Memorandum submitted by Disability Action
INTRODUCTION
1. Disability Action is a pioneering Northern
Ireland charity working with and for people with disabilities.
We work with our members to provide information, training, transport,
awareness programmes and representation for people regardless
of their disability; whether that is physical, mental, sensory,
hidden or learning disability.
2. In Northern Ireland, more than one in
five of the population (300,000) has a disability and over one
quarter of all families here are directly affected by disability
issues.
3. As a campaigning body, we work to bring
about positive change to the social, economic and cultural life
of people with disabilities and consequently our entire community.
In pursuit of our aims we serve 45,000 people each year.
4. Disability Action has recently established
a Centre on Human Rights for People with Disabilities. The Centre
aims to secure the human rights of people with disabilities across
Northern Ireland and to foster a culture of human rights for people
with disabilities through education and capacity building within
the sector, and the use of lobbying, influencing and legal challenge.
5. The Centre on Human Rights for People
with Disabilities welcomes the opportunity to submit a response
to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
SPECIFIC COMMENTARY
6. The Centre on Human Rights for People
with Disabilities welcomes the coming into force of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Ratification of the Convention by the UK, without reservations,
is vital if rights are truly to become a reality for people with
disabilities. The human rights abuses that continue to be experienced
by disabled people throughout the UK should not be underestimated.
7. Despite assurances from the Minister
for Disabled People, the Centre on Human Rights for People with
Disabilities remains concerned that the current timetable for
ratification by December 2008 is unrealistic given the range of
issues still under consideration. We note from the previous Minister's
correspondence to the Committee (dated 24 September 2008) that
a further announcement on progress and expectations for ratification
timetabling is expected.
8. The Centre on Human Rights is disappointed
at the lack of information from Government regarding the ratification
process and the outcome of its review of the compatibility of
domestic legislation and administrative practice with the UN Convention.
The information available to the public about these processes
and the precise form of reservations and interpretative declarations
is currently extremely limited. This has a freezing effect on
the public debate of highly significant issues. It clearly serves
the interest of the public that more information should be disclosed
to further this debate about fundamental rights and freedoms.
The weight that this consideration carries is considerable at
a time when the government itself is promoting a wide-ranging
debate about human rights in contemporary British society.
9. Disability Action is deeply concerned
that the UK Government is planning to enter reservations and/or
interpretative declarations against certain Convention rights.
Anne Maguire, the previous Minister for Disabled People, has in
a public statement made it clear that the UK is considering reservations
of much greater range and impact than any other state which has
so far ratified the Convention (Letter to Joint Committee on Human
Rights, 24 September 2008). This sends out the message, both to
disabled people and to the international community that the UK
is willing to accept less than the agreed international standard
for the protection of the human rights of disabled people across
the UK.
10. Article 2(d) of the 1969 Vienna Convention
on the Law of Treaties defines a reservation as "a unilateral
statement, however phrased or named, made by a State, when [consenting]
to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal
effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application
to that State" (emphasis added).
11. Any decision to enter reservations to
the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will
have an effect on the lives of over 10 million people within the
UK and on many more when families and carers are taken into account.
Although Article 46 of the Convention permits reservations, Article
50 of the Convention does not allow for reservations which are
incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty. Reservations
which defeat the object and purpose of the treaty are necessarily
invalid as is the State's consent to the overall treaty. A reservation
could also trigger an enquiry by other States as to the compatibility
of a reservation with the object and purpose of a treaty.
12. Many of the articles of the Convention
do not introduce new rights, but rather explicate the meaning
of existing obligations under international human rights law with
respect to people with disabilities. Entering a reservation to
certain articles within the Convention could create problems for
the UK's existing obligations under other international human
rights treaties. Meeting the minimal obligations of a reserved
right under UNCRPD could well be at the same time to fail to meet
certain of the UK's "unreserved" obligations under CESCR,
for example.
13. The Centre on Human Rights is further
concerned that the UK is actively considering interpretative declarations
and that these would in fact constitute "disguised reservations".
Any reservation would, in effect, be an attempt by UK Government
to validate existing practices which negatively impinge upon the
lives of people with disabilities. In particular, the Centre on
Human Rights is disappointed that a reservation is being proposed
to "ensure that disabled children whose educational needs
are best met through specialist provision which may be some way
from their home can continue to receive it". The Centre on
Human Rights believes that such a reservation would be incompatible
with the object and purpose of the treaty as set out in Article
1 of the Convention, restricting opportunities for greater inclusion.
This has particular implications for some children and young people
in Northern Ireland who are required to move away from their families
at a young age in order to avail of specialist services in England
or Scotland. This is contrary to the ethos of inclusion to which
Government has proclaimed to be committed. Any reservation and/or
interpretative declaration on Article 24 would simply be an attempt
to validate those segregative practices which persist.
14. The detail of proposed reservations
and/or interpretive declarations on Articles 12 (exercise of legal
capacity), 18 (immigration and nationality) and 30 (cultural services)
have not been forthcoming, limiting the transparency of government
activity on issues which should be subject to wide ranging public
scrutiny.
15. We further draw your attention to the
answer given by the Prime Minister to Gerald Kaufman MP on 14
December 2006, in response to a written question about the Convention
(Hansard col 1288W) that: "The UK is committed to supporting
comprehensive and enforceable rights for disabled people and wishes
to see those rights enjoyed by disabled citizens everywhere."
The reservations currently being considered by the government
represent a withdrawal from this strong statement and such a change
of position should be subject to wide ranging public scrutiny.
If the UK is truly committed to disabled people's human rights
it cannot pick and choose which Convention rights it is willing
to support.
16. The Centre on Human Rights strongly
argues that UK Government must adhere to the spirit of the Convention
by ensuring that, in the lead up to ratification, it actively
engages and consults with people with disabilities. There has
been no engagement with disabled people by the Northern Ireland
devolved administration, or UK Government more generally to date.
17. The Centre on Human Rights strongly
believes that UK ratification of the Convention is not dependent
on ratification by the European Community. Indeed, the Convention
has already been ratified by three member states; Hungary, Spain
and Slovenia.
CONCLUSION
18. The Centre on Human Rights for People
with Disabilities has welcomed the opportunity to make a submission.
The Centre on Human Rights looks forward to continued dialogue
on this and other issues of major significance to people with
disabilities throughout Northern Ireland.
November 2008
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