Minister who uses wheelchair denied entry to Cop26 venue

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

An Israeli minister has described how she was denied entry to the Cop26 summit because as a wheelchair user she was unable to access the Glasgow venue, criticising the refusal to accommodate her as “outrageous”.

Karine Elharrar, Israel’s energy and water resources minister, who has muscular dystrophy, waited for two hours outside after organisers refused to let her enter the compound in the vehicle in which she had arrived, she said.

Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, nations committed to restricting global temperature rises to ‘well below’ 2C
What is Cop26 and why does it matter? The complete guide
Read more
Her office said she was eventually offered a shuttle transport to the summit area, but the shuttle was not wheelchair-accessible, forcing her to return to her hotel in Edinburgh.

Elharrar wrote on Twitter: “I came to Cop26 to meet with my counterparts around the world and promote a common struggle in the climate crisis. It is sad that the UN, which promotes accessibility for people with disabilities, in 2021, does not provide accessibility to its events.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/02/wheelchair-using-minister-denied-entry-to-cop26-venue

[Croney]

1. And it better get fixed fast! Ultimatum thrown down.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/02/middleeast/israel-cop26-wheelchair-access-intl/index.html

[Evolve Dammit]

2. It is outrageous. WTF?

[jimfields33]

3. A lot of places in Europe are not wheelchair friendly

I was astonished by how difficult it would be to use a wheelchair in Europe. The population is getting older and they still are way behind on this issue.

[Evolve Dammit]

4. I understand that having been there a couple times. But this is a world-wide event. Poor planning?

[jimfields33]

10. Oh definitely

[cinematicdiversions]

8. Europe is not as advanced as the United States in certain areas.

This is certainly one of them.

[Evolve Dammit]

9. It's tough to retrofit old historic streets and buildings that were made for horses and way less

people. Even here like Boston, the city streets were laid out like the hub of a wheel which worked great before cars and the millions that now inhabit.
I'll never forget the two old ladies banging on the roof of my car because I was on a street (in a walled city) that was even too narrow for my Reneault. Rule #1 Never drive into a walled city at night. Rule #2: Never drive into a walled city.

[usaf-vet]

5. Seriously! We had a wheelchair bound son. I know their is a solution because we ALWAYS found one.

For example, local EMS will have what is called a stair chair. Its everyday use is to carry injured people downstairs. We used it more than once to carry our son upstairs to an event.

Covid brought the Zoom technology to the forefront. Why not set up a Zoom conference for her in her hotel room.

On the other hand, she should be prepared for these inconveniences in Europe and other places in the world.
Buy and travel with these two solutions. That is what we did. Hire local EMS/paramedics to assist.


I know it doesn't answer the bigger question about better access to all venues in Europe. But it could solve this one-time issue.

[Hortensis]

13. Agree that it's her responsibility and that it's the organizations'.

Unfortunate that she apparently didn't yet have the experience to anticipate and plan for a potential problem. So regrettable that her first day was like this.

As for the organizers' and venue's responsibilties, shame on them.

[FailureToCommunicate]

6. Britan, or the rest of Europe, has nothing like our ADA. It's not surprising that she couldn't...

bring her OWN vehicle into a secure venue. There must be more to the incident.

It is kinda surprising that the shuttle they eventually did offer to take her in was not wheelchair accessible though.

My father advocated for decades -as he did here- for Europe to adopt some measures similar to the ADA, but unfortunately they still have a long way to go, even just for physical accessibility let alone full inclusion.

[LittleGirl]

7. I'm not surprised about this

But surprised that a world event like this didn’t have something set up for wheel chairs. Sheesh

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. Were the organizers informed of her requirements to accommodate a wheelchair?

This should not have been a surprise.

[LeftishBrit]

12. Illegal in the UK, but happens too often nevertheless

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/karine-elharrar-cop26-disability-access-eustice-b1949780.html