Disabled People
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Click the photo to view this article in New Zealand Sign Language
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights convention of the twenty first century.
New Zealand signed the Convention on 30 March, 2007 and ratified it 26 September, 2008. New Zealand’s first report on the implementation of the Convention was submitted to the United Nations in March 2011.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities gives voice, visibility and legitimacy to disabled people and their issues in New Zealand and the rest of the world.
In New Zealand it is estimated that one in five people have a disability. Worldwide there are at least 650 million people with disabilities.
Download a copy of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities here.
What is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?
The Commission has produced a short resource in plain language setting out what the Disability Convention is and what it means for disabled people in Aotearoa. It is available in a range of accessible formats. Find out more.