United Nations Investigate the DWP

UNITED Nations officials will visit the UK in the next few months to investigate whether Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms have led to “grave or systematic violations” of disabled people’s human rights. A formal investigation has already been launched by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. UN investigations are conducted confidentially. 

Last week, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith unveiled plans to launch a fresh attack on sickness benefit. He outlined aims to get one million people off the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) disability benefit, claiming too many people with “common” mental health conditions are reliant on the state. New statistics show this will affect nearly half - 43% - of all disabled people currently claiming ESA. 

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.