CRPD/C/GC/2 take part in cultural life on an equal basis with others. States parties are required to take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities: (a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats; (b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats; (c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance. The provision of access to cultural and historical monuments that are part of national heritage may indeed be a challenge in some circumstances. However, States parties are obliged to strive to provide access to these sites. Many monuments and sites of national cultural importance have been made accessible in a way that preserves their cultural and historical identity and uniqueness. 45. “States parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential” (art. 30, para. 2). “States parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials” (art. 30, para. 3). The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled of the World Intellectual Property Organization, adopted in June 2013, should ensure access to cultural material without unreasonable or discriminatory barriers for persons with disabilities, including people with disabilities living abroad or as a member of a minority in another country and who speak or use the same language or means of communication, especially those facing challenges accessing classic print materials. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides that persons with disabilities are entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity. Article 30, paragraph 4, stresses the recognition of and support for sign languages and deaf culture. 46. Article 30, paragraph 5, of the Convention provides that, in order to enable persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States parties shall take appropriate measures: (a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels; (b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources; (c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues; (d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system; (e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities. 47. International cooperation, as described in article 32 of the Convention, should be a significant tool in the promotion of accessibility and universal design. The Committee 13

Select target paragraph3