THE UN are to investigate Tory Government welfare reforms, including the so-called rape clause.
It’s been almost a year since Chancellor George Osborne first announced plans for a two-child limit on tax credits. The only way families will be able to claim tax credits for a third child is if they can prove one of their children was conceived as the result of rape.
SNP MP Alison Thewliss wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, suggesting the policy was a contravention of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. She said the proposals were “medieval”.
Recently, the UN responded to the MP saying that they too had concerns about the Government’s proposal. The UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child will discuss the policy today and tomorrow.
Thewliss welcomed the UN’s intervention and said: “Everyone knows that the medieval two child policy and rape clause is unworkable, immoral and is now almost certainly in contravention of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which the United Kingdom signed up to almost 25 years ago now.
“I warmly welcome the UN’s decision to intervene and shine a very bright light onto this cruel and thoughtless government, which appears hell bent on making life as difficult as possible for ordinary people.
A DWP spokesman said: “We know this is a sensitive issue and have been clear that we will develop appropriate exemptions and protections. We want to make sure this support is compassionate and effective, which is why we are engaging with MPs and working with a range of stakeholders.”
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