Human Rights Day 2025

Human Rights Day 2025 – Our Everyday Essentials

Today is Human Rights Day 2025, and ARC NI is proud to celebrate this year’s theme of “Human Rights – Our Everyday Essentials.”

In a time of uncertainty and growing pressure on communities, it is more important than ever to reaffirm a simple truth: human rights belong to everyone. For people with a learning disability, autism or other support needs, these rights are not abstract concepts—they shape everyday life in meaningful and practical ways.

Human rights are present in the everyday essentials we rely on:

• The right to feel safe in our homes and communities
• The right to access health and social care
• The right to make choices, be heard and participate fully
• The right to be treated with dignity and without discrimination
• The right to meaningful relationships, education, employment and community life

Yet many people with a learning disability in Northern Ireland still do not fully enjoy their rights. Barriers in services, attitudes, policies and systems often stand in the way. As a result, rights can feel out of reach or even conditional. Human Rights Day offers an important reminder: these rights are universal, essential and achievable. It also reminds us that we share the responsibility to protect them.

UNCRPD in Northern Ireland – Why It Matters

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) sets out clear obligations to protect dignity, equality and inclusion for disabled people. While the UK has ratified the Convention, it is not yet incorporated into law in Northern Ireland, meaning its protections are not fully enforceable.

Recent political commitments, including support for legislation that would require public bodies in NI to give “due regard” to the UNCRPD, mark an important step forward. Incorporation would help ensure that the rights people rely on every day are backed by clear legal duties. For example, access to services, safety, choice and participation, are backed by clear legal duties

For people with a learning disability, autism or other support needs, embedding the UNCRPD into NI law would make a real difference. It would help turn principles into practice, strengthen accountability, and help remove the barriers that still prevent full and equal participation in community life.

Check out TILII TV’s film on Human Rights featuring an interview with Danny Donnelly MLA.

Our commitment

ARC NI works constantly to turn human rights from abstract ideals into everyday reality for people with a learning disability, autism, or other support needs. We bring together Experts by Experience with organisations, service providers and policymakers to influence support, services and policy.

Through community support, accessible information, training, advocacy and collective campaigning, ARC NI helps ensure people know their rights and have the power to exercise them. Our work supports equal access to health and social care, meaningful participation in community life, dignity and inclusion. All reflecting the everyday essentials human rights should guarantee.

At ARC NI, we are committed to supporting our members and sector to turn human rights into lived reality: not just on Human Rights Day, but every day.

Human rights are not optional. They are everyday essentials—and they belong to everyone.

TILII Talks Human Rights Day

For us at TILII, Human Rights Day is more than a date on the calendar. It reminds us why we fight for fairness, respect and inclusion every day.

This year’s theme, “Our Everyday Essentials,” shows that human rights aren’t just rules on paper, they shape the things we all need for a good life. For example, a safe home, health care, education, support, a voice, and respectful treatment. Everyone deserves these essentials, yet many people with a learning disability, autism or other support needs still get left out or ignored.

Training and Support for Rights

Human Rights Day gives us a chance to celebrate that courage and push for real change. Our members take part in forums, consultations, workshops and training. We do this because every voice matters, and every voice can make a difference.

Additionally, Human rights require more than talking — they require people to listen and act with respect. TILII delivers training for staff, through a learning disability induction course. This course makes sure everyone who supports people with a learning disability understands their rights and knows how to protect them.
We also create Easy Read materials so people can understand important information. ARC NI also delivers human rights training for social care staff. We support that work because staff knowledge helps turn rights into real, everyday practice.

TILII Training at the Dunadry Hotel with staff from Learning Disability & Older People’s Services.

Join TILII and Speak Out

At TILII, we’re proud to make our voices heard — and we believe everyone can speak up for human rights. Change doesn’t happen by itself. We need to listen, act and stand up for each other. Everyone has the right to live with dignity, safety and fairness.

Our work matters because it’s about real people and real lives. When we share our stories, we show that knowledge is power — and everyone deserves it.

We invite you to join us: learn about human rights, share your experiences, and speak out. Whether you take part in our advocacy work, our learning disability induction training, or ARC NI’s human rights training for staff, your actions help make Northern Ireland a fairer place. When more voices speak out, our world becomes fairer for everyone.