Campaigners have accused the UK Government of snubbing disabled people by refusing to attend a meeting to defend its record on disability rights.
The Government was due to attend a meeting in August at the United Nations.
Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, says the UK Government is ducking its responsibility to show it is improving the lives of disabled people
The meeting aimed to examine the Government’s treatment of disabled people under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Instead, it has told the UN Committee it will present the UK’s progress at a hearing in March next year.
Damning report
In November 2016, the committee released a damning report. It argued that the UK government had systemically discriminated against disabled people. The discrimination encompassed living standards, social protection, work and employment, and independent living.
The report followed years of research and campaigning by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).
Disabled people have told the committee that the cost-of-living crisis has led to people choosing not just between heating and eating, but breathing and eating in order to run essential medical equipment.
In the end, the meeting was set to be attended only by human rights and equality bodies and disabled people’s organisations.
Government ‘refusing to engage in a meaningful way’
Kamran Mallick is the chief executive of Disability Rights UK.
He said: “Time and again the Government is refusing to engage with people in a meaningful way.”
Mallick added that it was “another kick in the teeth”. The Government had already left campaigners with a “mouthful of broken molars” following the 2016 report.
A Government spokesperson said it was fully committed to advancing the rights of disabled people.
The spokesperson added: “We have followed all of the committee’s required procedures and we will present the UK’s progress at a hearing in March 2024.”
Related:
- Government ‘not protecting disabled’
- Cost of living worsens carers’ plight
- Retails shuns disabled and loses millions
Published: 6 September 2023
