The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is an international human rights treaty that New Zealand ratified in 2008. It sets out what is required to implement existing human rights as they relate to disabled people. Countries that ratify the UNCRPD (like New Zealand) have an obligation to implement its principles and incorporate them into domestic law, but they can do so gradually over time. In Aotearoa New Zealand this is very much still a slow work in progress.
Purpose
The UNCRPD promotes and protects the rights of disabled people, ensuring they have the same rights and freedoms as non-disabled people. In essence, this means they should have the same legal right to do all the legal things that other people do, irrespective of their disability or decision-making capacity.
What it does
The UNCRPD sets out what countries need to do to implement existing human rights for disabled people. It doesn’t create new rights, but instead confirms and sets out what’s required.
How it works
Countries that ratify the UNCRPD have an obligation to implement it, but they can do so gradually over time. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Disability Committee) monitors how governments implement the UNCRPD. People in countries that have ratified the UNCRPD can make complaints to the UN Disability Committee if they think their rights have been abused or denied.
New Zealand ratified the CRPD on 25 September 2008.
Optional Protocol
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(external link) was adopted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/106 on 13 December 2006 and entered into force on 3 May 2008.
New Zealand acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 5 October 2016. It came into force on 4 November 2016. For information on the optional protocol including what the Optional Protocol means for disabled people please click on this link:
Monitoring
The CRPD provides for:
- a reporting procedure.
The Optional Protocol to the CRPD provides for:
- an individual complaints procedure, and
- an optional (opt-out) inquiry procedure (Article 8).
New Zealand’s arrangement to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the UNCRPD is structured in accordance with Article 33 of the Convention.
Article 33 – National Implementation and Monitoring
- States Parties, in accordance with their system of organization, shall designate one or more focal points within government for matters relating to the implementation of the present Convention, and shall give due consideration to the establishment or designation of a coordination mechanism within government to facilitate related action in different sectors and at different levels.
- States Parties shall, in accordance with their legal and administrative systems, maintain, strengthen, designate or establish within the State Party, a framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention. When designating or establishing such a mechanism, States Parties shall take into account the principles relating to the status and functioning of national institutions for protection and promotion of human rights.
- Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process.
New Zealand has a Government mechanism and the Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM).
The Ministerial Committee on Disability Issues is the coordination mechanism within government for implementation.
Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People is the government focal point on disability (a function it has performed since its establishment in 2022 under the New Zealand Disability Strategy).
The Independent Monitoring Mechanism is made up of:
- the Human Rights Commission
- the Office of the Ombudsman
- the DPO Coalition, a grouping of disabled people’s organisations monitoring rights of disabled people.
In May 2010, the Government announcement funding from Budget 2010 for these participants. On 13 October 2011, the Minister for Disability Issues published a notice in the New Zealand Gazette formally recognising this independent monitoring arrangement as designated by Cabinet.