The Equality and Human Rights Commissionmarked the first anniversary of Britain’s ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on 9 June 2010, by calling on the new UK Government to take the particular needs of disabled people into account in its future financial planning.
Signatories to the Convention are required to “uphold the rights of children and adults with disabilities” and promote their inclusion in society. In light of the Coalition Government’s recent pledges to dramatically cut public spending, Mike Smith, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Disability Committee, called on legislators to have regard to their obligations under the Convention when making the difficult spending decisions ahead.
“Many disabled people rely on public services to achieve the most basic levels of human dignity and participate equally in society: to get up in the morning and go to bed at night, to eat a meal, visit their family or access transport. For many, these services are an essential lifeline without which they would be unable to contribute to their families or community”, said Mr Smith.
