Debate contribution: United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 25 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4675206
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The DUP is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can live full and active lives. We have continually advocated for better access to services that can help to ensure that people with disabilities can play a stronger role in their local communities and in the workplace. We are committed to ensuring that those living with a disability in our society are not disadvantaged in accessing public services and can lead independent and fulfilling lives.
Northern Ireland has the highest level of disability in the United Kingdom, with one in five people affected. Achieving a fair society requires a sustained and tailored response that meets the specific needs of people with disabilities, irrespective of whether the disability is physical, learning, sensory, hidden or mental health-related. It is clear that a cross-cutting approach is needed from all Ministers. It is imperative that the needs of people with disabilities inform how the Government make policy and plan for the future. The Democratic Unionist Party wants disabled people to have more involvement in that process and at an earlier stage. Our party will continue to champion the development of a disability strategy. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified and came into force in the UK in 2009. The Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, has advised that he is considering the next stages in the development of an Executive disability strategy and the opportunity that that would provide to incorporate UNCRPD. The Alliance Party motion calls for that to happen. Article 10 of the convention states:
"every human being has the inherent right to life".
My party, the Democratic Unionist Party, has always defended the most basic human right: the right to life. It is deeply upsetting that the current abortion laws in Northern Ireland send a message that people with a disability are less valuable than those without a disability. Northern Ireland is not a safe place for those who have been diagnosed with a disability before birth. In its 2017 report, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised concerns about:
"perceptions in society that stigmatize persons with disabilities as living a life of less value than that of others and about the termination of pregnancy at any stage on the basis of fetal impairment."
That committee recommended that selective abortion on the grounds of fetal deficiency should not be legalised. Our amendment takes nothing away from the original wording of the motion but adds that recognition of the inherent right to life of every human being and:
"notes that selective abortion on the grounds of fetal impairment is contrary to the view of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities".
We note with concern the position that the Alliance Party took in 2021 when it opposed a Bill that would have ended disability discrimination in abortion on the basis of fetal impairment. Sinn Féin, on the other hand, yo-yoed on the issue, first saying that such grounds for abortion were inappropriate but then moving to oppose the Bill at a later stage. Therefore, the other parties need to clarify their position on disability protections. For our part, the DUP wants to see a society in which all people with a disability are treated with value, respect and dignity. No one with a disability should feel as though they are not valued by society or by our Government. Society must not stigmatise people with disabilities or treat them with any less value. I commend the amendment to the House.
595 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.59 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.76).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.61).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was moderate at most and none of the culture-war criteria was close to being met.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.42 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.08 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.19 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.29 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.76 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.59 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.61 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.06 |
| Adopts it | 0.33 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:40 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.