Web Accessibility

Striving to provide equal access to information

What is web accessibility?

Accessibility means designing and developing websites, tools and technologies in a way that allows people with disabilities to use them. Visit www.w3.org for more info.

 

UN system and web accessibility

Following the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 13 December 2006 (resolution 61/106), the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to progressively implement standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services of the United Nations system. The General Assembly has designated the Department of Global Communications as the focal point for web accessibility in the United Nations, and DGC in turn put together Accessibility Guidelines for United Nations Websites as part of the effort to fulfill its mandate and promote web accessibility in the UN system.

 

UN standards

United Nations accessibility guidelines adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), de-facto international standard for web content accessibility. The current version of the guidelines is WCAG 2.1, and WCAG 3 is under development.

 

UNDP’s performance

In 2021, UNDP developed accessibility guidelines for the creation of UNDP web properties. Included in those guidelines are specific requirements introduced in the design system that all UNDP web properties, new and old, must adhere to.

While design and UX (user experience) is a big part of web accessibility, content production is another key component. This component is addressed by documenting the steps that content authors must take before publishing content to ensure their content meets the accessibility standards, and by providing rules and guidelines (under the web governance framework), as well as training for implementation, monitoring and compliance. 

A third key factor is UNDP’s web management infrastructure. Drupal, our digital experience platform, was also introduced in 2021 and is currently the hosting platform for not only www.undp.org, but all Regional, Country, Representational and Global Policy Centre websites as well. And with Drupal being an open source content management system with a large development community, implementing accessibility principles on all levels of its architecture, it is by default WCAG 2 and ATAG 2 compliant.

UNDP's global website surpasses the baseline standards for web accessibility. Since Regional, Representational, Country and Global Policy Centre sites follow the same design system, it is assumed that they also meet baseline standards; however, they have not been fully evaluated for level of compliance.

 

What makes a website or webpage accessible?

Web accessibility is not simply achieved through technological means. As mentioned above, those who create or produce content on a website are also responsible for practicing accessibility standards. Therefore, proper education, training and monitoring are also needed to maintain standards.

There are three major elements of web production which affect its accessibility:

  1. Layout/design - The visual design of the site should be a tool used to enhance a user's understanding of the content. The use of type, color and image should form common accessible interface patterns. 
    Design considerations include: 
    • Ensuring the actions of visual elements (click, scroll, share, etc.) are understood
    • Designing with adequate type size, hierarchy and contrast in mind
    • Using subtle animation to reinforce meaning without being disruptive
  2. Code related - There are techniques that enable content to be perceived through the wide range of user agents and by users with different cognitive, mental or physical abilities. 
    Examples of such techniques: 
  3. Content production - Even if the site is using universal design and templates coded properly, most of the content is provided by web editors and it has to be produced in an accessible way. 
    Some examples: 
    • Using clear, concise language to make sure content is accessible to widest audience possible
    • Organizing content in easy to follow structures
    • Provide transcripts and alternative descriptions for non-textual content