The Commission believes that the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) offers a major opportunity to achieve a paradigm shift in the way disabled people are perceived and treated across the world, from objects of charity and welfare to equal human beings with the full set of rights that status confers. Given the UK's progress on disability rights, it should use the opportunity of CRPD to lead by example internationally by ratifying without further delay.
Submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights concerning 'Rights of People with Disabilities' - summary
Key points
- The Commission wishes to see the Convention ratified by the UK at the earliest opportunity. Already, delays have cost the UK an opportunity for early and important representation on and influence in relation to the UN Expert Committee on CRPD.
- The Commission does not believe reservations or interpretative declarations are appropriate in ratifying the Convention, as evidenced by the decisions or plans of Governments of similarly placed countries to Britain, including Australia, New Zealand, Austria, France and Germany to ratify without them.
- The UK's decision to express reservations and interpretative declarations is undermining its deserved position internationally as a leader in the field of disability rights and has the effect of depressing the impact of the Convention globally.
- The Commission believes Government has failed to be transparent and to properly consult disabled people and others concerning proposed reservations and interpretative declarations. This is also not consistent with enabling the Commission to fulfil its role as the independent national monitoring body and monitoring the implementation of the Convention The Commission believes Government should publish for consultation its assessment of the UK's compliance with the Convention articles, the draft text of the reservations and interpretative declarations, and its rationale for expressing all reservations and interpretative declarations.
- The Commission strongly believes the UK should ratify the Optional Protocol which would allow individuals who allege that their rights under the Convention have been breached to petition the CRPD Committee and to ask the Committee to give its opinion. This would also be consistent with the EU proposal to for the European Community to ratify the Optional Protocol.
- The Commission is concerned about the effectiveness of arrangements concerning Convention Article 33 including the absence of robust focal points and coordinating mechanisms in the devolved administrations, inadequate resourcing of the respective NHRI's of Scotland and Northern Ireland and no defined action to increase the capacity of disabled people's organisations to participate in the promotion and monitoring process.
- The Convention reflects and promotes further a paradigm shift in the way disability is perceived and dealt with in public policy from a primary focus on and preoccupation with health and welfare to one of human rights. This shift should be reflected in the choice of focal point and coordination mechanism within Government. Whilst the Commission believes the Office for Disability Issues provides the best focal point and point of coordination with other delivery agents, assurances are sought that in executing this task it is genuinely independent of interference by its parent Department of Work and Pensions.
- The Commission believes Government should develop and consult with a range of stakeholders on an action plan for implementation of the Convention and share this best practice internationally. The Commission, along with other parts of the promotion and monitoring framework, should monitor implementation of the Action Plan.
- The Commission also believes the UK Government should play a more active role in UN studies, for example the current study of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on key legal measures for the ratification and effective implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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