Webinar Discusses the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Blind and Partially Sighted Persons

Geneva Academy

18 September 2020

At an online event organized by the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) and the World Blind Union (WBU), United Nations (UN) civil servants, members of UN treaty bodies, diplomats, experts, academics and members of the WBU community discussed the results and recommendations of a WBU report that highlights the greater impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blind and partially sighted persons.

A GHRP Key Feature: Dissemination of Human Rights to a Larger Audience

‘Participating in these kinds of events forms part of our activities aiming at disseminating human rights knowledge to a larger audience – beyond the traditional human rights circles and organizations –, at addressing current human rights challenges and at bringing a various stakeholder at the table’ explains Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

The GHRP notably advised the WBU on how to better introduce and present its report to a larger audience – identifying key stakeholders – and hosted the event on its conference platform to make it accessible in several languages and through sign language and closed captioning.

Human Rights of Blind and Partially Sighted Persons and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The webinar focused on the human right of people who are blind or visually impaired during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WBU report, which provides segregated data, specific examples and testimonials allowed for key discussions on the human rights impact of COVID-19 and specific measures to take to alleviate it.