United Kingdom Government Denounced for Crimes Against Disabled People to International Criminal Court in The Hague

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United Kingdom Government Denounced for Crimes Against Disabled People to International Criminal Court in The HaguePosted on September 23, 2012 by JJ

Date: September 22, 2012

To: Mrs. Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor
Information and Evidence Unit
Office of the Prosecutor
International Criminal Court
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands
E-Mail: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int

Subject: Austerity deaths of sick and disabled people in the U.K.

Dear Mrs. Bensouda,

I am a 56-year-old Disability Studies specialist from Montreal, Canada who has been reporting frequently for the past year to the United Nations on the crisis for the United Kingdom’s sick and disabled. Austerity measures, consisting of draconian welfare reforms and “sham” means-testing (Atos Healthcare U.K. and the Department for Work and Pensions) are ostensibly to blame for their plight—with disability hate crime and inflammatory media attacks factored into this mix.

I have a plethora of evidence but for the purpose of brevity, see:

  1. Early day motion 295 http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295

  2. The attached British Medical Journal Article by Dr. Margaret McCartney.

  3. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/04/32-die-a-week-after-failing-in.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

  4. http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/22/epileptic-colin-traynor-29-had-massive-seizure-and-died-3-months-after-dwpatos-fit-for-work-ruling-michael-meacher-mp/

  5. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/jcsufp

  6. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/austerity-measures-uk-a-thousand-cuts_n_1670711.html

  7. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4DDIATl4FpJS1dNWEVHTkUzWXc

  8. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4DDIATl4FpJdktNYi1HOTM5S3M

  9. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/08/leveson-willful-blindness-disabled-people

  10. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/aug/14/disability-hate-crime-increase-reported-incidents-data

  11. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/14/disability-hate-crime-benefit-scrounger-abuse?intcmp=239

  12. http://www.scope.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/Campaigns_policy/Scope_Hate_Crime_Report.pdf

  13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yRaBth9w6Q

  14. http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/22/paralysed-teenager-on-life-support-since-birth-told-to-attend-dwpatos-work-capability-assessment-or-lose-his-benefits/

  15. http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/22/disabled-people-collateral-damage-in-the-governments-austerity-war/

  16. http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/22/atos-scandal-victims-speak-to-the-scottish-daily-record/

  17. http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/22/disabled-people-are-being-unfairly-targeted-in-what-amounts-to-collective-punishment-prohibited-under-1949-geneva-conventions/

18)http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120904/halltext/120904h0001.htm#12090423000002

  1. Please note the comments of MP Dame Anne Begg in item #18.

I am interested in filing an ICC complaint against several British Ministers—namely, Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling, and Maria Miller for their role in the draconian welfare reforms and the resultant deaths of their society’s most vulnerable.

My questions are as follows: Are austerity deaths of the sick and disabled in the U.K. considered a crime against humanity by the ICC? Would the UNCRPD be taken into consideration by the court?

I am aware of a submission to the ICC by psychologists Olga and Tanya Yeritsidou regarding a request for a Greek austerity trial at the Hague—so there appears to be precedent in this matter. Based on the preliminary evidence that I have submitted with this letter, do you believe that the sick and disabled of Britain have a justiciable ICC case?

I look forward to hearing from you at the earliest possible convenience. My personal information is on file with the UN CRPD Secretary, Jorge Araya. My street address follows below.

Best wishes.

Samuel Miller.

–
Samuel Miller
E-Mail: disabilityinliterature@gmail.com
Blog: Hephaestus: Disability Studies
http://illnessandcivilization.blogspot.com/
Blog: My Disability Studies Blackboard
http://mydisabilitystudiesblackboard.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Hephaestus7
(Montreal, Canada)

2

You are not alone in your views

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/nurse-makes-heartfelt-apology-after-1340838

3

Sadly the people of Britain seem to be unaware of what is happening, or don’t care, as long as it doesn’t happen to them.

4

Hi david,

thanks for great link - terrifying and shocking, isn’t it?

That’s great The Daily Record are exposing Atos, fantastic.

I notice they’ve done a few articles on the WCA recently - good for them.

All we need now is for the rest of the world’s press to catch up!

xx

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I think the Government did a great job villifying the disabled, dripping poison into the ears of the tabloids making out that the disabled are phoney scroungers defrauding the system.

I still don’t get how there hasn’t been more coverage though.

If only someone high profile would speak out on our behalf. I bet that would make a difference.

xx

I pray the truth will eventually out

6

Oh wow that’s brilliant, I don’t know if anything will come of it but at least someone is trying to help us. I’m not surprised it’s not it the national papers sadly, I keep hoping they will start to pick up the Record’s articles but they don’t. As Frank Gallagher said " Have we had a national fooking stroke, or what ?"

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I still don’t get how there hasn’t been more coverage though.

If only someone high profile would speak out on our behalf. I bet that would make a difference.

xx

I pray the truth will eventually out

I agree, if only someone would speak out. There have been a few very good documentaries, unfortunately every one seems to know someone who has played the system, or that is what they believe. There was an opinion poll taken last week and I couldnt find it on the BBC website or anywhere in the media. Apparently the people of Britain have voted in favour of the government’s cut to the welfare bill, which makes me believe that unless it happens to them or their families, people really don’t want to know. Not yet anyway.

Thank you for your information sparkledust.

Wendy x

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That is some brilliant information, Sparkledust!

I can see that the government needs to cut the welfare bill. However, as usual, they’re picking on the most vunerable people in society. I personally think maybe winter fuel allowances shouldn’t be paid to people over a certain pension income, child benefit shouldn’t be paid to people whose children live overseas EU, amongst others.

The cynical side in me is wondering if the government are trying manipulate this so as to lose as little as possible in votes?!

Tigger

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It’s awful, Wendy, isn’t it?

I think the public don’t know the actual reality of what the disabled are going through.

What a nightmare xx

10

Nothing would surprise me, terrible. x

11

It’s not rocket science the way out of this mess being made worse by the Government. Simon Jenkins and Billy Bragg are singing from the same hymn sheet and are portraying the way out of this financial mess the world is in.

It makes me smile when any Tory says “you can’t spend your way out of debt;” but isn’t that exactly what they are doing?

By getting the Bank of England (BoE) to print more money (Quantative Easing) surely that is precisely what they are doing

The way they use Quantative Easing (QE) is entirely wrong. The idea is The Bank of England (BoE) prints money, puts it in circulation and the banks should then loan it to businesses enabling them to employ more people and creating growth.

But surely growth comes from business selling their goods/services and creating profit? The business will then earn sufficient money to employ a person; that is the way to create growth.

An alternative: give everybody above the age of 16 who earns below £80,000 per year £2,000. They will spend the money on bills, rent/mortgage, consumer goods etc. making profit for businesses and thus creating growth. If they put it into a savings account that is doing exactly what the BoE are doing. This would cost about 20 billion pounds but it should be remembered that the BoE has given the banks 375 billion in QE so far.

In the long term the Robin Hood Tax must be implemented. A less than half 1p in the pound tax on every transaction involving bonds, derivatives etc. (not in your high street bank) would raise £100 billion per year (see http://robinhoodtax.org/)

Vince Cable (bless his Lib-Dem cotton socks) is setting up this new bank to only lend to business but it’s going to take 18 months to start. While we have a Chancellor who equates the country’s budget with that of a household budget saying “in times of austerity we must cut back on our spending” we will have a long, bleak future.

The answer to any bank that wants to move to, say, Hong Kong is simple. If they move they will not be allowed to operate in this country. I’m sure you would get agreement on that in the EU.

This is the way out of this problem. Too many people, especially up North, are feeling this financial catastrophe. £2000, although not perhaps solving their problem, will take some of the pressure from them.

Solve the debt you will not have pressure to reduce benefits.

George

12

I agree, however if you look at history we are in a very similar situation to just before the second war and following a similar pattern to what happen in Germany by printing money.

That gave German a new leader who many do not think was the greatest contribution to world piece.

13

Thanks for great links Sparkledust!

I was without internet for a few days so want you to know that I’m still fighting the good fight! If I hadn’t replied to your posts it wasn’t cos I dropped out!

Thanks again,

Pat x

14

I suppose it just proves the old saying that The Tories will always protect the rich at the expense of the most vunerable, for one very good reason.

As Eddie Murphy said in Trading Places…“whats the best way to hurt someone rich ?..Make them poor”

That can NEVER be allowed to happen, can it !

So they will just keep-on battering everyone who is ‘beneath’ them (the disabled etc) and planting their propaganda in the press (some, like The BBC, actually have to push it, as, guess where their money comes from).

Rant Over

P.S. no, I am not a labour supporter.