Comments from Dr. Muhammad Shabbir, Co-coordinator, IGF-DCAD.
On 20 June 2025, the WSIS+20 Elements Paper was published as part of the WSIS+20 review process, outlining thematic priorities intended to guide negotiations ahead of the WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting in December 2025 and to inform the drafting of the forthcoming Zero Draft, which will consolidate stakeholder input into actionable proposals.
The position of IGF-DCAD (Internet Governance Forum — Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability) on the paper is that despite decades of advocacy, the persistent digital divide facing persons with disabilities is only mentioned tangentially throughout the WSIS+20 Elements Paper. Given that over 1.5 billion people globally live with disabilities, there must be a stronger, explicit commitment to digital accessibility woven into every thematic area, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, inclusion must be explicitly defined to encompass accessibility for persons with disabilities as a non-negotiable component of people-centered development, recognizing that people with lived experience of disability bring essential insights and expertise to digital governance.
Please read Dr. Muhammad Shabbir’s full comments.