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| UN to investigate impact of welfare cuts on vulnerable UK groups | UN to investigate impact of welfare cuts on vulnerable UK groups |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The United Nations has launched an investigation into whether welfare cuts have disproportionally hit marginalised groups in Britain such as single parents, ethnic minorities and children. | |
| It follows a separate confidential human rights inquiry by the UN into alleged violations of disability rights following welfare reforms, though this second investigation will be held in public and is more akin to a routine checkup rather than a response to an emergency situation. | It follows a separate confidential human rights inquiry by the UN into alleged violations of disability rights following welfare reforms, though this second investigation will be held in public and is more akin to a routine checkup rather than a response to an emergency situation. |
| Related: Cameron refuses to say whether tax credits plan will leave people worse off | Related: Cameron refuses to say whether tax credits plan will leave people worse off |
| The UN’s committee on the covenant on economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR) announced on Wednesday that it planned to ask the government how it has “ensured austerity measures ... do not disproportionately affect, in particular, disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups”. | The UN’s committee on the covenant on economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR) announced on Wednesday that it planned to ask the government how it has “ensured austerity measures ... do not disproportionately affect, in particular, disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups”. |
| The UK was last investigated in 2009, so no previous CESCR investigation has looked at the effects of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government’s policies nor those of its successor. | |
| The inquiry will cover more than 30 topics on an extremely broad remit and include questions on the gender pay gap, youth unemployment, migrant workers and asylum seekers and trade union rights. | |
| It will also investigate: | It will also investigate: |
| Evidence has been requested by the committee in order to assess whether the government is adequately tackling forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and the strategy to combat human trafficking. | Evidence has been requested by the committee in order to assess whether the government is adequately tackling forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and the strategy to combat human trafficking. |
| One group particularly singled out in the remit was Gypsy and Traveller communities and their access to basic services such as sanitation, healthcare and education. | |
| The investigation is part of a periodic review of all the countries that have signed up to the covenant. A UN delegation of independent experts from numerous countries is set to hold public six-hour talks with government officials next summer. | |
| A UN spokeswoman said the review was launched because it was due, rather than in response to a particular concern, though representatives from Just Fair, a consortium of 70 UK charities and NGOs, met the CESCR in Geneva a fortnight ago to discuss concerns about the erosion of rights to food and housing and the economic and social rights of disabled people. | |
| Jamie Burton, the chair of Just Fair, said: “The decision of the committee to investigate these issues is timely and welcome. We and many others are concerned about the adverse impact austerity policies have had on the least well-off and already marginalised in society, including those in work. | Jamie Burton, the chair of Just Fair, said: “The decision of the committee to investigate these issues is timely and welcome. We and many others are concerned about the adverse impact austerity policies have had on the least well-off and already marginalised in society, including those in work. |
| Related: Food banks have become a lifeline for many, but where is the way out? | Patrick Butler | Related: Food banks have become a lifeline for many, but where is the way out? | Patrick Butler |
| “In the one of the richest countries in the world, people do not have enough food to eat or decent housing to live in. Worst of all, the measures have hit children, single mothers and people with disabilities the hardest. As the tax credits scandal shows, the public is turning against these policies precisely because they are so unfair.” | “In the one of the richest countries in the world, people do not have enough food to eat or decent housing to live in. Worst of all, the measures have hit children, single mothers and people with disabilities the hardest. As the tax credits scandal shows, the public is turning against these policies precisely because they are so unfair.” |
| CESCR monitors countries’ compliance with the 1966 covenant, which the UK has ratified. The other nations to be investigated during the coming session are Angola, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Kenya, Namibia, Sweden and Macedonia. | CESCR monitors countries’ compliance with the 1966 covenant, which the UK has ratified. The other nations to be investigated during the coming session are Angola, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Kenya, Namibia, Sweden and Macedonia. |
| Its findings will be published on 24 June next year, highlighting the committee’s main areas of concern and recommendations for change. | Its findings will be published on 24 June next year, highlighting the committee’s main areas of concern and recommendations for change. |
| Separately, the UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities is holding confidential hearings in the UK as part of an investigation into the effects of welfare cuts, during which it will speak to campaigners, lawyers and service users. | Separately, the UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities is holding confidential hearings in the UK as part of an investigation into the effects of welfare cuts, during which it will speak to campaigners, lawyers and service users. |
| It is the first time a country has been investigated by the committee over claims of human rights breaches and was initiated by the grassroots campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts. | It is the first time a country has been investigated by the committee over claims of human rights breaches and was initiated by the grassroots campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts. |
| In February 2014, the UN special rapporteur on housing, Raquel Rolnik, advocated the abolition of the bedroom tax, with the then housing minister Kris Hopkins calling her report a “misleading Marxist diatribe”. | In February 2014, the UN special rapporteur on housing, Raquel Rolnik, advocated the abolition of the bedroom tax, with the then housing minister Kris Hopkins calling her report a “misleading Marxist diatribe”. |