enforce the Convention right concerned. For example there is no law in Britain that says that gives disabled people a right to an adequate standard of living or an accessible home. However, if you are living in real hardship or conditions that cause you loss of dignity, even after claiming all the social security payments you are entitled to or because of very inadequate housing, you may be able to complain to the UN Committee. are other important rules about bringing a complaint: The you are complaining about must have either happened after the UK ratified the Convention, or if issue started before the date of ratification (8 June 2009) it must still be continuing at the time you want to make the complaint. You cannot make an anonymous complaint (in other words you need to say who you are). The must be one the UN Committee has not looked at before. The issue must be one that is not being looked at by another international rights body like the European Court of Human Rights. Other important things to remember: Try to find out other people affected by this issue. Groups of people can make a complaint as well as individuals. It might be easier if there is a group of you to support each other. Contact disabled people’s organisations locally or nationally just in case they know of other people who are affected. Assuming your complaint meets all the criteria and you have been advised to go ahead, how do you make your complaint? You will need to put it in writing and send it to the UN Committee. Go to the Committee’s website to find information about making a complaint. You can find links in the back of this guide. What happens then? If the UN Committee accepts your complaint, they will ask the UK government to respond. The Committee then meets in private and decides what finding to make. The UN Committee gives you and the UK Government a copy of its recommendations, and a summary is included in its annual report. The UN Committee’s findings and recommendations are not enforceable but they carry a lot of moral authority and can be very persuasive with governments who often wish to avoid criticism by an expert international body. It may force the UK Government to pass new legislation, change a policy or find the money to sort the issue out.
enforce the Convention right concerned. For example there is no law in Britain that says that gives disabled people a right to an adequate standard of living or an accessible home. However, if you are living in real hardship or conditions that cause you loss of dignity, even after claiming all the social security payments you are entitled to or because of very inadequate housing, you may be able to complain to the UN Committee. are other important rules about bringing a complaint: The you are complaining about must have either happened after the UK ratified the Convention, or if issue started before the date of ratification (8 June 2009) it must still be continuing at the time you want to make the complaint. You cannot make an anonymous complaint (in other words you need to say who you are). The must be one the UN Committee has not looked at before. The issue must be one that is not being looked at by another international rights body like the European Court of Human Rights. Other important things to remember: Try to find out other people affected by this issue. Groups of people can make a complaint as well as individuals. It might be easier if there is a group of you to support each other. Contact disabled people’s organisations locally or nationally just in case they know of other people who are affected. Assuming your complaint meets all the criteria and you have been advised to go ahead, how do you make your complaint? You will need to put it in writing and send it to the UN Committee. Go to the Committee’s website to find information about making a complaint. You can find links in the back of this guide. What happens then? If the UN Committee accepts your complaint, they will ask the UK government to respond. The Committee then meets in private and decides what finding to make. The UN Committee gives you and the UK Government a copy of its recommendations, and a summary is included in its annual report. The UN Committee’s findings and recommendations are not enforceable but they carry a lot of moral authority and can be very persuasive with governments who often wish to avoid criticism by an expert international body. It may force the UK Government to pass new legislation, change a policy or find the money to sort the issue out.
the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-accessible_0.docx