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Madame President
New Zealand has been pleased to join the consensus in support of this resolution.
The adoption of this Convention by the General Assembly is the end of a journey embarked on by the United Nations since 2001. For the international disability community, it has been a much longer journey.
Disability organisations – civil society – have long been pressing for a convention dealing specifically with the rights of persons with disabilities. It is no secret that some governments had, initially, some reservations about the need to negotiate a major new human rights convention, particularly given the resources required for such a process. Theoretically there was no need for a new convention, because the existing human rights instruments apply to persons with disabilities, in just the same way that they do to everyone else.
The reality, unfortunately, has not followed the theory. The existing human rights instruments have fallen far short in their protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed to persons with disabilities.
This does not mean that States have deliberately avoided their obligations. But many of the obligations under other instruments are set out in quite a broad and generic way, which can leave grey areas for their practical implementation in respect of particular groups. Often, too, the enjoyment of rights and freedoms by persons with disabilities may require some adaptation by States to accommodate the disability in question. And unfortunately persons with disabilities have often been marginalised and discriminated against in our societies.
The dismaying statistics compiled by the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies on the situation of persons with disabilities worldwide leave no doubt that specific action needed to be taken. And those of us who have participated in these negotiations were certainly left in no doubt as to why this convention is needed. The candid and informative contributions of civil society, the disability organisations, have been invaluable in opening our eyes and reaffirming why our task was so crucial.
Once that hurdle had been overcome, and there was acceptance of the need for a Convention, all of the participants, States and civil society together, have worked tirelessly to get a worthy outcome.
New Zealand is confident that the Convention is a worthy outcome, and that it will make a significant difference to the ten percent of the world’s population that lives with a disability. It is a practically focussed convention, because it has been so closely informed and influenced by the experiences of persons with disabilities worldwide, as represented by their organisations. They have clearly articulated the challenges, difficulties and requirements of persons with disabilities in their interaction with society at large, and it is those areas – and they are myriad - on which the Convention focuses. It will be the benchmark for future standards and action.
Attitudes need to change, societies need to be more inclusive and accessible, and persons with disabilities need to be more empowered. The Convention enshrines themes such as these.
The key, of course, will be effective implementation. For that, we need to bring the Convention into force as quickly as possible, and with 20 States Parties required, the threshold is relatively low. With the formal adoption of the Convention by this Assembly, governments now need to move quickly to enact any necessary legislation, to take the necessary constitutional or administrative steps, and to sign and ratify the convention. It would be a travesty if, following the adoption of this Convention, treaty action is allowed to languish, and persons with disabilities yet again find themselves at the back of the queue for government attention.
Effective implementation will also require effective and coordinated action by disability organisations, which we have seen to work so well in the negotiations. It will require cooperation between States, and the mainstreaming of disabilities issues into development assistance programmes. Again, this is covered in the Convention.
Madame President, in conclusion may I say that it has been a privilege for New Zealand and me personally to be closely involved in these negotiations, initially as Chair of the Working Group and coordinator of the informal negotiations, and subsequently as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee. Could I place on the record our huge indebtedness for the extraordinarily hard work of those involved in the process, particularly the bureau – no bureau has ever served a process better – the Chair of the Drafting Committee who has worked so expertly, the chair of the negotiations on monitoring, and those many others who have chaired and facilitated a wide variety of issues, as well as for the support of the Secretariat and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. I should also like to acknowledge the excellent work done by my predecessor in the chair.
In my role as Chair, I have had strong support from the New Zealand Government which has been thoroughly committed to this process, including the Minister for Disability Issues, Hon Ruth Dyson, and from my colleagues from New Zealand. Finally, may I express wholehearted thanks to all of the participants in the negotiations, from States and from civil society, for the highly constructive, positive and supportive approach that they have consistently taken.
