Presentation of New Zealand's 5th periodic report

E nga mana

E nga iwi

E nga reo

Tena koutou

Tena koutou

Tena koutou katoa

I bring you greetings from the Government and people of New Zealand.

Mr Chair, distinguished members of the Committee, on behalf of the Government of New Zealand, I am honoured to present New Zealand's fifth periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

New Zealand is a small and diverse democracy in the Asia Pacific region.  Today it is made up of 4 million people principally of Māori, European, Asian and Pacific Island descent who live side by side in a tolerant and inclusive society.  Over the past one hundred and seventy years, we have welcomed successive generations of migrants and refugees. 

Integral to our national identity is the relationship between the Government and Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.  Māori represent about 15 percent of the population and are a vibrant and growing part of New Zealand's society.  The Treaty of Waitangi concluded in 1840 gives effect to this relationship, which continues to evolve.

Mr Chair, the Government of New Zealand is committed to its obligations under the Covenant and other core international human rights treaties. 

As was the case with New Zealand's presentation to the Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review, the Government recognises the value of Ministerial engagement with international human rights treaty bodies.

The Government welcomes the scrutiny of the Committee and the opportunity that the reporting process provides both to share our positive experiences and to draw upon the expertise and perspective that the Committee can bring to the challenges that we and others face. 

I would first like to introduce the New Zealand delegation.  In addition to Ambassador McLay and advisers from the Permanent Mission, we have representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Crown Law Office, the Department of Labour, and the Department of Corrections. 

Mr Chair, New Zealand's fifth periodic report has been prepared in consultation with wider civil society.  The report has been published online and the Government will, of course, publicise the Committee's concluding observations and recommendations through a variety of channels. 

New Zealand is grateful for the Committee's List of Issues and has provided written answers to assist our dialogue here.

Mr Chair, New Zealand has always been committed to the United Nations, of which it was a founding member, and to the international promotion and protection of human rights.  Over a long period of time, New Zealand has encouraged other countries to work together to recognise and protect fundamental rights and freedoms that are enjoyed by all individuals. 

New Zealand continues to encourage all States to ratify international human rights instruments and has played a leading role in developing new instruments.

At the national level, New Zealand has long given effect to human rights through a broad range of governmental and non-governmental institutions. 

New Zealand has a comparatively unique, yet enduring, constitutional structure. 

Our constitutional arrangements include specific human rights protections, such as the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which I will discuss in some detail later.  In addition, there are a number of other instruments and practices that also safeguard fundamental rights, including reference to the principles provided by the Treaty of Waitangi, concluded in 1840 with representatives of New Zealand's indigenous Māori people.

Within government, specialised bodies such as the Human Rights Commission, the Independent Police Conduct Authority and others monitor compliance with national and international human rights law.  The New Zealand judiciary enjoys complete independence and is strongly committed to the promotion of national and international human rights. 

We recognise that our constitutional tradition differs from much of the world - but believe that our commitment to human rights, and our record in that regard, is nonetheless clear.

More broadly still, New Zealand is justly proud of the avenues for public participation provided by governmental transparency, strong traditions of accessible government institutions and a robust civil society. 

During the current reporting period, New Zealand has taken a number of measures to further strengthen its implementation of the Covenant.  These include new legislation governing the treatment of prisoners; responsibility for children; provision for civil unions and wider recognition of personal relationships; and expanded powers and procedures for non-discrimination law.  In the last two years, human rights protections have been further strengthened in substantial reviews of legislation governing police, and immigration and asylum law.

New Zealand has also entered into further treaty commitments, including ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in which New Zealand played a leading role; the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture; and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. 

We are also proceeding towards ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Mr Chair, we would also like to mention Mana ki te Tangata - the New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights, which was developed by New Zealand's Human Rights Commission.  The Plan relied on an assessment by the Commission of the current status of human rights, based on an analysis of law, policy, research, and consultation with the public, non-governmental organisations and government agencies.  

As confirmed by the Commission in its mid-term review of progress, there have been substantial initiatives in almost all areas identified as priorities in the Plan.   

These include the recognition of New Zealand Sign Language as an official language of New Zealand; the introduction of paid parental leave; action to reduce violence against children and young people; and measures to reduce poverty, including increases in the minimum wage.

The independent prison complaints and monitoring procedures have been expanded, not only through the recent reform of prison law but also through further reinforcement of the longstanding role of the Office of the Ombudsmen as a specialised independent complaints mechanism for prisoners.

Similarly, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has been given expanded powers and strengthened safeguards for its independent oversight of police conduct. 

Mr Chair, I have briefly summarised the major initiatives undertaken by the New Zealand Government during the current reporting period.  We acknowledge, however, that there are a number of issues that have been the subject of debate in New Zealand and which the Committee has also raised in the List of Issues. 

These issues, such as the use of Tasers, the private management of prisons and New Zealand's amendments to its anti-terrorism legislation, will be discussed in more detail later.

However, there are two issues that I would like to briefly discuss in these remarks.  The first is the issue of corporal punishment of children. 

As noted in our written reply to the Committee's list of issues, New Zealand recently repealed a defence that existed under the Crimes Act to permit the use of reasonable force against a child for the purpose of parental correction. 

Since that time, the repeal of that defence was the subject of an official, but non-binding, Citizens Initiated Referendum, in which a majority voted for the reinstatement of that defence.  Notwithstanding this result, in the present circumstances, the Government does not intend to reinstate the defence.

Another area of concern is that, in spite of Government initiatives over a number of years, Māori continue to be disproportionately represented in criminal justice statistics, both as offenders and as victims of crime.

In response, the Minister of Māori Affairs and I jointly hosted a summit on Drivers of Crime last year to identify ways forward to deal with these issues.

Four priority areas to reduce offending and reoffending have been identified, with particular emphasis on the ways in which this affects Māori.

First, antenatal, maternity and early parenting support; second, programmes to address behavioural problems in young children; third, reducing the harm caused by alcohol; and fourth, alternative approaches to low-level offences. 

The Department of Corrections has also developed a specialised Strategic Plan for Māori offenders, a primary focus of which is to reduce offending by strengthening awareness of Māori cultural concepts and values.

Turning now to the shadow reports, New Zealand is an active supporter of the work of human rights defenders.  We are pleased to see the reports of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and of national and international non-governmental organisations.  

The Government maintains a strong dialogue with the Commission and with NGOs and welcomes the Committee's engagement with many of the issues that these bodies have raised.

Mr Chair, members of the Committee, I would like to restate the continuing commitment of the New Zealand Government to its international human rights obligations.  New Zealand is proud of its record as a contributor, nationally and internationally, to human rights.  Our unique, but robust, constitutional structure has afforded opportunities for engagement with human rights protections not only across all of the institutions of government but in the wider community as well.  However, we also recognise that there will always be challenges.  We look forward to engaging with the Committee to continue to better protect and promote civil and political rights in New Zealand.