Disabled people in Northern Ireland also in need of a commissioner on their behalf

It is interesting to note the government’s priorities. Whilst it has announced proposals to appoint commissioners to protect the Irish and Ulster-Scot languages, the rights of the many disabled people living in Northern Ireland are offered no such protection.

Surely, if there is someone charged with advocating for the rights of children, older people and now languages, there should be a Disability Commissioner.

There is certainly plenty of work for a Disability Commissioner as disability legislation here is long out of date and falls far short of the rest of the UK.

It is perhaps not surprising at the inaction of furthering disabled people’s rights as the government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Rights of People with Disabilities in 2009, yet it is still to be implemented, either by the UK government or Stormont (when it was sitting).

This is not a minority issue, as one in five people in Northern Ireland have some sort of disability. It should not be up to individual campaigners or charities to have to shame politicians into providing the rights and ability to participate fully in society – something so many other people take for granted.

I appeal for the government and local politicians to do the right thing – appoint a Disability Commissioner and implement the UNCRPD into domestic law.

Andrew Hamilton MYP, Member of UK youth parliament for North Down, Bangor