Behind Closed Doors - Ukraine
Published: Tuesday, 23rd August 2022
Sheffield Voices is calling upon the prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the UN and Inclusion Europe to put an end to the shameful practice of segregation and abuse of disabled people.
Sheffield Voices members wrote a letter which you can down here An Open Letter or read below.
Dear Denys Shmyhal
We are writing to you today to share our thoughts about a news report that the BBC published about disabled people being locked away in institutes in your country.
Sheffield Voices is a group of self-advocates who come together to discuss and campaign on issues that matter to us.
A few of our members saw the news report about people with disabilities suffering in your country and were shocked and upset.
Sheffield Voices members want you to know that treating people with disabilities this way is against their human rights. Members said that people with disabilities are often out of sight and out of mind and that for a country like Ukraine who was one of the first countries to sign up to the United Nations Conventions for Rights of Disabled People this should not be happening.
Under the Convention it states that people have the right not to be locked away and to be treated in a humane way without degradation. It also says that people with disabilities should be treated equally.
We know that Human Rights investigators have said you should not be allowed to join the EU, we disagree with that because we believe that you need to learn from other countries how to treat disabled people better and support them to have fulfilling lives.
Our group wants to know what you intend to do about this appalling situation. We recognise that you are at war and that there is a lot of awful things happening in the Ukraine but we also feel that disabled people’s rights should still be upheld.
Yours sincerely
Sheffield Voices
Published by : Kathryn Littlewood
