Brazil presented the government’s progress in building a more inclusive society, highlighting two strategic fronts: the National Easy Language Policy and the educational campaign to combat ableism.
The speech took place during a virtual event for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3rd), organized by the UN.
By detailing initiatives such as the distribution of more than half a million accessible booklets by Fiocruz and Brazil’s leadership in the UN resolution on easy-to-understand communication, Brazil reaffirmed its global commitment to breaking down attitudinal barriers and ensuring that information and rights truly reach all people.
See below the full text of the speech by the National Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Anna Paula Feminella:
Anna Paula Feminella
National Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, Government of Brazil
Mr President,
(I am a light-skinned woman, shoulder-length brown hair, I wear an X outfit and I talk from my work environment)
It is an honor to participate in this very important dialogue on how to promote disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.
President Lula’s government defends social participation, inclusion, equal opportunities and international cooperation as central pillars of public policy, in accordance with the principles of the Doha Political Declaration and the recently adopted Programme of Action for Social Development.
Proof of this are the thematic conferences, held regularly to listen to the population, as well as the permanent representative councils with the mixed participation of government and civil society. The last National Conference on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 2024, had municipal, state and federal stages, bringing together more than 1500 people with disabilities and their representatives for 4 days in Brasilia.
Two of the main demands of the delegates at the Conference have been receiving special attention from the government because they are fundamental in promoting inclusion and fighting discrimination: the fight against ableism and the adoption of easy-to-understand language.
A structural obstacle that impacts the exercise of practically all the rights of people with disabilities is ableism. Internalized in our society, discrimination and stigma against people with disabilities are experienced daily by us people with disabilities. It is important to name and share ways to face this attitude that is so normalized in our society.
Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reminds us that awareness raising is a core obligation of States. It is not optional. It is not decorative. It is fundamental to dismantle cultural, attitudinal and structural barriers that still prevent millions of people with disabilities from fully enjoying their rights.
Discrimination is not born in institutions. It begins in society, in everyday interactions, in the narratives that shape expectations and opportunities. Therefore, transforming social attitudes is a prerequisite for transforming public systems — in education, health, work, justice, care, or political participation.
A policy that does not address the culture of discrimination remains incomplete. And a society that maintains prejudices will inevitably reproduce exclusion — even when inclusive laws and programs already exist.
In 2019, the National School of Public Health of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/Fiocruz, linked to the Ministry of Health, began conducting research in collaboration with hundreds of people with and without disabilities from all parts of Brazil. From this research, a series of booklets in easy language was produced on the main issues that affect people with disabilities, including ableism. All this knowledge production addresses the confrontation of this system of oppression, in order to support the identification of our daily ableisms and the reflection on ways of coping. In this process, we reaffirm that this is a commitment of the whole society: to recognize and value the different ways of being in the world.
More than half a million of these booklets have already been distributed, including at international events, where they have been very well received. The cover of the booklet “Fight Ableism” shows a man with a prosthesis in his leg, with his arms open, pushing the two side walls, in a confrontational posture. These materials are accessible and digital versions, are available in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French and can be downloaded by the QR code that appears in this presentation.
Another initiative is the promotion of easy-to-understand communication, which was the subject of UN General Assembly resolution 77/240, proposed by Brazil and adopted in 2022. In addition to being an important resource of communicational accessibility aimed at people with intellectual disabilities, accessible information benefits a wide audience, especially the most vulnerable segments. It is an important tool for the implementation of public policies and the fight against disinformation.
In this sense, our government recently approved the national policy of Easy language in public administration so that information of public utility is better understood by the entire population.
As a way to encourage international cooperation in this area, this year, in partnership with the Reference Center for Inclusive Education CREI SESC SENAC, in Rio de Janeiro, we promoted the Latin American Conference on Plain Language and Easy Read, which was attended by experts from all over the world committed to promoting the right to understand. Participants gathered at the meeting launched the Rio Declaration on Accessible Language and Inclusive Participation. We invite everyone to learn about the Declaration and commit to moving towards strengthening accessible language as a cross-cutting human right. We highlight that the practical guide Simple as This, how to use Easy Language, is also available for free in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
The Brazilian government strives to include everyone, on equal terms with others, since coexistence is the key to inclusion. In addition to the inclusive education policy, which reached more than 92% of students with disabilities in regular schools, Brazil applies quotas for people with disabilities in universities, at work and reservation of vacancies in the public service. Institutional advertising includes actors with disabilities in public communication. People with disabilities should not only appear in government advertising and social media on commemorative dates, nor exclusively in specific agencies. They must be always present in advertising pieces, videos, billboards from all sectors. Representativeness contributes to reaffirming the inclusive institutional image, as well as opening space for professions such as models, actors and creators with disabilities.
It is always important to remember that all public policies must necessarily be transversal, intersectoral, accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities at all stages. Nothing without people with disabilities.
In conclusion, we would like, to invite everyone to launch with us this campaign to combat ableism to mark our collective fight against stereotypes and prejudices and promote respect for the dignity of people with disabilities. The “Fight Ableism” guide, posters and digital materials for social media are accessible and available free of charge in several languages. This is a call to confront inequalities and strengthen social participation, accessibility and inclusion.”
