The COVID-19 emergency and the new Alert Level system required people to change their everyday lives suddenly to prevent the spread of COVID-19. New Zealanders had to physically distance; confine themselves to their homes, sometimes for weeks on end; and radically change the way they worked and learned. While disabled people voiced some positive experiences of the COVID-19 emergency, the restrictions exposed, and exacerbated, some existing inequities in disabled people’s enjoyment of human rights.
Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika Hauātanga i te wā o te Urutā directly reflects disabled New Zealanders’ experiences of the COVID-19 emergency and details areas where the Government did well and where improvements are needed. Based on all the information analysed, the IMM considers there are seven key areas where urgent attention is required.
The reports are available on the Ombudsman website in various formats including large print and te reo Māori.