RESIDENTS, shoppers and visitors in Eastbourne have been praised for their role in supporting full equal rights for disabled people and signing up to a petition which has been delivered to 10 Downing Street.
At least 330 people added their names to the petition at the Scope charity shop located on Seaside Road — this was well above the national average of 200 signatures for each store and made the shop one of the better performing in terms of encouragi
ng people to support their campaign.
The petition demands the government ratifies a UN Convention on disability in full, which explicitly sets out the human rights of life, freedom, equality and justice for disabled people.
The government has said it will ratify the treaty in December, but Scope and other disability organisations fear it will reserve, or opt out, on several key areas of the Convention including education, and the armed forces, which would undermine its effectiveness.
Andrew Adair, director of retail at disability charity Scope, said, "We are so proud that residents, shoppers and visitors to the sunshine coast have shown real enthusiasm in backing our disability equality campaign in such high numbers and enabled us to take our message to 10 Downing Street.
"We would ask the public in Eastbourne to continue supporting us by donating good quality clothes and bric-a-brac to our local store.
"Shoppers can pick up some of our fantastic Christmas cards — and remember that 100 per cent of the profit from our festive cards and giftware goes to supporting Scope's work with disabled people.
"It's a great opportunity for people to celebrate Christmas at a reasonable price, whilst doing their bit for charity."
