The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the monitoring body of the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights met in Geneva on 12 -13 of May 2009 to examine the United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland government in respect of economic, social and cultural rights.

Economic, social and cultural rights are a broad category of human rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other legally binding international and regional human rights treaties.

They include rights at work; the right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health; the right to education; the right to adequate housing; the right to food and water and the cultural rights of minorities.  

Governments are primarily responsible for protecting and ensuring that they and others do not abuse or violate these rights and to also take measures to make these rights a reality in practice.

Consideration of the United Kingdom’s and Northern Ireland Report

At the forty-second session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the United Kingdom presented its fourth and fifth periodic reports setting out how they have meet the obligations set out in the International Covent on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Committee in its Concluding Observations made a number of comments in relation to age in Northern Ireland.

 

These include:

·    A concern that the proposed Equality Bill and its provisions of extending protection from discrimination in the area of age do not extend to Northern Ireland and recommends making such comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation applicable to Northern Ireland;

 

·    The Committee noted that pension entitlements do not provide some older people such as women with an adequate standard of living and encourages the Government to ensure that the new pension provisions contained in the Pensions Act 2008 are flexible to enable those groups who may be marginalized to benefit and increase their pension entitlements. They also recommended a targeted information campaign to make older people aware of their rights and responsibilities;

 

·    Their continued concern at the variation of poverty levels between and within regions and cities as well as between different groups such as older people. The government was urged to intensify its efforts to combat poverty and to develop a human rights based poverty reduction programmes;

 

·    The Committee noted that health care professionals do not receive sufficient training in relation to the care of persons with dementia and Alzheimer’s and a concern over the lack of awareness and understanding of these diseases amongst the general public. The recommend that the government undertake training programmes with regard to the prevention and treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s and awareness raising campaigns among the public at large.

 

The sixth periodic report will be due by 30th June 2014 where the government will need to report on what they have done to implement these concluding observations.

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