One cheer for rights convention ratification

By Sunil Peck
       

Disabled campaigners say they feel let down despite the Government's ratification yesterday of a United Nations convention which promotes human rights for disabled people.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that disabled people must be able to enjoy, on an equal basis, the same human rights as everyone else.

But, as feared, and despite heavy lobbying, the government has disappointed campaigners by opting out of some aspects of the convention.

It is opting out of the commitment to provide an inclusive education system and to recruit disabled people to the armed forces.

The government is also retaining the right to apply health screening for people entering or seeking to remain in the country and it is also opting out of the commitment to provide independent reviews when decisions are made, or when a third person claims and collects benefits, on behalf of another person.

Minister for disabled people, Jonathan Shaw (pictured), said: "The ratification of the convention is a very significant landmark, for disabled people and for UK Government and society as a whole. Not only does it show the Government's commitment to equality of human rights for disabled people, but our determination to achieve equality by 2025."

But Richard Rieser, chair of the United Nations Convention Campaign Coalition said he had been left disappointed by the Government's delay in ratifying the convention and its insistence on opt outs.

He said: "It is important that the convention has been ratified and we want to get on and implement it. But it has been marred by the process that led to the reservations."

Mr Rieser said that the Government had spent 18 months asking civil servants which aspects of the treaty they could not sign up to instead of insisting that everything should be done to comply with the convention in full.

He said that during that time, the Government had failed to involve disabled people in its consultations.

Julie Newman, acting chair of the United Kingdom's Disabled People's Council (UKDPC), said that she was disappointed by the Government's decision to opt out of certain aspects of the convention. But she vowed to work closely with ministers and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to make sure the convention is implemented.

She added: "Anything that locates disability within a rights framework is positive. Now we want to make sure that disabled people know what this means and that we can create a structure to make sure that these rights are upheld."