That was quick! Just three weeks ago, the House considered the Disability (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) Bill, intended to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and sent it to select committee. Today, it (along with the international treaty examination) was reported back [PDF]. The committee recommends that the Convention be ratified by October 3rd so that NZ can attend the first Conference of Parties, so this bill is likely to be given priority in House.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to ratify the Convention's Optional Protocol, which would provide a complaints mechanism and give it teeth. Instead, they're waiting for the outcome of negotiations on the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, which has some overlap. Coincidentally, this deprives the IHC of an international platform to complain about the government's ongoing blatant discrimination against persons with disabilities in the education system. Convenient, neh?
As for the National Party, they issued a minority report expressing concerns about the effects of the Convention on the business community. Nice to know where they really stand on fundamental equality.
