08/02/2026
Esto no podía dejarse pasar sin una reflexión crítica, incisa y obligada.
La ONU, a través del Comité que debe garantizar los derechos de las personas con discapacidad, bloquea la accesibilidad que hace posible su propio funcionamiento. Es como crear una unidad de terapia intensiva y apagar la electricidad por falta de presupuesto. No es una paradoja técnica: es una contradicción ética flagrante.
Negar intérpretes de lengua de señas y subtitulaje no “limita” el trabajo del Comité: lo anula. Impedir que personas Sordas, incluido un miembro del propio Comité, participen, mientras se proclama la defensa de la inclusión, es hipocresía institucional en estado puro.
El caso del Dr. Hiroshi Tamon expone el colmo de lo absurdo: se le nombra miembro, se reconoce su condición, existe una resolución que ordena "ajustes razonables," y aun así, se le impide ejercer. Eso no es desorganización: es desacato consciente. Nombrarlo y silenciarlo es una forma de exclusión activa.
Invocar la “crisis de liquidez” para justificar esto es grotesco. Los derechos humanos no son un lujo prescindible ni una partida recortable. Aceptar ese argumento equivale a sostener que la dignidad humana opera solo cuando es barata. Esa posición no merece debate: es moralmente inaceptable.
En el 20º aniversario de la , este retroceso no es un error: es un fracaso estructural.
Sin accesibilidad, el Comité es una ficción.
Y defender esa ficción no es una opinión válida: es complicidad ética.
Dr. Francisco Quiñónez
Accessibility isn’t optional: IDA calls out UN cuts blocking Deaf people from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities oversight
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has warned that a lack of funding is undermining accessibility and jeopardising its mandated work.
In a statement published on 2 February, the Committee points to the unequal impact of the UN liquidity crisis on persons with disabilities. Funding shortfalls have resulted in the loss of essential accessibility services, including international sign interpretation and captioning, thereby preventing access to the work of the Committee by Deaf persons and persons with hearing impairments.
It additionally highlights the discontinuation since 2025 of national sign language interpretation, with States now required to pay a surcharge to the UN if the State provides interpretation remotely.
The statement also recalls that one of the Committee’s members, Mr Hiroshi Tamon, who is Deaf and has served since 2025, has not been provided with sign language interpretation to enable him to carry out his duties, as it has been explicitly requested by the recent resolution 80/197 of the UN General Assembly.
In response, IDA is seeking direct engagement with the relevant UN authorities to ensure that the 34th session of the CRPD Committee proceeds as planned from 9 to 27 March 2026, with all necessary accessibility arrangements in place.
“The current situation is unacceptable,” said José María Viera Executive Director of IDA. “Accessibility services for the CRPD Committee are not an optional extra. Without them, the Committee cannot function, and international human rights monitoring is weakened. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Convention, and such regressions should not be tolerated.”
IDA also urges States Parties to the CRPD to fulfil their funding responsibilities, emphasising that accessibility and reasonable accommodation are not optional measures but binding obligations under the Convention and an integral component of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.
World Federation of the Deafblind of the Deaf European Disability Forum Pacific Disability Forum Federation of Hard of Hearing People ASEAN Disability Forum RIADIS World Blind Union World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus African Disability Forum - ADF , World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section World Federation of the Deaf Ry
