Robert Martin

Sir Robert George Martin (born 1957) is a disability rights activist from New Zealand who has promoted the self advocacy movement internationally and was involved in the proceedings resulting in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the 2017–2020 term. Early life Martin was born in Whanganui, New Zealand. A difficult birth resulted in a brain injury. As a baby he was sent to Kimberley Mental Deficiency Colony (later renamed the Kimberley Centre). Apart from brief periods living with his family and a failed attempt at fostering, Martin spent his childhood in institutions as a ward of the state. These institutions included Lake Alice Hospital (a psychiatric hospital) and Campbell Park School. In his biography, Martin describes inhumane conditions and abuse in these institutions which he would later campaign to close.