Rule 14. Policy-making and planning

• Adequate policies at the national level

• The needs and concerns should be incorporated into general development plans and not treated separately

• Facilitate the development by local communities of programmes and measures for persons with disabilities

  • To develop manuals or check-lists,
  • Provide training programmes for local staff

• Anyone in charge of services, activities or the provision of information in society should be encouraged to accept responsibility for making such programmes available.

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Rule 14 is central to implementation. It affirms as a principle that adequate policies have to be present at the national level, and that the needs and concerns of persons with disability should be “mainstreamed”, that is not treated separately. They should be incorporated into national planning and policy-making.

A second key point is the importance of translating these policies and plans into local level action. They call on governments to facilitate the development by local communities of programmes and measures for persons with disabilities. They suggest two methods, producing manuals and training for local officials, as some of the means to do this.

A third, very important element of Rule 14 is that “Anyone in charge of services, activities or the provision of information in society should be encouraged to accept responsibility for making such programmes available to persons with disabilities.” In other words, every government official, regardless of level, is accountable for the implementation of the Rules.