Submission of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission to the 18 th session of the Human Rights Council;
New Zealand’s Second Universal Periodic Review.
Monitoring programme for the next period
The next 12 months will be a crucial period for monitoring compliance with the Disability
Convention, including progress against the IMM’s recommendations. The release of the 2013
Disability Survey data from mid-2014 onwards will provide much needed information that should
assist better monitoring and assessment.
Implementation of the Disability Convention will be in the spotlight during September 2014. This is
when the New Zealand Government’s first periodic report is due to be considered by the United
Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Key priorities that the IMM intends to monitor over the next reporting period are:
1
opportunities for disabled people’s voices to impact on policy decisions about their lives
2
supported decision-making
3
issues relating to vulnerable children with disabilities, particularly those at risk of being parted
from their families
4
reporting the experiences of Mäori and Pacific disabled people
5
preventing violence, abuse and neglect within residential services, homes and public places
6
considering the compounding challenges experienced by people with disabilities as they age
7
accessibility of information, including government web standards
8
guidance provided by the Disability Convention in relation to bio-ethical issues such as prenatal testing
9
support for people with experience of mental illness in prisons and other places of detention.
Recommendations in the body
of the report
The full report tracks progress in meeting the obligations set out in various articles of the Disability
Convention and recommends further actions needed. Those recommendations are listed below:
Recommendation 1
That the Government continue to jointly develop the Disability Action Plan with DPOs (including
disabled people, children and their families) and commit to its full implementation.
Recommendation 2
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