In October 2024, the South African Law Reform Commission published the Protection and Promotion of Persons with Disabilities Bill for public comment. The Bill forms part of South Africa’s efforts to domesticate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which South Africa ratified in 2007.

The public can submit comments on the Bill. However, it has become increasingly evident that persons with disabilities themselves are being excluded from the process. I believe the absence of accessible formats (braille and easy-to-read formats) of the Bill speaks to the superficiality of the process. Without braille, easy-to-read, and other accessible formats, persons with disabilities are unable to engage meaningfully with the content of the Bill and provide their inputs and feedback on its substantive content.

Despite multiple efforts from various civil society organisations and activists, there have been no positive responses to the calls for the Bill to be made available in accessible formats. For example, a braille version of the Bill was requested, but this has still not been provided.

The UNCRPD was the result of extensive negotiations and consultations among various stakeholders, including national human rights institutions, a working group consisting of government and NGO representatives, and persons with disabilities themselves. This extensive process ensured that the UNCRPD adequately reflected the needs and aspirations of the disability rights community.

Through consultations which are currently under way, the South African Law Reform Commission is actively seeking feedback from the disability community via organisations representing persons with disabilities. However, it is my view that these consultations are insufficient, for various reasons.

First, resource constraints: Organisations representing persons with disabilities do not have sufficient resources to consult with all persons with disabilities in South Africa, including those who live in remote and rural areas. Second, the lack of accessible formats means that many persons with disabilities cannot meaningfully engage with the Bill’s content. Third, the government has not done enough to raise awareness of the Bill, which means that many persons with disabilities will not provide their input as they are unaware that the Bill is open for public comment.

As the deadline for public comments is fast approaching, it is my hope that the South African Law Reform Commission will extend the deadline to allow for further inputs. Furthermore, I strongly urge collaboration among the relevant state institutions, civil society organisations, and persons with disabilities themselves to ensure that accessible formats are made available so that persons with disabilities may meaningfully engage with the Bill.

Without collaboration between the relevant stakeholders, the slogan of the disability community, ‘Nothing about us without us’, will always remain hollow, and the law will never fully reflect the needs and aspirations of the South African disability community.

Sabeeha Majid is a Researcher and Project Officer at the Disability Rights Unit in the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria.