Call for action to tackle barriers faced by disabled people in NI

Action needs to be taken to tackle barriers faced by disabled people living in Northern Ireland, human rights and equality commissioners have said.

Coming together in their joint role as the Independent Mechanism in Northern Ireland (IMNI), the two commissions called for disability discrimination legislation to be strengthened and for living conditions for disabled people to be improved.

Speaking on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Michael Lorimer, chairperson of the IMNI Forum, said: “We need to see action by Government to tackle barriers that still prevent disabled people accessing and enjoying the range of human rights and equality protections that we are entitled to.

“In its last report on the UK, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised concerns around the failure of the UK Government and NI Executive to address the need for inclusion and improving the living conditions of disabled people.

“It recommended that there should also be recognition and implementation of the right to live independently.

“Disabled people in Northern Ireland need our voices to be clearly heard.

“We are actively involved and committed to ensuring progress is made, but we need real action by Government. We need an effective, robust disability strategy which follows an equality and human rights-based approach, and we need to strengthen our disability discrimination legislation so that the lives of all disabled people are improved.”

Alyson Kilpatrick, chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said: “There is a real risk that realising the rights of disabled people in Northern Ireland will not happen here, especially if they themselves are not involved in working on improving access to rights.

“The continued failure to adequately implement recommendations and address the wider concerns of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities must be recognised.

“This failure is particularly stark in the context of a cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing impact of Covid-19. We believe, as a result, disabled people’s right to equality has been further diminished.

“They have not been able to realise the rights set out in the convention. In the absence of the NI Executive, we fear that access to rights will become increasingly difficult.”

Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, also called for action.

She said: “It is incumbent on all of us to unite with the purpose of advancing the inclusion and participation of every disabled person in Northern Ireland to ensure they have access to the full range of rights contained in the convention.”