a. Exclusion of support for persons affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder – articles 5 and 31; and b. Fully inclusive education system – article 24. 6. This supplementary submission provides further details on these two key challenges for Aotearoa New Zealand’s implementation of the CRPD and concludes with a summary of the Commission’s recommendations which the Committee may wish to consider adopting following its second and third periodic review of New Zealand. Exclusion from support for persons affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder – articles 5 and 31 Eligibility for needs assessment to access support services 7. The lack of adequate support for whānau affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) has been a longstanding issue in Aotearoa New Zealand. For decades there have been calls for better recognition of and support for people affected by FASD. While there have been some recent developments,6 the New Zealand government has made no timebound commitment to recognising people with FASD as disabled people entitled to all of the rights and protections of the CRPD. This means that their needs, and those of their whānau, are not being fully met. All persons with impairments resulting from FASD should be eligible to access the necessary supports and services (including but not limited to health, community, education and employment services). 8. Aotearoa New Zealand lacks proper data on the prevalence of FASD among its population. However, evidence shows that Māori bear a disproportionate burden from alcohol harm, and, by extension, this would include FASD.7 This burden is exacerbated by wider inequities for Māori in the health system and is a potential breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.8 9. Under the New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993, the definition of disabled people includes people experiencing “a physical, intellectual or psychological disability or impairment, loss of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function, reliance on assistance or 6 7 8 For example, the New Zealand government adopted An Action Plan “Taking Action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder 2016–2019”, which is discussed further below. According to the Ministry of Health’s ‘New Zealand Health Survey: Alcohol Use 2012/2013 (February 2015), Māori are 1.6 times more likely to be hazardous drinkers than non-Māori. Women with unplanned pregnancies who regularly drink in a risky way will be at greater risk of causing harm to the foetus. The highest rates for drinking during pregnancy in New Zealand were for Māori women with 34 percent reporting drinking alcohol at some time during their most recent pregnancy. Te Tiriti o Waitangi requires partnership in decision-making, proactive support from the government for Māori self-determination (tino rangatiratanga), alongside ensuring equity of outcomes for Māori. See Waitangi Tribunal ‘Hauora – Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry’ (2019), at pp. 29, 32, 37, 67 and 164. See also P King ‘Māori with lived experience of disability Part I. Waitangi Tribunal for Stage Two of the Wai 2575 Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry’ (June 2019), p. 35. 4