Rwanda on Monday, October 25, acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty, thereby enhancing ongoing national efforts to promote and realize the rights of persons with disability.

By establishing a set of limitations and exceptions to traditional copyright law, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)-administered Marrakesh Treaty makes the production and international transfer of specially-adapted books for people with blindness or visual impairments easier.

Donathille Kanimba, the Executive Director of the Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB), told The New Times that they are particularly "delighted” by the development, having introduced the preliminary documents and discussions that culminated into Rwanda acceding to the Marrakesh Treaty.

She said: "This is a huge opportunity for us seeing that we will be able to easily have access to the much needed books and other literary works in accessible formats. We are so happy.”

Amb. Marie-Chantal Rwakazina, Rwanda’s envoy to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the UN, the World Trade Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, noted that the Government of Rwanda continues to recognize the important role that the pact will have in expanding access of persons with visual impairments or with other print disabilities to literary and artistic works.

She said: "Today, one-third of students with disabilities in secondary schools are blind or visually impaired, and so having an avenue in which we can increase access to learning materials in accessible formats for the future generation is of paramount importance.

"We believe that the Marrakesh Treaty will contribute effectively to our national efforts to promote and realize the rights of persons with disability, in an inclusive manner, as usual, leaving no one behind. I am pleased to deposit Rwanda's instrument of accession today, and I am looking forward to continued engagement and collaboration.”

The WIPO Director General, Daren Tang, noted that it is estimated that there are about 23,000 blind people in Rwanda, and up to 90 per cent of them suffer from visual loss. Thanks to the Marrakesh Treaty, he said, Rwanda stands to gain access to more than 630,000 accessible books. 

All WIPO member states are eligible to become party to the Marrakesh Treaty. There are 81 contracting parties and Rwanda now becomes the 82nd.

To become a member, a state must deposit an "instrument" – which must be signed by the Head of State, the Head of Government or the Minister of Foreign Affairs – declaring its intention with the Director-General of WIPO.

The WIPO's newest treaty helps hundreds of millions of people living with visual impairments around the world. The Marrakesh VIP Treaty is a treaty on copyright adopted in Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 27, 2013.

It achieved the deposit of 20 instruments of ratification or accession by eligible parties needed for entry into force on June 30, 2016, and entered into force three months later, on September 30, 2016.