Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

A suggestion that the UK’s human rights body is actually in bed with the UK government has been made this week by disabled activists.

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) told an international human rights alliance that the UK’s “feeble” human rights body has become a cheerleader for the UK government. They added that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was “not fit for purpose”, that it had been “co-opted” by the government, and that its primary mission appeared to be to “avoid rocking the boat”.

DPAC said the commission “no longer has credibility”, had “betrayed the communities that need it most” and no longer had the confidence of Deaf and disabled people.

In a letter to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) on behalf of DPAC, Stonewall and the Good Law Project, law firm Bindmans criticises EHRC’s “lack of actual and perceived independence” from the government.

The letter went on to say that the commission has been seen as “increasingly close to, and unwilling to criticise” the government since 2015 and particularly since the election of a Boris Johnson-led government in 2019. A “crucial factor”, it says, has been the appointment of EHRC commissioners who are “broadly supportive of the current Government and its agenda”.

Its evidence has been backed by four other disabled people’s organisations and two  disability groups:  Liberation, Being the Boss, Bringing Us Together, adult social care warriors, DPAC Norfolk and Chronic Illness Inclusion.

Among the concerns raised by DPAC is EHRC’s refusal to carry out an investigation into countless deaths of disabled benefit claimants that have been linked to the failings of the Department for Work and Pensions, despite “ample evidence”.

It also highlights its failure to act on the disproportionate application of do not attempt resuscitation orders on disabled people during the pandemic, and the failure to take action to ensure that disabled people’s right to independent living is upheld.

You can read more on this story in Disability News Service.

Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software

A dishevelled Boris Johnson is standing with a piece of paper on which is written ‘disability policies and legislation’. He is smiling. Opposite him stands a smarter man similarly dressed in grey suit, white shirt and blue tie and carrying a briefcase with EHRC printed upon it. He is holding out a large rubber stamp to the PM which has ‘EHRC Approved’ printed upon it. He is saying:” There you go Prime Minister – just rubber stamp it yourself!