Dear
Claire,
As
promised, I’m going to go further into the issues that are raised by the Tory’s
plan to withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights and repeal the
UK’s Human Rights Act.
Today I’m going to include the second part of Kitty S Jones’ blog. Once again, I won’t summarise or shorten it. It’s hard-hitting, and yet another example of governmental abuse. It’s an insult to the intelligence of the electorate that the Tories are trying to convince everyone that this erosion of human rights is necessary and for the greater good.
It’s clearly a ruse to stop the Tories being taken to task over their abhorrent treatment over so many people. That the UN have started investigating this tells us all we need to know about this Government’s failure to act in the interests of the majority, whilst feathering the nests of those at the top of the economic tree.
Although these investigations are conducted
confidentially, this has obviously leaked out somewhere. How inconvenient that
this has come to light before the election. Anyway, let’s get into it. As yesterday, there are some original links within the text that provide more background information.
============
“The UN Committee has the power to launch an inquiry if it receives “reliable information” that violations have been committed, and as the Labour Government signed up to the protocol in 2009 – the UNCRPD and the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights – it is legally binding. Austerity measures and welfare “reforms” such as the bedroom tax (which is in itself established by the UN as being a contravention of human rights law) mean the rights of disabled people to independent living, work, and adequate social security have been seriously undermined, causing significant hardship.
“Such
investigations are necessarily conducted “confidentially”, so the UNCRPD
has formally refused to confirm or deny that the UK is being
investigated. However, a recording has emerged (one hour and twenty five minutes long) of
a former CRPD member seemingly revealing that the inquiry has been launched.
“Professor Gabor Gombos, who is the co-founder of Voice of Soul, Hungary’s first organisation for ex-users and survivors of Mental Health Institutions, and co-chair of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, can be heard informing the audience that CRPD has “started its first inquiry procedure against the United Kingdom”.
“He
informs the Sixth International Disability Law Summer School at the National University
of Ireland in Galway, June, that inquiries are only used where there are
suspicions of “grave” violations of human rights. He says: “Where the issue
has been raised and the government did not really make effective actions to fix
the situation – it is a very high threshold thing – the violations should
really be grave and very systemic.”
“Earlier this year, the level of UK benefits paid in pensions, jobseeker’s allowance and incapacity benefits was deemed “manifestly inadequate” because it falls below 40% of the median income of European states, by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
“The
finding in an annual review of the UK’s adherence to the council’s
European social charter is likely to provoke a fresh dispute between the
government and European legal structures. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and
pensions secretary dismissed it as “lunacy”. Not an open, accountable Minister,
or government, then.
“The Council of Europe, which has 47 member states, said the conclusions were legally binding in the same way that judgements relating to the European Convention on Human Rights had to be applied by member states.
“Aoife
Nolan, professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of
Nottingham and a trustee of Just Fair said government policies were
compromising disabled people’s human rights.
“Not only do these policies cause significant hardship and anxiety, but they also amount to impermissible backward steps in relation to disabled people’s human rights, contrary to the UN human rights framework.”
“The
report was submitted to the United
Nations, which is in the
process of reviewing UK compliance with its obligations to the rights of
disabled people.
“Last year, Amnesty International condemned the erosion of human rights of disabled people in UK, and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights conducted an inquiry into the UK Government’s implementation of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the right to live independently and to be included in the community. The inquiry, which began in 2011, has received evidence from over 300 witnesses.
“The
inquiry highlighted just how little awareness, understanding and employment of
the Convention there is by the Tory-led Government. Very few of the witnesses
made specific reference to the Convention in their presented evidence, despite
the inquiry being conducted by the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, with
the terms of reference clearly framing the inquiry as being about Article 19 of
the UNCRPD.
“This finding is of international importance”, said Oliver Lewis, MDAC Executive Director, “Our experience is that some Governments are of the view that the CRPD is nothing more than a policy nicety, rather than a treaty which sets out legal obligations which governments must fulfil.”
“The report is particularly critical of the Minister for Disabled People (Maria “Expenses cheat” Miller, at the time) who told the Committee that the CRPD was “soft law”. The Committee criticised this as “indicative of an approach to the treaty which regards the rights it protects as being of less normative force than those contained in other human rights instruments.” (See the full report.) The Committee’s view is that the CRPD is hard law, not soft law.
“Dr Hywel Francis MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “We are concerned to learn that the right of disabled people to independent living may be at risk through the cumulative impact of current reforms. Even though the UK ratified the UNCPRD in 2009 with cross-party support, the Government is unable to demonstrate that sufficient regard has been paid to the Convention in the development of policy with direct relevance to the lives of disabled people. The right to independent living in UK law may need to be strengthened further, and we call on the Government and other interested organisations to consider the need for a free-standing right to independent living in UK law.”
“The Government is meant to include disabled people in making sure people have their human rights upheld. We are concerned that a part of the Law on treating people equally and fairly (Equality Act section 149) does not say any more that disabled people should be involved. This is a step backwards.”
“In
other words, the Tory-led Coalition has quietly removed this part of the
Equality Act.
“The budget of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which was established by the Labour Party when they were drafting this flagship policy, is being reduced by over 60%, its staffing cut by 72%, and its powers restricted by the Coalition. Provisions that are being repealed by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (ERR) Bill include the duty on public authorities to have due regard to the need to reduce socio-economic inequalities.
“Savage Legal aid cuts from April 2013 have also contributed significantly to creating further barriers to ensuring Equal Rights law protect us, and the Tory-driven Legal Aid Bill also contravenes our right to a fair trial under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“This
is not a coincidental multiple policy timeline, but rather a very coordinated
political attack on potential legal challenges at a time when Tory-led severe
and devastating multiple welfare and provision cuts have affected disabled
people so disproportionately. The changes, which came into effect in April,
will hit “the same group of disabled people
over and over again”.
“Our political freedoms and human rights must not be subservient to Tory notions of economic success. Democracy is not about the private accumulation of wealth. It is about the wise use of the collective wealth for the common good of the public – that must extend to include ALL of our citizens. And a decent, civilised, democratic society supports its vulnerable members and upholds universal human rights.
“We
need to ask why our Government refuses to instigate or agree an inquiry into
the substantial
rise in deaths amongst
sick and disabled people, as these deaths are so clearly a correlated
consequence of this Government’s policies.
“What kind of Government uses the media to scape-goat and stigmatise sick and disabled people, by lying and inventing statistics to “justify” the persecution of our most vulnerable citizens, and the withdrawal of their crucial lifelines and support?
“One that does not value those lives, or regard them
as having an equal worth with others.”
==========
So
there it is. Amnesty International, the organisation that brings to light
injustices around the globe, typically in places where human rights are
routinely violated and disregarded, has turned its attentions on the coalition
government’s performance. Oxfam knows about it. Everyone should know about it.
What sort of utterly miserable conditions is this government trying to impose on the country? Read the last sentence of that blog again, for effect:
“One that does not value those lives, or regard them
as having an equal worth with others.”
Shame on the government Claire, and shame on you for being a part of it and considering these human rights abuses as appropriate and acceptable.
Best
wishes,
Polly
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