New Zealand is pleased that the focus of this year’s Conference will be on harmonizing national policies and plans with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to Paula Tesoriero, MNZM, Chief Executive of Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People, New Zealand.
Only if the provisions of the Convention are given full effect inside individual countries will it be possible to realize the Convention’s promise of providing complete implementation of the rights it recognizes. It is consequently vital to establish national legislation, policy orientations, and tactics that are appropriately linked with the objectives of the Convention and that work to advance those ideals. It is also essential to have international collaboration, which includes exchanging information regarding accomplishments, difficulties, and successful practices, to ultimately realize the rights of people with impairments.
The significance of discussions regarding the improvement of accessibility in various aspects of life and the addressing of critical emerging areas of societal change is reflected in the titles of the roundtables that will be held during this Conference. The roundtables will be titled “ensuring equal access to and Accessibility of Sexual and reproductive health services for Persons with Disabilities,” “digital accessibility for Persons with Disabilities,” and “Reaching the under-represented Groups of Persons with Disabilities,” respectively.
We continue to be concerned about the challenges experienced by people with disabilities who are subject to many forms of discrimination that interconnect with one another. We call on the States Parties to uphold the obligation to guarantee people with disabilities equal as well as effective legal protection against discrimination on all grounds, and to build the capacity to measure the impact of policies and strategies against intersectional identity markers, to achieve equality in outcomes for all people with disabilities.
For States Parties to be able to respond and adapt, policy measures need to be rooted in the rights described in the Convention, and they also need to integrate approaches that are gender-responsive and age-sensitive.
The Group of Friends reaffirms our appeal for an improved systemic approach to the inclusion of people with disabilities and the engagement of civil society, including the full and meaningful participation of people with disabilities and the organizations that represent them in the work done by the United Nations.
We applaud the initiatives taken by the United Nations, in particular the implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy and the initiatives taken by the President of the General Assembly on accessibility measures, including the meeting to exchange views and identify good practices on the role of communications that are easy to understand. We acknowledge the continued efforts made by the Bureau and Secretariat to improve accessibility, which includes access for individuals with mobility limitations, increased sign language interpretation, and a Conference program that is easier to read.
We are progressing toward securing universal ratification of the Convention, which would be a significant step toward reaching under-represented groups of people with disabilities. The Group of Friends strongly urges those nations that still need to ratify the Convention to do so, and they also encourage such countries to consider authorizing the Convention’s Optional Protocol seriously.
In conclusion, we must proceed with the implementation of Convention as well as 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in full partnership with people with disabilities and the organizations that speak for them. We are making a plea to all of the States Parties to ensure that the premise of the disability movement that “nothing about us without us” be upheld in the construction of the future.
