Posted 03:54PM on Thursday 10 December 2020
As we celebrate World Human Rights Day 2020, it’s worth remembering that human rights are not a remote issue in some faraway authoritarian country.
Some of the most shocking human rights abuses are taking place right here and right now, in places of “care” where people with a learning disability should be entitled to safety and support. It has happened time and again in institutions across the UK and Ireland.
That’s why Positive Futures is supporting this year’s theme of Human Rights Day: “Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights.”
When the planet recovers from the coronavirus crisis, we want the voices of people with a learning disability to be heard in rebuilding the post–Covid world.
Jackie (an Advocate, supported by Positive Futures) had this to say about Human Rights Day 2020:
“As we have heard in the news, the abuse of people with a learning disability is too common and people with a disability can be the forgotten victims of abuse.
But it does not have to be this way. People with a disability have a voice that must be heard when working for their human rights.
“I believe that people with a learning disability must be seen as leaders and be able to share their voice and opinions. There should be nothing about us without us.
“It is vital that we speak up now to make sure that we “build back better” to create a fairer society for everyone as we recover from the impact of Covid–19. There is still more work to be done as we work towards human rights for all, but people with a learning disability must be involved in leading the way.”
As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, human rights begin “in small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person […] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.”