Human Rights | Democracy | Disability Inclusion | Civic Participation
Quote of the Day
“We need the leadership of persons with disabilities, particularly women, and their representative organizations.” — António Guterres, United Nations Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, June 14, 2022.
Being Included Is Not the Same as Being Heard
Imagine a community meeting organized to discuss improvements to public transportation.
Residents are invited. Local authorities attend. Everyone is encouraged to share their concerns.
But the meeting takes place upstairs in a building without a lift.
A woman who uses a wheelchair cannot enter.
Later, the organizers announce that the community was consulted.
Was it?
This is the uncomfortable question behind António Guterres’ words.
We sometimes mistake making decisions for people with giving them a voice in those decisions.
A school may introduce measures for children with disabilities without speaking to their parents. A council may discuss accessible roads without inviting residents who use wheelchairs. An employer may proudly announce an inclusion policy while overlooking the experiences of employees with disabilities.
Good intentions do not automatically produce good decisions.
People who live with these barriers often understand them in ways that others do not. Their experiences are not inconveniences to be accommodated after decisions have been made. They are knowledge that should help shape those decisions.
And participation must go beyond invitations. People need to be able to enter the room, understand the discussion, express themselves and influence the outcome.
Perhaps the true test of inclusion is not how many people we invite to the table, but whether those who have long been excluded finally have a meaningful say in what happens there.
Source: United Nations — Secretary-General’s Remarks, June 14, 2022.
Did You Know?
The right to vote includes the right to vote independently, even when you have a disability.
Imagine arriving at a polling station, ready to choose your country’s next leader.
You have made your decision. You know whom you want to vote for.
But the voting booth is upstairs, and you use a wheelchair.
Or perhaps you are blind, and the voting materials are presented in a way you cannot independently identify.
Should exercising your democratic right depend on somebody carrying you upstairs or learning which candidate you support?
International human rights law says voting must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities protects their right to vote and stand for election. It requires accessible voting procedures and materials, protection of ballot secrecy and, when requested, assistance from someone the voter chooses.
Cameroon ratified this Convention on September 28, 2023. It entered into force for the country on October 28, 2023.
Ahead of Cameroon’s October 2025 presidential election, Elections Cameroon introduced tactile voting sleeves intended to help visually impaired citizens vote more independently.
That was a welcome initiative.
However, reporting by Disability News Africa after the election documented complaints from voters with disabilities about inaccessible polling stations and the unavailability of promised voting materials at some locations.
These experiences remind us that announcing an accessible system is different from ensuring that people can actually use it.
A voter with a disability should not have to surrender their privacy, dignity or independence simply to exercise a right enjoyed by other citizens.
A democracy cannot claim to hear every voice while leaving some citizens struggling to reach the ballot box.
Sources: United Nations — Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 29; UN Treaty Collection — Cameroon’s ratification; Disability News Africa — reporting on barriers faced by voters with disabilities in Cameroon, October 2025.
For Discussion
Should an election be considered fully inclusive when some citizens cannot vote independently or in complete privacy?
What practical changes would make the greatest difference for voters with disabilities in Cameroon and elsewhere in Africa?
And beyond elections, how often do our communities make decisions affecting persons with disabilities without first listening to them?
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