COMMENT: New Zealand’s Human Rights in 2024: A Review of the Latest UPR and HRMI Findings

New Zealand is renowned globally for being a nation with a just and equal society, where citizens have their basic rights respected and opportunities to develop to their full potential. But is this reputation accurate?

In this article, we will analyse the observations and recommendations made to New Zealand during the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review of the country, which took place in April of this year, as well as the latest report from the organisation Human Rights Measurement Initiative, released in June 2024.

What are human rights?

Human rights are those rights recognized internationally by most, if not all, countries on Earth. These are the fundamental rights every person is entitled to simply by being human. Having your human rights respected and being able to exercise these basic rights enables you to develop to your full potential. That is precisely the purpose of the group of human rights recognised in the international sphere: to protect every individual so that they can lead a good life. Although the concept of human rights was consolidated during the French Revolution of 1789, today they represent a set of standards necessary for living a life with dignity.

The foundation of the United Nations and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first document to outline fundamental rights that should be universally protected, initiated the human rights movement on the global stage. It paved the way for the adoption of various United Nations treaties and conventions.

Today, human rights serve as the global ethical framework needed to address global problems.

UN’s Universal Periodic Review

In 2006, the establishment of the Human Rights Council introduced the mechanism of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Through this process, each of the 193 UN member states undergoes a peer review of its human rights records. The UPR offers an opportunity for all states to declare the actions they have taken to improve human rights situations in their countries and to address challenges to the enjoyment of these rights.

The ultimate goal of the UPR is to improve the human rights situation in every country, with significant consequences for people worldwide. It is designed to prompt, support, and expand the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground. The UPR occurs every 4.5 years, with each cycle taking approximately that period from start to finish.

New Zealand underwent its first three Universal Periodic Review cycles in 2009, 2014, and 2019. In April this year, New Zealand's fourth UPR took place at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

The process starts with the submission of a report by the country, which is prepared by the Government with public consultation.  New Zealand’s report highlights the key themes raised by the public as follows: climate change impacts; the importance of adequate housing; the rising cost of living; family violence and sexual violence; child poverty; mental health and disability support services, along with continued inequities in outcomes amongst Māori and Pacific peoples, particularly with regard to education, health and the criminal justice system. “A wide range of views were expressed on freedom of expression and measures to prevent hate speech, and the most appropriate balance between the two. Women’s and children’s rights, men’s rights, rainbow rights, and specifically the transgender, communities, were also highlighted.”[1]

The Government reported on the recommendations of the previous cycle, showing several actions and initiatives (of which we just give here two examples for each topic) related to:

1. racism and discrimination (e.g.: reviewing of the counter-terrorism legislation and establishment of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities);
2. migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (e.g.: increasing of its annual quota of resettlement places to 1500 people; establishment of the Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa);
3. climate change (e.g.: introduction of the ‘Zero Carbon’ framework, total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 falling to their lowest levels since 2009);
4. right to adequate standard of living, including housing (increased financial support for low-income workers and families since 2019; Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development and National Māori Housing Strategy were released);
5. criminal justice system (e.g.: legal aid assistance is available to all prisoners; Department of Corrections have expanded mental health services since 2019);
6. indigenous rights (e.g.: the creation of the Matariki public holiday, understood to be the first Indigenous national public holiday in the world; the commitment to actively protect, promote and revitalise te reo Māori);
7. rights of women (e.g.: gender parity in Parliament in 2020 and in Cabinet in April 2023; abortion was removed from the Crimes Act 1961 in March 2020);
8. rights of children (e.g.: substantial work to improve education, health and protection outcomes for Māori and Pacific children; changes have been made to legislation to improve advocacy for and the monitoring of systems supporting children);
9. rainbow rights (e.g.: introduction of an administrative process for people to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate; passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act in 2022);
10. disability rights (e.g: the Ministry of Disabled People was established in 2022);
11. health (establishment of a new national health system in 2021, and of the Suicide Prevention Office in 2019);
12. education (the Education Work Programme 2021 was developed; a government funded school donations scheme was established in 2020, to reduce financial pressure on families).[2]

Besides the information provided by the State, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and other stakeholders (civil society and Tangata Whenua organisations) also provided an independent assessment of how Aotearoa is progressing human rights. All their submissions make up what is called the “stakeholders report”.[3]

The reviews are conducted in three-hour meetings involving the State under review and a Working Group comprising 47 UN Member States. During this discussion the UN Member States can pose questions, comments and/or make recommendations to the State under review. 

Typically, States first commend the State under review for certain actions and then proceed to make recommendations.[4] This year the following countries, for example, highlighted among other things:

1. Uganda commended NZ on gender parity matters, for having women in political spheres and decision-making spaces, and recommended NZ put in place measures and policies to protect the rights of migrant workers, especially of African descent.
2. Fiji praised NZ for the introduction of a zero-carbon framework into its legislation, and recommended NZ enhance support services for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
3. France encouraged NZ to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), to implement measures to eradicate domestic violence and to fight against poor housing.
4. Germany welcomed the establishment of a special minister for the elimination of family violence and sexual violence, but remains concerned and recommended that NZ elevate the Treaty of Waitangi to supreme law by incorporating it into a written Constitution and implement measures to eliminate pay inequity based on ethnicity, disability, and gender.
5. Mexico acclaimed NZ on the progress made in regards to abortion and recommended that NZ reform the Bill of Rights to include economic, social, and cultural rights, and ensure a human rights-based approach in new legislation on mental health.
6. Pakistan approved actions taken to combat racial discrimination, especially islamophobia, and recommended NZ continue to take steps to promote interfaith harmony.
7. Peru complimented the creation of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, and suggested NZ redouble efforts to strengthen the quality of health care and access to the national health system, especially for migrants and refugees, and enhance measures to ensure that the free determination of Māori people is respected.
8. The Philippines noted the steps taken to improve the situation of migrant workers, children and indigenous people, and recommended NZ ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the adoption of a national plan against racism.
9. Samoa applauded the strengthening of the climate change legislation, and the support of NZ to the Pacific nations, especially during COVID, and recommended that NZ enhance community resilience to climate change and ensure equitable access to health care, including for Māori and Pacific communities.
10. Australia highlighted NZ’s efforts to address health services access disparities experienced by the LGBTQIA+ communities and recommended NZ amend the Human Rights Act to explicit prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and intersex status.

 The report of the Working Group with the outcome of the review, at the time of writing this article, is yet to be released. 

The question remains: how is Aotearoa performing in terms of the human rights specifically mentioned during the UPR? 

Latest release from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative about New Zealand

To answer this question, we’ll use the recently released data on human rights in New Zealand from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI). HRMI is an independent and not-for-profit organisation that works to produce a comprehensive, robust, easy-to-access database tracking the human rights performance of countries. They believe that “what gets measured gets improved: if something isn’t being systematically measured, it can be more easily overlooked and undervalued.”[5]

Currently they track five social and economic rights (education, food, health, housing, work), and nine civil and political rights (right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, from forced disappearance, from death penalty, from extrajudicial execution, from torture and ill-treatment, as well as the right to assembly, to freedom of expression, to participate in government and to religion and belief), all in accordance with international human rights law.

HRMI has developed a unique and reliable methodology[6] that shows how well each country is performing compared to what is achievable given its economic resources.

Considering the rights that were mentioned more frequently on the occasion of New Zealand's Universal Periodic Review this year, a few things call attention.

Regarding the right to education, New Zealand’s scores are in the ‘bad’[7] (science) and ‘very bad’[8] (maths and reading) ranges, when compared to what other countries are achieving with the same level of resources.  It’s observed that over the last decade New Zealand’s score for the right to education has plateaued and fallen, with no rise.

In terms of the right to health, New Zealand is doing well on child and adult health. But when we consider reproductive rights only, the score is in the ‘bad’ category (again, using a benchmark that considers country’s income), having not improved in the last 20 years.

Concerning the criminal justice system, the numbers show that New Zealand scores are low when it comes to freedom from torture and ill-treatment. It’s the worst civil and political rights score of the country, meaning that there are a significant number of people who are not safe from harm at the hands of the State. When asked to clarify, HRMI’s respondents mentioned, as being more at risk of suffering torture or ill-treatment, the following groups: indigenous people; people with disabilities; LGBTQIA+ people; disabled children, especially Māori, in state care, among others. This also comes to show that institutional racism is unfortunately still prevalent in Aotearoa.

Indigenous people also occupy the first place when we talk about risk of violation of the freedom from arbitrary arrest, of the right to opinion and expression, as well the rights to food, housing, education, work and health.

LGBTQIA+ people are at a greater risk of violation regarding their right to assembly and association, where NZ score is just ‘fair’[9], while people with disability are at high risk of violation of their right to work (where New Zealand's score is ‘very bad’ in general – see footnote 6).

These findings from the HRMI report, along with the recent Universal Periodic Review of Aotearoa, draw attention to the areas where significant improvement is needed. While New Zealand is often praised for its commitment to human rights and has received commendations from various countries for advancements in areas such as gender parity and climate legislation, the persistent issues in education, health, criminal justice, and the protection of vulnerable groups underscore the need for continued and enhanced efforts. The disparities faced by indigenous peoples, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities also reveal systemic issues that must be remedied. Addressing these challenges is crucial for New Zealand to truly live up to its reputation as a just and equal society where all citizens can develop to their full potential and live with dignity. 

How you can help

New Zealand has made significant strides in various areas of human rights, but as the latest UPR and HRMI reports reveal, there are still critical challenges that need our collective attention and action. Here’s how you can contribute to improving human rights in Aotearoa: 

1. Stay informed: Keep yourself updated on human rights issues in New Zealand by following organizations like the United Nations Association of New Zealand and the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. Understanding the issues is the first step toward advocacy.
2. Engage with policymakers: Reach out to your local representatives and express your concerns about the areas needing improvement, such as education, health, and the protection of vulnerable groups. Your voice can influence policy changes.
3. Support human rights organisations: Consider donating to or volunteering with organisations that work to promote and protect human rights in New Zealand. Your support can help them continue their crucial work.
4. Raise awareness: Use your social media platforms and community networks to spread the word about human rights issues and the findings of the UPR and HRMI reports. Increased awareness can lead to greater public pressure for change.
5. Participate in public consultations: Engage in public consultations and discussions on human rights issues. Your input can shape government reports and policies, ensuring they reflect the needs and concerns of all citizens.
6. Advocate for specific causes: Whether it’s advocating for better education, improved health services, or the rights of vulnerable communities, find a cause you’re passionate about and take action. Every effort counts towards creating a more just and equal society.

By taking these steps, we can all play a part in making New Zealand a place where every individual’s human rights are respected and protected. Together we can ensure that Aotearoa is truly a nation of justice and equality.

Dulce Piacentini

Special Officer for Human Rights

United Nations Association of New Zealand

Footnotes:

[1] National report submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 16/21, found here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/nz-index

[2] For the full report, please see https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/nz-index .

[3] All submissions can be found here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/nz-stakeholders-info-s46

[4] You can watch NZ’s session here: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1a/k1apcm8lnl

[5] For more, see their website: https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/

[6] For their methodology, visit https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/methodology/

[7] “Bad” means that countries scoring in this range have a long way to go to meet their obligations under human rights law. They have failed to put in place the kinds of structures and policies that enable people to claim the right concerned (https://rightstracker.org/page/methodology?iso=NZL&tab=report-physint&pb=adjusted&atRisk=3&as=hi ).

[8] Very bad (below 75%): There is no reason for any country to score this low. Not only are countries scoring below 75% failing to put in place the kinds of structures and policies that help people claim the right concerned, but the structures and policies in place most likely prevent many people from claiming their rights (https://rightstracker.org/page/methodology?iso=NZL&tab=report-physint&pb=adjusted&atRisk=3&as=hi ).

[9] Fair: Governments with scores in the fair range respect these rights more than many countries since 2017, but still violate the rights of a significant number of people.