KEY POINTS:
New Zealand is working hard to ensure human rights for people with disabilities, Minister for Disability Issues Ruth Dyson told the UN in New York yesterday.
At a ceremony for the signing of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Dyson spoke of New Zealand initiatives already in place, such as the country's Disability Strategy, of which "we are justifiably proud".
"Our strategy's goals are very similar to those of this Convention."
Dyson, accompanied by Gary Williams, CE of the New Zealand Disabled Persons Assembly, also praised the work of organisations working with people with disabilities.
The Convention will be the first new comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century, aimed at the 650 million people with disabilities around the world.
New Zealand joined 52 other countries signing the Convention, which will enter into force when ratified by 20 countries.
New Zealand played key roles in negotiating the convention, said Dyson. Williams was involved for a number of years, as was the country's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Don MacKay.
Members of the disability community were also closely engaged in the drafting and negotiations, alongside officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Office for Disability Issues.
