Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Tories cannot brush off our human rights
Tory disregard for the United Nations Disability Committee’s damning report on governmental violations of disabled people’s human rights is despicable but not unexpected, writes LINDA BURNIP
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
LAST week was a bit of a roller coaster, one with the sudden and unexpected publication of the United Nations Disability Committee’s report which found unequivocally that the Tory government is guilty of grave and systematic violations of disabled people’s human rights.
For those of you who don’t already know, Britain, much to the shame of this government, was the very first country in the world to be investigated by the UN using an Optional Protocol in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This has been a four-year fight for Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) but now our actions have been vindicated and from the evidence we have presented over the past four years, we have proven beyond a doubt that the actions of the Tory and coalition governments towards disabled people have been and continue to be utterly barbaric.
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In the current climate, it is vital to bust the myths and put forward the case for a humane and decent social security system that supports people, argues FRAN HEATHCOTE