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BCN-16
BRITAIN-UN-POVERTY
UK welfare policies ‘violate human rights’: UN rapporteur
LONDON, May 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain has “deliberately removed” much
of its social safety net due to political ideology “in clear violation of the
country’s human rights obligations”, a UN-commissioned report said Wednesday.
Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston said
“harsh and uncaring” austerity policies introduced following the financial
crisis “continue largely unabated, despite the tragic social consequences”.
“The policies pursued since 2010 amount to retrogressive measures in clear
violation of the country’s human rights obligations,” said the report.
The Conservative government dismissed the findings, calling them a “barely
believable documentation of Britain” that painted a “completely inaccurate
picture” of the country’s welfare system.
Australian lawyer Alston visited Britain in November, and will present his
final report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 27.
In its summary, he said that “the bottom line is that much of the glue
that has held British society together since the Second World War has been
deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos.
“A booming economy, high employment and a budget surplus have not reversed
austerity, a policy pursued more as an ideological than an economic agenda.”
He accused the government of being “in a state of denial”, saying the
motivations behind their policies were not “economic but rather a commitment
to achieving radical social re-engineering — a dramatic restructuring of the
relationship between people and the State.”
Despite being the fifth largest economy in the world, 20 percent of
Britain’s people live in poverty, and 1.5 million experienced destitution in
2017, he reported.
“The social safety net has been badly damaged by drastic cuts to local
authorities’ budgets, which have eliminated many social services, reduced
policing services, closed libraries in record numbers, shrunk community and
youth centres, and sold off public spaces and buildings,” he added.
The report called on Britain to “reverse particularly regressive” welfare
measures such as the benefit cap, and reduction in housing benefit.
It also urged the government to restore local government funding.
Britain’s Department for Work and Pensions replied that “the UN’s own data
shows the UK is one of the happiest places in the world to live, and other
countries have come here to find out more about how we support people to
improve their lives.
“Therefore this is a barely believable documentation of Britain, based on
a tiny period of time spent here. It paints a completely inaccurate picture
of our approach to tackling poverty,” said a spokeswoman.
“All the evidence shows that full-time work is the best way to boost your
income and quality of life, which is why our welfare reforms are focused on.”
BSS/AFP/HR/1005