In the media
Disabled Leaders Take Fight for Rights to the United Nations
Disabled delegation to attend UN disability conference and host international side event amid growing concerns about New Zealand's compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Disabled leaders from across Aotearoa New Zealand will take their advocacy to the global stage next week to participate in the 19th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP19).
The delegation is a joint effort by Disabled Persons Assembly NZ (DPA) and Te Ao Mārama Aotearoa Trust (TAMA), and delegates will join government, Disabled Persons' Organisation (DPO), and civil society representatives from around the world to mark twenty years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
This year's conference theme, "CRPD at 20: celebrating and consolidating achievements and shaping the next phase of implementation in a changing world," comes at a critical moment for disabled people in Aotearoa.
While New Zealand has long presented itself internationally as a leader in disability rights, disabled communities are increasingly concerned about a series of recent government decisions that undermine disabled people's rights, participation, and quality of life.
The delegation will be closely monitoring any statements made by the New Zealand Government throughout COSP19, and assessing them against the lived realities currently being experienced by disabled people.
"While we wish we could celebrate more progress, we are attending COSP to hold our government accountable for the commitments they have made under the Convention, many of which they are currently failing to meet," said DPA President and Head of Delegation, Kera Sherwood-O'Regan.
"We cannot allow international human rights law to become a public relations exercise. The UNCRPD is a binding agreement that the New Zealand government has an obligation to uphold. When the government weakens disability rights, reduces participation, and makes major policy decisions without disabled people, we have a responsibility to call that out."
Recent developments in the New Zealand government raise serious questions about violations of the UNCRPD. Proposed changes to disability support legislation; reductions in support mechanisms; AI automated decision-making; housing decisions; and other policy shifts are undermining disability rights and have left many disabled people feeling excluded from decision-making processes.
Despite these challenges, disabled leaders say they are not waiting for government action. Instead, they are organising, collaborating, and building their own pathways to ensure implementation of the Convention.
Recent developments in the New Zealand government raise serious questions about violations of the UNCRPD. Proposed changes to disability support legislation; reductions in support mechanisms; AI automated decision-making; housing decisions; and other policy shifts are undermining disability rights and have left many disabled people feeling excluded from decision-making processes.
Despite these challenges, disabled leaders say they are not waiting for government action. Instead, they are organising, collaborating, and building their own pathways to ensure implementation of the Convention.
On Tuesday 9 June from 8:45am–10:00am NZT, the delegation will host an official COSP19 side event, which is open to virtual registrations from the New Zealand public:
Finding Common Ground: Whanaungatanga, Collaboration, and Building Disabled Leadership for Collective Impact on Disability Rights
The event brings together leaders from Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA), Te Ao Mārama Aotearoa (TAMA), Migrants Against the Acceptable Standard of Health Aotearoa (MAASHA), and the SustainedAbility Disability and Climate Network (SDCN). The discussion will showcase how disabled communities are using the UNCRPD as a practical tool for movement-building, leadership development, civic participation, and collective action.
Speakers will share lessons from:
- Finding Common Ground – a disabled-led initiative developing a Declaration of Disabled People's Rights for Aotearoa New Zealand
- MAASHA's campaign challenging discriminatory immigration policies affecting disabled migrants and their families
- The campaign toestablish a Disability Constituency within the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) to ensure disabled people have a voice in global climate governance and decisions about adaptation and resilience
The event aligns with COSP19 Sub-theme 3: "From participation to representation: enhancing accessible civic engagement, leadership and advocacy in political and public life."
Delegation organisers say the side event demonstrates that disabled people are increasingly moving beyond consultation and participation towards direct representation, leadership, and collective power.
"Disabled people are tired of tokenistic consultation with government after decisions have already been made," says Sherwood-O’Regan.
"Across Aotearoa and internationally, we are seeing disabled communities come together, build relationships, develop shared agendas, and use the CRPD as a roadmap for change.”
"Whanaukataka, collaboration, and collective leadership are how we translate rights on paper into rights in practice. That’s exactly what we are doing with Finding Common Ground, and with this delegation.”
“DPA are thrilled to be collaborating with Te Ao Mārama Aotearoa, the National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group, and disabled communities and allies on a New Zealand declaration. We are also grateful to have such esteemed rakatira from our whaikaha and hauā community joining this delegation and holding government to account."
The delegation says its presence at COSP19 sends a clear message: disabled people in Aotearoa will continue to use international human rights mechanisms to advance their rights, strengthen accountability, and build a future where disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori are represented wherever decisions affecting their lives are made.
ENDS
Media Contact:
Kera Sherwood-O'Regan
Disabled Persons Assembly New Zealand President
Co-Chair Finding Common Ground Steering Committee
Event Details:
Finding Common Ground: Whanaungatanga, Collaboration, and Building Disabled Leadership for Collective Impact on Disability Rights
Tuesday 9 June 2026
8:45am – 10:00am NZT
Online via Zoom