superiors in instances where a law enforcement officer has been found to have acted improperly. The AOB welcomes these programmes and will continue working hard to ensure law enforcement officers adopt a better, less coarse approach to the issues of racism and discrimination. AOB continues to work hard in this area Discrimination based on illness or disability ELIMINATING BARRIERS FOR THE DISABLED Every year, numerous disabled people contact the AOB after having been confronted by barriers in public places, e.g. in hospitals, nurseries, homes for the elderly, on public transport, at the offices of public authorities, or at courts where the facilities or access for the disabled are inadequate. The lack of access to the media and the ORF’s limited amount of programming for those with hearing disabilities or visual impairment have also come under fire. Thanks to the Social Law Amendment Act 2010, some action has been taken to answer the AOB’s call to eliminate various existing barriers which were preventing access to the law. Now, sign language interpreters are provided cost-free on demand for all proceedings involving social security institutions. Some minor successes Like the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons is primarily directed at the state, which must uphold the rights the declaration sets forth. The latter declaration puts particular emphasis on infrastructure, and many of the barriers faced by the disabled in their everyday lives are physical barriers. Overcoming them requires comprehensive efforts on the part of the state and society and the willingness to shoulder the resulting financial burden. It is not just a question of somehow integrating people with physical or mental disabilities. Instead, it is all about ensuring from the outset that they can participate in activities at all levels and to the full extent. One of the prerequisites for this is to ensure that barriers are quickly eliminated. Serious setbacks 39