Context

Several recent Acts and proposed legislation are eroding everyone’s human rights in this country. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Elections Act, the proposed Bill of Rights and Public Order Act are just a few examples. Disabled people are disproportionately impacted by these proposals as we already often have fewer legal protections and face additional barriers to equal treatment and justice.

Evidence

Despite signing the UNCRPD over 10 years ago, we have made no progress on delivering on it. More concerning, we are the first nation-state to face an investigation by the UN on our rights violations of Disabled people.

Disabled people face additional barriers to justice - from issues with inaccessible courts to facing discrimination from law enforcement.

The rights violations we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic – e.g. the implementation of non-consensual DNRs – highlight how Disabled people’s rights are too often seen as optional.

Policy Asks

The Human Rights Act must be protected and any proposed legislation to suppress our rights must be scrapped.

There must be improved access to justice for Disabled people – this includes improved accessibility to courthouses; tackling institutionalised ableism in law enforcement; improving our legal protections (e.g., making disability hate crime a criminal offence); and improving the support available to Disabled victims of crime. 

Targeted Decision Makers

Central Government – particularly the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.

Partners and Allies

Liberty is a key ally in our fight to protect Disabled people’s human rights. We also work closely with other organisations in Liberty’s ‘Save our Human Rights Act’ coalition – including Equally Ours and others.

Campaign Action

We are actively challenging the Bill of Rights (also referred to by campaigners as the Rights Removal Bill), alongside other organisations. Our joint briefing with many of those organisations can be found online, as can our own briefing on the Bill of Right’s impact on Disabled people.

We have also co-produced a resource with Liberty on Disabled people’s rights when protesting – including top tips on how to protect yourself in a protest, and how non-Disabled groups can improve the accessibility of their activism. 

Watch our webinar with Liberty on Disabled People's Protest Rights. Here is the Video on zoom with BSL, time-stamped transcript and edited captions. Click the globe icon on the bottom right of the video to view the BSL interpreters.

You can also read the PowerPoint of slides and the word document transcript of webinar.

DR UK statement on assisted dying

June 2023

The Private Members’ Bill currently going through Parliament seeks to give people who are terminally ill and in the final months of their life the option of assisted dying.

The issue of assisted dying divides Disabled people. It is a complex issue on which Disabled people hold different, passionately held views. Disability Rights UK respects those different views.

DR UK remains committed to listening to what our members think and reflecting those views fairly and accurately. Having listened to opinions from both sides, and following discussion by the Board of Trustees, our position on assisted dying remains a neutral one.