UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, a professor of law at New York University is coming to the UK on an official and “significant” visit from November 6 until November 16. During the fact-finding mission, he will examine the link between poverty and human rights in the UK.
In 2016 the UN found UK welfare reforms had led to “grave and systemic violations” of disabled people’s rights. Yet experts in human rights and poverty claimed that the situation had worsened in the past two years, with cuts to public services compounding harsh welfare reforms, as well as tax expenditure decisions that further penalise the poor.
Judith Robertson, chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), claimed that the organisation believed state policies were undermining the most basic of rights. In its submission, made by a group of 11 people who have experienced poverty and supported by SHRC, it raised difficulties in accessing even adequate housing and food. Robertson said that situation had worsened since the UN’s previous report on disability. “Since then there has been an increasing infringement on human rights,” she said. “These include those affecting women, particularly poor women and single lone parents. We know that people of ethnic minorities have been disproportionately impacted. We continue to see austerity roll out, we continue to see local authority budgets cut and we are seeing services withdrawn from people. There are clear concerns about the roll out of Universal Credit." She added: “There are possibly hundreds of infringements on individual rights, whether that be through PIP, sanctions, people whose services have been withdrawn at a local level. More people are clearly falling into poverty and the capacity of local authorities to pick that up, both now and in the future, is being reduced by austerity.”
Peter Kelly, chair of Poverty Alliance, which will launch the annual Challenge Poverty Week tomorrow, said: “We would expect Alston to uncover and point to the ongoing impact of austerity. The impact of welfare reform has been cumulative and ongoing in recent years. Poverty is a fundamental denial of fundamental human rights.”
http://www.thenational.scot/news/16950639.is-uk-government-breaking-international-law-over-welfare-policies/
In 2016 the UN found UK welfare reforms had led to “grave and systemic violations” of disabled people’s rights. Yet experts in human rights and poverty claimed that the situation had worsened in the past two years, with cuts to public services compounding harsh welfare reforms, as well as tax expenditure decisions that further penalise the poor.
Judith Robertson, chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), claimed that the organisation believed state policies were undermining the most basic of rights. In its submission, made by a group of 11 people who have experienced poverty and supported by SHRC, it raised difficulties in accessing even adequate housing and food. Robertson said that situation had worsened since the UN’s previous report on disability. “Since then there has been an increasing infringement on human rights,” she said. “These include those affecting women, particularly poor women and single lone parents. We know that people of ethnic minorities have been disproportionately impacted. We continue to see austerity roll out, we continue to see local authority budgets cut and we are seeing services withdrawn from people. There are clear concerns about the roll out of Universal Credit." She added: “There are possibly hundreds of infringements on individual rights, whether that be through PIP, sanctions, people whose services have been withdrawn at a local level. More people are clearly falling into poverty and the capacity of local authorities to pick that up, both now and in the future, is being reduced by austerity.”
Peter Kelly, chair of Poverty Alliance, which will launch the annual Challenge Poverty Week tomorrow, said: “We would expect Alston to uncover and point to the ongoing impact of austerity. The impact of welfare reform has been cumulative and ongoing in recent years. Poverty is a fundamental denial of fundamental human rights.”
http://www.thenational.scot/news/16950639.is-uk-government-breaking-international-law-over-welfare-policies/
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