Amnesty Members Please Vote For Resolution A5 Disability & Human Rights

If you are an Amnesty International member you can vote by proxy for Resolution A5 Disability & Human Rights in the UK a joint resolution by

WOW petition campaign http://wowpetition.com
We Are Spartacus http://wearespartacus.org.uk
CarerWatch http://carerwatch.com
Black Triangle Campaign http://blacktrianglecampaign.org
Proposed by Rick Burgess & Seconded by Nancy Farrell
& Susan Archibald, Archibald Foundation & Bangor & Ynys Mon Peace & Justice Group.

Proxy forms here, they can be emailed
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_23063.pdf

Deadline: 10am on Thursday 11th April

Resolution A5 Disability and human rights
Rick Burgess & Nancy Farrell

This AGM

Calls for urgent action to halt the abrogation of the Human Rights of sick & disabled people by the ruling Coalition government and its associated corporate contractors.

Calls for AIUK to urgently work with grassroots human rights campaigns by and for sick and disabled people, carers and their families.

And to set up a specialist Disability Human Rights network akin to the already existing-

• Children's Human Rights network
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender network 
• Teach Rights
• Trade Union network
• Women's Action network

To protect the human rights of People with disabilities, ill people and carers to halt this regressive & lethal assault on our rights.

Proposers Background Note:

Since signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People in 2009, successive British governments have not fulfilled their responsibilities. This has now resulted in between 1,300 to 10,600 people dying after having had their health benefits withdrawn over the last 3 years. Researchers and NGO’s have catalogued multiple abuses and malpractice by government agencies and contracted private corporations who administer unnecessary medical tests, which the British Medical Association has unanimously voted for to be ceased immediately. Yet they continue daily, causing immense terror in the disabled community.

Two thirds of people affected by cuts to housing and council allowances (420,000), are sick and disabled people, putting specially adapted homes and consequently health at risk. Legal aid has been withdrawn, making appeals to the court tribunal service against government administered entitlement tests all but impossible. Independent living and support will be withdrawn breaching the fundamental ethos and many articles of the Convention.

This will mean further deaths amongst vulnerable groups already victimised with rising levels of hate crime, government officials briefing media to create stigmatisation in order to enable these policies, forced labour programmes that have been ruled illegal and abusive and degrading practices administered by unqualified medical personnel.

The most recent Human Rights Joint Committee (Twenty-Third Report) by the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee found serious failings by the State to follow the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People and concluded the cumulative effect of polices were ‘regressive’, the UNCRPD had been ignored and had not been incorporated into UK law with the government falsely describing it as ‘soft law’ that did not need statutory standing.