UN committee agree to review whether Archie Battersbee's rights were violated
It's after the Southend boy's life support was switched off last summer
A UN committee's agreed to review whether a Southend boy's rights as a disabled person were violated, when his life support was switched off.
12 year-old Archie Battersbee died after his care was withdrawn last August, nearly 4 months after he suffered catastrophic brain damage in an incident at his home in Southend.
His parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, pursued a lengthy legal battle with the UK courts at the time, asking them to give Archie longer to recover, a battle which ultimately failed.
An inquest later ruled he died accidentally.
What happened to Archie Battersbee?
On April 7 2022, Archie was found unconscious by his mother, Hollie Dance, at her home in Southend and rushed to hospital.
He suffered catastrophic brain damage, and after almost a month, had still not regained consciousness.
Doctors at the Royal London Hospital started High Court proceedings to undertake a test of the brain stem and withdraw mechanical ventilation.
They said it was "highly likely" the 12-year-old was effectively dead and it was in his best interests to have his life support switched off.
Lawyers representing Archie's family said his heart was still beating and they wanted care to continue.
The High Court ruled Archie was brain stem dead and agreed to let doctors withdraw treatment, but Archie's parents appealed the decision.
What followed was a lengthy legal battle in which the 12-year-old's family attempted to get both the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights involved.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) issued an injunction requiring that the UK keep Archie alive while the Committee considered his case.
However, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the decision of the national High Court took precedence over the UN injunction.
As a result, it was ruled that Archie's life support would be turned off and at 10am on August 6th 2022, his care was withdrawn.
Archie died at 12.15pm on August 6th 2022.
Following his death, his mother Hollie said she was "the proudest mum in the world", adding: "he was such a beautiful little boy and he fought right until the very end, and I am so proud to be his mum.”
"All I ever wanted was for Archie to have time"
Archie's Mum, Hollie Dance, has been responding to the news that the UN committee will review the case: “I am again so grateful to the UN for their response. We have received so little support from the UK ‘system’, this means so much.
"At the time, we felt completely betrayed that the government intervened and went against us despite the UN’s intervention.
“All we had ever wanted was for Archie to have time. The UN intervention granted that time, but in our hour of need, that was taken away from us.
“Nothing can now bring Archie back, but I am determined to continue to pursue justice for him.”
What is the UN CRPD?
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a quasi-judicial international human rights body which operates under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to enforce the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.