Charity-consortium ‘Just Fair’ found the government’s treatment of disabled individuals to be in violation of international human rights laws, in a recent report.
The report states that “recent changes to housing benefit…have made only limited provision for the specific needs of disabled people.” The report, subtitled ‘Dignity and Opportunity for All: Securing the rights of disabled people in the austerity era’, also notes that the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) over the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), “threatens to reduce support for many disabled people.” Just Fair states that without proper support, a large number of disabled individuals will struggle with day to day life.
Just Fair argues that the UK Government is in violation of two articles, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), both of which are bound to the UK Government through ratification. The article understands that the public spending cuts which led to the current issue were an attempt to reduce the economic deficit, but states that both the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recently focused on the importance of Nation States to continue to promote social rights despite the global economic crisis.
The full report can be viewed here: http://just-fair.co.uk/uploads/Dignity_Opportunity_for_All_-_Full_report…