Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD has called on Minister of State Finian McGrath to clarify when the government will ratify a crucial protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UNCPRD).
Deputy Shortall said:
“The ratification of the UNCPRD is not fully complete until the government also ratifies the optional protocol which allows people to bring complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities where they believe their rights are being violated.
“In 2015, the Department of Justice and Equality gave an explicit commitment in a roadmap document to signing the optional protocol. This protocol would allow for complaints to be submitted directly to the UNCRPD committee by individuals or groups of individuals alleging that their rights have been violated under the UNCRPD.
“That report stated that the government of Ireland ‘intends to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the same time as the Convention itself is being ratified’.
“I ask the Minister of State to provide an urgent assurance that this protocol will be signed as part of the ratification process to ensure maximum protection for people with disabilities. Without the ability to bring a complaint that this crucially important protocol offers, the government’s commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities is called into question.”
ENDS
8 March 2018