What is Disabled Person-Led Monitoring Research?
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international agreement. It sets out what governments must do to make sure disabled people have the same rights as everybody else. You can read the Convention here.
In 2008, the Government of New Zealand signed the Convention, indicating its commitment to making disability rights real in Aotearoa New Zealand. More than a decade on, it is important to understand if, and how well, this is happening. Monitoring research is how we do this.
In 2018, the Donald Beasley Institute was appointed by the Disabled Persons Organisation Coalition (DPO Coalition) and the New Zealand Government as the research partner to carry out the monitoring research.
Over six years we will conduct inclusive and accessible research on behalf of the DPO Coalition that enables disabled people to share their experiences of human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. We will also be monitoring the progressive realisation of the Convention at a systemic level. This means investigating systems and policies that have resulted in the violation of disabled people’s rights.
In 2019, we began by interviewing disabled people and their families/whānau about their experiences of housing (2018 – 2020) and then health and wellbeing (2020-2021). These reports are expected to be launched in 2022. We have now started the planning for the next cycle of monitoring, where we are investigating disabled people’s right to supports and services under the new Ministry for Disabled People.
It is important to know that this research is led entirely by disabled people. From the Project Lead and Research Assistant, to Monitors, transcribers, and participants, this project embodies the disability rights slogan ‘nothing about us, without us’ at every stage of the research process.
Click here to read more at the original web page at www.donaldbeasley.org.nz to find updated information, including advertisements, calls to participate, research documents and forms, the final reports, as well as all of the content in accessible formats (audio, Easy Read, large print, New Zealand Sign Language and te Reo Māori).