About the project

The United Nations (UN) has a Convention of the Rights of Disabled People (CRDP). It’s sometimes called the CRPD.

The CRDP was written by Deaf and Disabled people. It states the rights that we should have, wherever we live in the world.

You can read the CRDP online, including an Easy Read translation.

The UK government formally ratified (confirmed that it would follow) the CRDP in 2009.

But in 2015, a Special Inquiry was triggered, which investigated the UK. This happened because Deaf and Disabled people had told the UN about how they were treated in the UK, and that it may meet the threshold for grave or systemic violations of our rights. The UK was the first state in the world to be investigated in this way. Read more about the Special Inquiry here.

In 2017, the UN found that the UK had caused “grave or systematic violations of the rights of Disabled people”. 

The UK rejected this finding and the recommendations from the UN.

The UK government has to give regular evidence to the UN about the progress it has made.

An important part of the examination process is for Deaf and Disabled people and our organisations to send evidence to the UN committee of what has happened in the UK since the last examination. We do this through a shadow report (also sometimes known as a parallel report). 

This work is led by a partnership of Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations.