UK government to face UN in Geneva over violation of UN Disability Rights Convention

The UK government will face the United Nations in Geneva to give evidence over disability rights violations under the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The meeting which is set to take place on Monday (March 18), comes after the government failed to attend a hearing in August 2023, where they were due to give evidence alongside Disabled People’s Organisations.

The UN began investigating the UK government in 2016, finding them guilty of "grave and systemic" violations in 2017, with a UN spokesperson stating: "the committee can confirm that some violations were grave, some others were systematic, and some were both: grave and systematic." In 2022, a shadow report for the UN by a group of Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations found that treatment of disabled people in the UK had deteriorated on nearly every point raised in the 2016 report and that during and after the pandemic, almost every aspect including rights, income, living standards and support had gotten worse.

Speaking in August 2023, after the UK government no-show, Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK, said: "Time and again the government is refusing to engage with deaf and disabled people in a meaningful way. It has launched a Disability Action Plan, but is still not listening to the acute needs of disabled people.

"If disabled people are able to attend this important meeting, despite all the barriers that go with our ability to cross Europe to attend, why can the government not attend?"

The meeting taking place at the UN on Monday will be significant, it is the first time the UK government will be questioned about the UN ruling in over six years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet came under fire in December 2023, when the Minister for Disabled People was left vacant for a week after the latest cabinet reshuffle. Mims Davies MP was eventually appointed under the new title of Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.

Charities accused the government of "downgrading" the role and called for a dedicated minister of state position to be reinstated. Whilst the new Disability Action plan released in February was acknowledged by Jackie O’Sullivan, acting chief executive as showing "encouraging steps forward" but that it "is unlikely to bring about the change people with a learning disability need from our government".

Speaking to NationalWorld about the UN meeting Vicky Foxcroft, Shadow Minister for Disabled People said: "The Government’s failure to attend the meeting in August showed that Ministers view disabled people as an afterthought, as did the downgrading of the Minister for Disabled People role in December.

"Under the Tories, disabled people have borne the brunt of 14 years of government failure. Inequality has risen and they have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Labour is committed to the social model of disability and the principle of co-production.

"A future Labour government will honour the UK’s commitments to the UNCRPD and ensure its principles are reflected across government. We will work with disabled people to create policies which remove barriers to equality and focus on representation at all levels of government."

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.