Accessibility Statement

The Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus is committed to making its website www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de accessible in accordance with the Brandenburg Accessible Information Technology Ordinance — BbgBITV.

This accessibility statement applies to the website
www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de

Status of compliance with the requirements
This website is currently not fully accessible. It is only partially compliant with the requirements of the BbgBITV in conjunction with EN 301 549 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1, conformance levels A and AA. This assessment is based on an accessibility audit report dated 17 June 2025. The audit was voluntarily commissioned by Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus e. V. and carried out as an in-depth audit in accordance with EN 301 549/WCAG 2.1. The audit found that the website is not equally accessible to all user groups.

The website is intended to be revised and made more accessible in the future. Due to a lack of financial resources, however, the complete technical and design-related revision cannot currently be implemented. Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus e. V. is committed to gradually reducing existing barriers and to taking the requirements of digital accessibility more strongly into account in future updates.

Non-accessible content
The content and functions listed below are currently not accessible or only partially accessible.

1. Keyboard operation and focus management
Some areas of the website cannot be operated fully or clearly using a keyboard. There are also deficiencies in the focus order and visible focus indication. This can make the website more difficult to use, especially for people with motor impairments.

2. Contrasts and visual perception
Some text, controls or graphical elements do not have sufficient contrast. As a result, content may be difficult to read or recognise for people with impaired vision.

3. Alternative texts and graphical content
Not all images, graphics and graphical controls have meaningful alternative texts. In some cases, functions are communicated only visually. As a result, blind or visually impaired people using screen readers may not be able to fully understand content or functions.

4. Structure, semantics and screen reader compatibility
Some information is not conveyed programmatically, not conveyed sufficiently, or not conveyed correctly. This includes structural information, relationships between content, semantic markup, and the name, role or value of individual controls. This can make use with screen readers and other assistive technologies more difficult.

5. Navigation and orientation
Some requirements for clear and consistent navigation are not fully met. The audit report identified issues including focus order, link purpose, different ways of accessing content, and skipping blocks of content.

6. Reflow, text spacing and responsive display
In certain views, content may not be fully usable or may only be usable to a limited extent when the display is enlarged or when users apply individual text spacing settings. This particularly affects requirements relating to reflow and text spacing.

7. PDF documents and PDF forms
PDF documents and PDF forms may be provided on the website that are currently not fully accessible. This particularly concerns forms and documents that have not been fully implemented in accordance with PDF/UA or the relevant requirements of EN 301 549.

Possible barriers in PDF documents and PDF forms include in particular:
• missing or incorrect document structure,
• incorrectly marked headings,
• missing alternative texts for graphics,
• incorrectly tagged tables or lists,
• form fields without accessible labels,
• incorrect or unclear reading order,
• missing or insufficiently meaningful document title,
• limited usability with screen readers,
• limited keyboard operation of form fields.

If PDF forms are not accessible, users can request the relevant information or forms in an accessible format. Please use the contact details below.

Reason for the current non-compliance
The website does not fully meet the current technical and design requirements for digital accessibility. A fundamental revision or redesign of the website is required, but cannot currently be implemented due to a lack of financial resources.

We are committed to reducing barriers step by step and to giving greater consideration to digital accessibility requirements in future updates.

Preparation of this statement
The assessment is based on the following audit report:
Audit Report – Accessibility Review according to EN 301 549/WCAG 2.1, www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de, dated 17 June 2025

The audit report was prepared by Materna Information & Communications SE, Competence Center Digital Accessibility/Digital Accessibility.

Feedback and contact
Have you noticed any accessibility barriers on our website? Do you need information, documents or PDF forms in an accessible or more accessible format?

Please contact us:
Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus e. V.

Bautzener Straße 140, 03050 Cottbus
E-Mail: info@menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de
Telefon: (03 55) 29 01 33 0

Please describe as precisely as possible on which page or in which document the barrier occurred. If possible, please also provide the link to the relevant page or file.

We will review your request and respond as soon as possible.

Enforcement procedure
If you do not receive a satisfactory response to your accessibility notification or request within a reasonable period of time, you may contact the enforcement body for digital accessibility of the State of Brandenburg.

The enforcement body is responsible for enforcing the right to accessible websites and mobile applications provided by public bodies in the State of Brandenburg. The enforcement procedure is free of charge; legal representation is not required.

Enforcement Body for Digital Accessibility of the State of Brandenburg
Henning-von-Tresckow-Straße 2-13, Haus S, 14467 Potsdam
E-Mail: durchsetzung.bit@mgs.brandenburg.de
Telefon: 0331 866-5048