Disabled person-led monitoring: bringing life to Article 33.3 of the UNCRPD

Abstract

Aotearoa New Zealand is a small island nation known for its picturesque landscapes and for ‘punching above its weight’ both socially and politically. Less well known, however, is its long and rich history of disability-led advocacy. This history undoubtedly paved the way for the significant role that Aotearoa New Zealand played in the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and subsequent efforts to bring life to Article 33 of the Convention. This article can be thought of as a road map; that is, a historical overview of Aotearoa New Zealand’s disability rights journey. As well as reflecting on where we have come from, it also inquires as to where we are going, by investigating the strengths and opportunities of current efforts to monitor the progressive realisation of disability rights in Aotearoa New Zealand – in 2020, and beyond.

Points of interest

• This article is about the history of disability rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of disability-led advocacy and helped to develop the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Convention).

• Article 33 of the Convention says that governments must have a way to measure disability rights in their country that involves disabled people.

• This article looks at how Article 33 has been carried out in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is called ‘Disabled Person-Led Monitoring’.

• Examples of Disabled Person-Led Monitoring research projects are provided.

• Finally, the strengths and challenges of Disabled Person-Led Monitoring are talked about.

Keywords:

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Aotearoa New Zealand
• Article 33
• disability rights
• monitoring

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the New Zealand Disabled People’s Organisation Coalition and the New Zealand Office for Disability Issues who supported the development of this article. We also acknowledge the expertise of Dr Kelly Tikao and Professor Kate Diesfeld who provided advice on specific aspects of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.