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Daily Mirror
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
The UK is failing on hunger — Labour must put the right to food into law
Today's new figures from Trussell on food bank use should shake every one of us — particularly those in positions of power — out of any complacency. Almost 3 million emergency food parcels were provided by food banks to people facing hunger in the past year – equivalent to one parcel every 11 seconds. This is a 51 per cent increase compared to five years ago. Every 11 seconds, a food parcel. Every 11 seconds, a failure of government. Behind each of these parcels is a person or family facing hunger in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We are living through a national emergency where hunger is the daily reality for millions, including working families, children, and disabled people. This is not just a social crisis. It is a profound human rights failure. Food banks, once a short-term emergency response, have become embedded into the UK's social fabric. At the heart of this crisis is a fundamental failure to treat access to food as a basic right. That's why we believe the Labour movement must take bold, rights-based action to end food poverty — starting with recognising the right to food in domestic law. In March, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) issued a damning set of recommendations to the UK Government. It found that the UK is falling far short of its international human rights obligations — with food insecurity and hunger among the most urgent concerns. Crucially, the Committee called on the UK ensure that the economic, social and cultural rights — including the right to food — are given full legal effect, and to adopt a comprehensive food strategy that prioritises dignity and equity. These recommendations didn't come out of nowhere. They are grounded in evidence from communities, campaigners and legal experts who are witnessing daily, the ways in which hunger is not just widespread but systemic. That is why we are joining forces — as a Labour MP leading the Right to Food campaign in Parliament, and as a domestic human rights organisation working to embed economic, social and cultural rights in UK law — to call on the Labour Party to act decisively on poverty and hunger. The Right to Food campaign, backed by city councils, faith groups, trade unions and supporters across the country, is built on a simple truth: food is not a commodity or a reward for hard work. It is a fundamental human right. In one of the richest countries in the world, no one should be going hungry. And when they do, it reflects political choices — not individual failure. We are calling for three concrete steps: This would ensure public bodies have a duty to uphold access to adequate, nutritious and culturally appropriate food — and that individuals have recourse if their rights are denied. It would also create a vital accountability mechanism for government decisions that impact food access. A joined-up strategy must go beyond agriculture and markets. It must address the drivers of food poverty: low incomes, inadequate social security, insecure housing, and cuts to local services. Any credible plan must be shaped by the lived experience of those most affected. Labour must champion a framework that recognises rights to food, but also housing, education, health, social security, and decent work. Without this foundation, efforts to tackle poverty and inequality will remain piecemeal and vulnerable to rollback. There is a growing movement across Parliament that recognises this. MPs from across the party have raised questions on the UN CESCR's findings. In the communities we serve, the appetite for change is clear. The task now is to match that with political will. The Labour government must rise to this challenge. It was elected on the with the pledge 'to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society,' so now is the time to act. That means rejecting the normalisation of hunger. It means ending the indignity of food banks. And it means recognising that access to food — like healthcare or education — is not optional. It is a fundamental human right. Labour has a chance to turn compassion into law — and it must seize it. We know this won't be easy. But it's what justice demands — and it's what our communities deserve. The UK was once a global leader in building a welfare state that protected people from the worst of hardship. We can be that country again. Let this year's food bank figures be the turning point in tackling hunger. Ian Byrne is the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby and Alex Firth is an advocacy officer at Just Fair.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN criticises failure to appoint language commissioners
A failure by the executive to appoint commissioners for the Irish language and Ulster-Scots has been criticised by a United Nations (UN) committee. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) also criticised "inadequate funding" for cultural and language rights. New language laws for Northern Ireland were passed in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022. But an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition have not yet been appointed. The roles, along with an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, were originally promised in the New Decade, New Approach deal in 2020. But the office has not been set up, and there are no commissioners yet in place. The president of the Irish language and culture group Conradh na Gaeilge, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, welcomed the UN report. He said he hoped commitments previously agreed by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin to appoint an Irish language commissioner would soon be delivered. "I hope we'll have them in place before the end of this [Stormont] mandate, I do not for the life of me understand what the delay is," he told BBC News NI. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said Irish language campaigners were deeply disappointed that a timetable for the appointment was not spelled out in the executive's programme for government but insisted that organisations would continue to put pressure on politicians to appoint someone to the role. The commissioners are meant to monitor the services public bodies deliver to Irish and Ulster-Scots speakers. Proposals from the language commissioners have to be approved by the first minister and deputy first minister before taking effect. CESCR is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors how states are implementing international agreements on social and cultural rights. Its latest report, which has just been published, monitors the UK government's actions and those of the devolved governments, including Northern Ireland. "The committee regrets that the institutions created to protect and promote the Irish language and to promote and develop the Ulster-Scot tradition have not yet been established," the committee's report said. It recommends that the executive "expedite the establishment of the institutions and policies envisaged for the protection and promotion of the Irish language and Ulster-Scots culture and heritage." A penal law dating from 1737, which prohibited the use of languages other than English in court, was recently repealed. It cleared the way for Irish to be used in legal proceedings in Northern Ireland. But there has been political disagreement over cuts to cross-border funding for the Irish language. That led to a recent strike by some Irish language organisations and activists. "The committee is concerned at the inadequate funding for culture and culture-related activities, which hampers the right of all to participate in cultural life, to express one's own identity, values and way of life without fear of discrimination," the UN report said. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said the UN committee was "echoing what we have been saying, not just with recent announcements around cuts to Foras na Gaeilge, but this something that's been 20 years in the making." "We have way more kids now enrolled in Irish medium education, we've much deeper demand for services across the whole strata of society, yet groups are expected to do more and more with less and less," he said. "That isn't sustainable, groups are really staring into the abyss as things stand. "We welcome that the report has highlighted this but more importantly it needs to be on the radar of Stormont to ensure a solution is found urgently to address this crisis." The UN Committee also highlighted other rights in its report, including expressing concern about the controversial Troubles Legacy Act and recommending "access to safe abortion services". It also called for more schemes to help women, people with disabilities, young people, ethnic minorities and migrants into employment. While it cannot force the UK government or the Northern Ireland Executive to act, the governments will have to report to the UN committee on what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
Memri
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Memri
The Qatar Weekly Update (QWU) – Part Of The Qatar Monitor Project (QMP) – No. 4, January 28, 2025
"In October, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) raised concerns regarding reports of discrimination of religious minorities in the country, including the Baha'i Faith community, some of whom are citizens. According to CESCR, Baha'is were subjected to administrative deportation and blacklisting, resulting in loss of employment and familial separation." – 2023 US International Religious Freedom Report, Op-ed: "End America's unwise alliance with Qatar," by Michael Pregent, a former U.S. intelligence officer who also served as a Defense Department advisor on the Iraqi security forces from 2006 to 2011 – see The Continued Arbitrary Detention of Sheikh Talal Al-Thani in Qatar. "The deprivation of liberty of Sheikh Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Ali Aal Thani, being in contravention of articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1), 9, 10 (1), 11, 14, 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is arbitrary and falls within categories I, III and V."- see See also Fox News: "Fear grows for jailed Qatari royal amid health decline as wife pleads at UN for release – his wife is waging David vs. Goliath struggle against the wealthy Qatari monarchy" – see
