Disabled person-led monitoring of the UNCRPD in Aotearoa New Zealand: maximising the potential of civil society in the implementation of Article 33.3

Lauded by the UN as ‘unprecedented in a human rights treaty’, Article 33 of the UNCRPD holds that civil society must be fully involved in monitoring the progressive realisation of disability rights within their country. The way this occurs, however, is flexible, depending on existing state structures and political contexts. In 2008, the NZ Government became one of the first countries to ratify the Convention. Soon after, disabled people and their representative organisations made recommendations on how to bring life to Article 33.3, leading to the Disabled Person-Led Monitoring project. Led by disabled researchers utilising the Disability Rights Promotion International monitoring methodology, since 2010 almost 100 disabled New Zealanders have been trained as monitors, with hundreds more interviewed about their lived experiences. However, more than a decade on, a question remains - how can civil society maximise the potential of Article 33.3? Drawing on international literature on human rights monitoring and Aotearoa NZ’s most recent cycle of Disabled Person-Led Monitoring (Health and Wellbeing), this chapter identifies and explores the potential of civil society monitoring mandated by Article 33.3. In particular, we advocate that monitoring research should move beyond being used solely for international reporting purposes to also evidence and inform the development of human rights-based domestic policy.