To Members of the UK Parliament—A Call to Conscience: Parliament’s Role in Preventing a Humanitarian Crisis

To Members of the UK Parliament:

If you vote to pass the proposed PIP cuts, and sick and disabled people begin to die as a result of losing their lifeline benefits, know this: a formal complaint will be filed with the International Criminal Court. The charge? Democidal policy by neglect—state-sanctioned abandonment of the vulnerable.

I will also be reaching out to The Honourable Louise Arbour, a fellow Montrealer and one of the world’s most respected jurists. As former Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, she made history by indicting Slobodan Milošević for crimes against humanity. She later served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her legacy is one of fearless accountability.

As for me, I’ve been called “an iconic figure in Canadian disability history” by a University of Ottawa law professor. I do not make this statement lightly. I make it because I know what’s at stake.

History is watching. So is international law.

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