New Zealand welcomes recommendations from United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

  • Tariana Turia
Disability Issues

Minister for Disability Issues Tariana Turia welcomed the release today of the recommendations from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“The Government will take on board the advice from the United Nations Committee and intends to formally respond in early 2015,” says Minister Turia.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has published its Concluding Observations following its recent examination of New Zealand’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The examination took place at a meeting on the 15th and 16th September 2014 in Geneva, where a government delegation appeared before the Committee and answered over 80 questions on the situation for disabled people in New Zealand. The Government is obligated to respond back to the United Nations within one year from the release of the Concluding Observations.

“New Zealand chose to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because we believe that those who live with disability should be free from discrimination and be able to live, work and participate in their communities just as others do - both in New Zealand and around the world.”  

“We have made great progress in New Zealand in recent years with approaches such as Enabling Good Lives - that transforms disability supports - as well as the greater involvement of disabled people’s representatives in the work of government agencies that was seen in the Disability Action Plan 2014-2018 -  and the Think Differently campaign promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people.”

“But we know that more needs to be done. We have worked collaboratively with disabled people’s representatives to set the Disability Action Plan priorities - and we have established and funded an Independent Monitoring Mechanism operating outside of government, which meets annually with Ministers.”

“It is timely to receive the United Nations’ recommendations, which includes the views of other countries and the expertise of committee members, the majority of whom have a lived experience of disability. These recommendations will inform the new Disability Action Plan and the Government’s future work programme,” says Mrs Turia.