Human Rights Commission NZ
Media release
3 December, 2010
Poor education and job outcomes for disabled people highlighted on
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Poor education and employment outcomes for New Zealanders with disabilities
are highlighted in a Human Rights Commission report card on human rights
issues for people with disabilities launched to mark International Day of
Persons with Disabilities, 3 December.
Commissioner Dr Judy McGregor, who is co-acting Disability Commissioner,
said the report card found that disabled people were among the most
marginalised groups in New Zealand and continued to experience significant
disadvantage in fundamental areas such as employment, education, standard of
living and accessible public transport.
The report card is the first of a series to be publicly released by the
Commission in Human Rights in New Zealand 2010, a major analysis across the
spectrum of human rights and responsibilities.
The report card called Rights of Disabled People/Tikanga o te hunga hauâ
acknowledges the key role the monitoring and implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will have on
the lives if people with disabilities. The chapter highlights the most
recent statistics showing how the country fails disabled people in two major
areas of life: education and employment.
Only 22.11 per cent of disabled students with high needs gain NCEA
qualifications compared to 66.24 per cent of all students. Dr McGregor said,
“A poor education is an indicator for a poor future.” The Commission
welcomed the Education Ministry’s programme “Success for All: Every School,
Every Child” in October a plan to ensure disabled students achieved better
educational results.
For adult disabled New Zealanders the report card advocates action to
address a persistent gap in employment rates between disabled people and
non-disabled people that has persisted for more than a decade. Dr McGregor
said unemployment particularly affected disabled Maori adults, with more
than half (55 per cent) jobless, while a 10 per cent employment rate gap
between disabled and non-disabled non-Maori adults had barely shifted I the
10 years between 1996 and 2006.
Rights of Disabled People/Tikanga o te hunga hauâ calls for measurable
progress on inclusive education and a whole of government approach standard
of living and equal employment opportunities for disabled people.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was established in 1981
during the International Year for Disabled Persons, to mark the goal of
ensuring the full and effective participation of people with disabilities in
society.
To download Rights of Disabled People/Tikanga o te hunga hauâ in html, click
here:
To view the UN Secretary-General’s message about International Day of
Persons with Disabilities, click here:
For media inquiries, Gilbert Wong, (09) 306 2660, Kat Ryan, 09) 375 8616
Tewai Halatau
General Manager
Vision Pacific Trust
Skype: tewaihalatau
SMS: +64 21 380164
Phone: +64 9 6290111
Fax: +64 9 6290121
Email: [log in to unmask]
PO Box 96151, Balmoral, Auckland 1342
59 Pine Street, Balmoral, Auckland 1041
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