Two Disability news service reports, by John Pring, 8 December 2016:

Watchdogs snubbed by minister after raising concerns over UN ‘violations’ report 

Four human rights and equality watchdogs have been snubbed by the minister for disabled people after raising serious concerns about how her government dismissed a report that found it guilty of “grave or systematic” violations of the UN disability convention.

The UN’s committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) said last month that the UK government had discriminated against disabled people across three key parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

But the government responded to the report by dismissing its conclusions and all 11 of its recommendations.

Now the UK’s official independent mechanism (UKIM) for monitoring implementation of the convention – the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Scottish Human Rights Commission – has called on the UK government to “urgently reconsider” its response to the UN report.

It has written to Penny Mordaunt the minister for disabled people, to express its concerns about both the findings of the report, and the government’s response.  Read or listen to the full article

‘Grave and systematic violations’ minister branded ‘offensive’ after UN rights pledge

A minister partly responsible for the UK being found guilty of “grave or systematic violations” of the UN disability convention has been branded “highly offensive” after announcing that her government would try to become a “world leader” on disability.

Priti Patel was employment minister for more than a year while the UN’s committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) was investigating her government for breaches of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), as a result of its social security reforms.       Read or listen to the full article