Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you for the presentation of today’s report.
We welcome the significant progress made towards the implementation of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy across the UN system. New Zealand continues to advocate for further action, as it is clear there is still a long way to go.
New Zealand calls for accessibility and a reduction of disabling factors in all parts of the UN system, and reaffirms the importance of the full inclusion of persons with disabilities, and their leadership, to promote the successful implementation of the strategy.
The promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities is a priority for New Zealand and we are proud to take a leadership role alongside Mexico in the biennial resolutions on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in both the Third Committee and the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Persons with disabilities often face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, and we continue to encourage the UN to strengthen efforts to address these.
New Zealand also strongly supports continued progress on the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy and the system-wide efforts that are being made to advance disability inclusion and to ensure that the UN leads by example.
As previous Strategy implementation updates have noted, fulfilling the commitment to leave no one behind requires the UN to embed disability inclusion at the core of its organisational culture and ensure its sustainability across the system, for the long-term.
We would like to ask, how can Member States best support sustainability of the Strategy’s results and continued system-wide coordination?
Thank you.