BBC
NEWS Disabled rights delay criticised The UK government has been criticised for failing to bring new rights for disabled people into law. Ministers were supposed to have ratified the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities by the end of 2008. A committee of both Houses of Parliament said this was "extremely disappointing" and risked "alienating" disabled people. The government says it hopes to complete ratification by the spring. It also says it has to ensure the convention can be implemented. The UK was among the first of 137 countries that have signed the convention so far. Less than a third of those have ratified the treaty. The legislation aims to guarantee equal treatment for disabled people in education, employment and every other area of life. The delay has come because ministers have been working on a series of reservations - or opt-outs. The report by the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights strongly criticises the government for a "lack of transparency" and an "unacceptable" failure to adequately consult disabled people over the proposed opt-outs. These relate to immigration, education and the armed forces. Committee Chair, Andrew Dismore MP, said: "The UK has led the field in pushing for the acceptance of this convention and advocating the rights of people with disabilities to equal treatment. "That is why we are particularly disappointed at the trouble we and disability organisations have had getting information about the large number of legal exceptions the government wishes to make to this convention, and at the delays in ratifying it. 'Consultation needed' "The government should ratify by spring 2009. If reservations are necessary they should be fully justified and compatible with the convention. "And we call on the government to consult properly with the people who will be affected by these policies as they develop them". Disability campaigner and founder of the UN Convention Campaign Coalition, Rachel Hurst criticised ministers for not revealing what their reservations are based on. She said: "The government has not been really open with us about exactly what the reservations are. "One is around immigration and we don't understand what that's going to be." She added: "The armed forces are being rather ridiculous about trying to say that they can't possibly employ disabled people in the field but of course nobody's expecting them to and the convention doesn't require it." Dr Alice Maynard, who chairs disability rights charity Scope, said the government had dragged its feet on this "hugely important" treaty. She said: "We hope the select committee's findings will encourage the government to accelerate its efforts to ratify this vital treaty in full and without further delay to ensure disabled people in the UK have full rights." A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "The UK takes the ratification of international treaties seriously and we do not ratify them until we are in a position to ensure we can implement their provisions. "The work involved has necessarily been complex and time-consuming." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/7810211.stm Published: 2009/01/04 11:39:54 GMT © BBC MMIX
PDF version 
On 26 February, the UK Ambassador to the United Nations signed the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on behalf of the United Kingdom. In doing so, the UK joined over 80 other UN Member States who have so far signed.
The Optional Protocol provides a procedural avenue allowing individuals to bring petitions before the UN Committee that will monitor the Convention, and for that Committee to make inquiries into alleged grave or systematic violations of Convention rights.
Signing the Optional Protocol is an important step which is further evidence of the Government's firm commitment to the Convention.
The decision to sign the Optional Protocol was reached in the light of work towards ratification of the Convention itself. The Government is now close to starting the Parliamentary procedures required for ratification, and hopes to make a separate announcement on that soon.
Find out more about the UN Convention on the ODI UN Convention pages
What is it and why does it matter?
The Convention is an international treaty which aims to protect and promote the rights of disabled people everywhere. The Convention makes it explicit that disabled people have and should enjoy the same human rights as non-disabled people.
There’s been an important further development which means we’re now closer to ratifying the Convention.
Parliamentary process for Ratification begins…
On 3 March, the Minister for Disabled People, Jonathan Shaw, announced the start of the Parliamentary process to ratify the UN Convention.
This process started with two key documents being laid before the Houses of Parliament. A Command Paper which includes the full Convention text and an Explanatory Memorandum which gives details of the Government’s proposals for ratification and information about proposed reservations.
These documents have been laid to enable Parliament to scrutinise the Government’s proposals. They will also help disabled people and their organisations to understand what is planned and enable them to comment on the proposed reservations if they wish to do so. This could be done by contacting the relevant Department directly and by sending views to MPs or Peers who have the opportunity to seek a debate on the Government’s proposals.
Copies of the Command Paper and its Explanatory Memorandum, along with the Minister’s statement and Equality and Regulatory Impact Assessments are available on the ODI website at www.odi.gov.uk/working/theunconvention.asp
UK's human rights and equality Commissions call for fresh impetus on delivering disability rights
08 June 2009
The four human rights and equality commissions of the UK will today collectively call for a fresh impetus to ensuring disabled people are able to participate fully and equally in society. The call comes at a Parliamentary Seminar to mark the ratification by the UK of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
The Convention is the first human rights treaty of the 21st century. It represents a major step in helping to ensure that the rights of disabled people are protected.
Many of the rights in the Convention covering health, education , housing and participation are still not fully protected in UK law. Evidence gathered by the EHRC shows that many disabled people continue to experience restricted opportunities:
- People with learning disabilities face serious barriers to accessing healthcare, in some cases resulting in deaths which could have been avoided
- Many disabled people are subjected to violence and hostility on a daily basis which prevent them from actively participating in society
- More than one third of disabled adults of working age live in poverty, with over half not in paid employment
- At age 16 disabled people are twice as likely not to be in any form of employment, education or training. Disabled people aged 16-24 are also twice as likely as their peers to have no formal qualifications.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) have been designated under the Convention as the component parts of the UK's 'independent mechanism' and are tasked with promoting and monitoring the UK and devolved government's implementation of the convention .
Speaking ahead of the Seminar EHRC Commissioner Baroness Jane Campbell said:
"Ratification of the disability Convention is an important and historic milestone, but we cannot allow the Convention to now sit on a shelf gathering dust. The Convention will only have meaning to disabled people in what Eleanor Roosevelt famously referred to as 'those small places, close to home'.
“That is why we want to see the Convention guiding future legislative and policy development in all the UK jurisdictions, and we want to see the withdrawal of the reservations that the UK has declared on ratification.”
Her words were supported by the Chief Commissioner for the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Bob Collins. He said: “We look forward to the development of an effective UK-wide plan of actions with clear timelines. There must now be real implementation on the ground to ensure significant, positive, difference to the lives of people with disabilities.”
NIHRC Chief Commissioner Monica McWilliams commented:
“The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission urges government to sign up to the Convention in full as we can see no reason for the UK to do less than other countries to protect the rights of disabled people.”
Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission added:
“This Convention makes absolutely clear that persons with disabilities are holders of rights and not recipients of welfare. Implementing this Convention will require that the UK, and the Scottish Government, broaden their actions on disability from a narrow focus on discrimination and equality to a holistic action plan to fulfil all human rights of persons with disabilities. This must be done with their active participation.”
The seminar will be hosted by Andrew Dismore MP, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Speakers include Jonathan Shaw MP - Minister for Disabled People, Mark Harper MP - Shadow Minister for Disabled People, John Barrett MP - Liberal Democrat Disability Spokesperson and Lord Hannay of Chiswick - Chair, United Nations Association of the UK.
Notes to Editors:
- The Parliamentary Seminar to mark the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities will take place on Monday 8th June in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Westminster from 17:30 - 18:45.
- The Seminar is sponsored by the Equality and Human Rights Commission with the Scottish Human Rights Commission, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the UK Disabled Peoples Council, Disability Awareness in Action and Scope.
- The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is the first human rights treaty of the 21st Century. It will be ratified by the UK on Monday 8th June 2009, but subject to four reservations that limit its application in the UK. The last UN human rights treaty to be ratified by the UK Government was the Children's Convention in 1992.
- The Convention requires Government to designated one or more 'independent mechanisms' to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention. In the UK, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Scottish Human Rights Commission, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland will share this role.
Related Links:
Press release: Commission welcomes Government's commitment to disabled people's human rights
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/commissions-call-for-fre...
People with autism are condemned to financial hardship by poor employment and benefits support, a charity says.
The National Autistic Society (NAS) is calling for a national strategy to help people with autism into work.
NAS chief executive Mark Lever said people with autism experienced "anxiety, confusion, delays and discrimination" when using services.
The Department for Work and Pensions said it was "determined to provide the best support possible" to them.
 |
 It is absolutely vital (people with autism) are able to access the right help and services 
Mark Lever, National Autistic Society
|
Launching its "Don't Write Me Off" campaign, the NAS says a majority of the over 300,000 working age adults with autism in the UK want to work but only 15% are in full-time paid employment.
The charity says a key problem is a lack of understanding of autism among Jobcentre Plus staff, who determine eligibility for benefits and provide employment support.
It is calling for the government to introduce autism coordinators who would work with frontline staff, local employers and employment support services.
Mr Lever said: "It is absolutely vital [people with autism] are able to access the right help and services if seeking employment and are supported financially when they cannot work."
'Multitude of problems'
The charity says many people with autism are experiencing difficulties when applying for the new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
The ESA replaced incapacity benefit in October 2008. The change was designed to encourage more people into work if they are able.
But the NAS says many people with autism are experiencing a "multitude of problems".
Paula Wharmby said she found the process of applying for the ESA inflexible and intimidating.
"It was clear nobody knew anything about autism and a report from my psychiatrist on my difficulties was completely ignored.
"I was denied the benefit and had to go to a tribunal to have the decision overturned.
"The system just isn't working for people like me."
In a statement, the DWP said it was working with the National Autistic Society and other groups to ensure help was available, and that the government would publish its Autism Strategy in due course.
The statement added: "We understand that people with autism have complex needs so we have arrangements in place to help, such as bringing along someone to represent them in adviser interviews if needed.
"We are determined to provide the best support possible to help them get into work, which is why our wide range of personalised support looks at what people can do, rather than what they can't."
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
What does it mean for you?
A guide for disabled people and disabled people's organisations
If you are a disabled person, the United Nations Convention on the rights of People with Disabilities (the Convention) is for you.
The Convention is a new international human rights agreement that:
- recognises that we are all equal. Disabled people have the same rights as everyone else to freedom, respect, equality and dignity.
- brings together all our basic human rights in one place
- describes what government has agreed to do to make these rights real.
The Convention was created because often our human rights are not respected and we face many barriers to inclusion in society.
The Convention is not just a paper ‘declaration’ without any teeth. It requires government to take action to remove barriers and give disabled people real freedom, dignity and equality. We can use it in lots of different ways to make sure our rights are respected and to get a better deal.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is working hard to raise awareness of the Convention among disabled people, legal advisers and public bodies.
The Commission's role is to ensure Britain makes rapid progress towards making the Convention rights a reality for disabled people. We have produced this guide so that you can find out:
- What your human rights are and how they are protected.
- What difference the Convention could make to your life.
- Hw you can be involved in putting the Convention into practice.
- How you can use the Convention to challenge injustice and improve services.
This guide is for people living in England, Wales and Scotland. We hope you find it useful. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have produced a separate guide which explains how the Convention will work in Northern Ireland.
Mike Smith
Commissioner and Chair of the Disability Committee
Equality and Human Rights Commission
More details
- Read the guide online:
- Watch a video of the guide in British Sign Language and with subtitles
- Read an Easy Read version of the guide
- Download the guide in PDF format
- Download the guide in Word format
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/a-guide-to-the-un-disabi...
The government’s welfare reforms could cause it to breach its obligations to disabled people under the UN disability convention, peers have suggested.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell said the government’s disability living allowance (DLA) reforms and the closure of the Independent Living Fund to new applicants could lead to a breach of its duties under the UN Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities.
She said the government had a duty under the convention to ensure disabled people had an adequate standard of living, and pointed out that a third of disabled people already live below the poverty line, even before the extra costs of disability are taken into account.
Lord Freud, the Conservative welfare reform minister, said the government was on “a journey towards complete equality for disabled people”.
He added: “It would be naive to claim that within one bound we shall produce total equality. This has been a long journey, which started many years ago.
“We are committed to press on and make sure that as we move ahead we produce greater equality and improve the lot of disabled people steadily as the years progress.”
Baroness Greengross, a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, asked whether, in the light of government welfare reform announcements around incapacity benefit (IB) and DLA, planned cuts to public spending could impede the implementation of the UN convention.
Lord Freud said that “in our welfare reforms we will look precisely at making sure that those who need support the most continue to receive it”.
Lord Knight, a Labour peer, asked how the government had involved disabled people in decisions which would cut £360 million from the DLA budget in 2013 and more than £1 billion in 2014.
Lord Freud said the government would “go through the normal budget processes in terms of ensuring that equality and human rights issues are dealt with”.
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
1 December 2010
Professor Nora Groce of UCL’s Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre describes the increased risk of HIV/AIDS faced by people with disabilities, to mark World Disability Day.
“UCL’s Leonard Cheshire Centre on Disability and Inclusive Development in the Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health is one of the few research centres anywhere in the world that concentrates on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in international development and global health efforts.
I am the Chair of the centre, and as part of its work, I will be speaking at two major events to mark the upcoming United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities: the first at the United Nations (UN) in New York on 2 December and the second at the US State Department in Washington DC on 3 December.
I have been part of a group of researchers and disability advocates working on the increased risk of HIV/AIDS faced by people with disabilities in both developed and developing countries. This risk exists because people with disabilities often receive little AIDS information, services or resources to allow them to know how to protect themselves, and have less access to care and support should they become infected.
Working with UNAIDS (the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), I will be part of a panel of speakers on 2 December, co-sponsored by UNAIDS and the UN’s Department of Social and Economic Affairs. The panel is intended to bridge events on World AIDS Day on 1 December and World Disability Day on 3 December, to call attention to the issue of disability and AIDS. Discussion of disability and AIDS will be the focus of the panel at the US State Department in Washington the following day as well.
The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 – Universal Access and Human Rights – provides a unique platform from which to call upon the global AIDS community to review and revise programmes and policies to make sure persons with disabilities are included in all AIDS outreach efforts.
According to the UN, 650 million people – 10% of the world’s population – live with a physical, sensory (blindness, deafness), intellectual or mental health disability and often are among the poorest and most marginalised of all the world’s citizens.
The new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) guarantees full and equal access to all international development and global health efforts. For millions of persons with disabilities in both the developed and developing world, inclusion in AIDS efforts is an important component of the new rights guaranteed in the UN Convention.”
Image: The universal sign for disability with the AIDS ribbon, designed by Professor Groce with a graduate student, has become the figure used globally for disability and AIDS work and campaigns
UCL context
UCL’s Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre is dedicated to generating a body of research about disability issues that helps to improve the lives of people with disabilities, and those of their families and their communities, around the world.
The centre aims to:
- undertake field research studies in participation with Leonard Cheshire Disability programmes implemented globally, partners of the Global Alliance, and many other research partners
- provide expertise for policy makers and other stakeholders (non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, other donor agencies) primarily in developing countries. This includes the areas of legislation, inclusion, empowerment and mainstreaming within existing policies.
- participate in academic networks, and to share research experience and knowledge through field surveys, publications and teaching about disabled people, vulnerable groups and international development, and through supervision of student and fellow research.
http://www.unaids.org/en/