they fall outside the scope of) standard social care, assistance and development programmes.


[1] United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx.

[2] World Health Organization, on e-accessibility: [Note to TPU: link in ST doesn’t work – my translation here is adapted from the content on this link: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/what-is-e-accessibility

[3] World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), on e-accessibility: [Note to author: Arabic translation of W3C differs from earlier version] https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/.