Information about steps the Government will take to improve the rights of persons with disabilities in line with international obligations is now publicly available, Disability Minister Louise Upston has announced.
Reinforcing New Zealand’s strong commitment to human rights, Cabinet late last year agreed the Government’s approach to address the 63 concluding observations (recommendations) made by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Information about the recommendations, the actions that Government agencies have committed to, and how progress will be tracked, is now public on the Human Rights Monitor.
“Ensuring we make clear and demonstrable progress is important, for both the disability community and our Government,” Louise Upston says.
“Having this information publicly available shows our commitment to disability rights and being transparent about the work we are doing to deliver results.
“Multiple agencies are leading work on 30 of the recommendations we have committed to, while a further 17 are being considered as part of the work being done by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha on the refreshed New Zealand Disability Strategy.”
An additional 16 recommendations were considered and noted, with the Government retaining flexibility to reconsider the response to these recommendations at any time.
“We are making good progress, but we know there is still plenty of work to do.
“As part of this, I recently re-established a Ministerial Disability Leadership Group to drive action for disabled people across government and to oversee the work to implement the UNCRPD recommendations.
“This is one of the ways we are delivering real results for the disabled community, alongside work such as the refreshed disability and sign language strategies.”
