NZ Human Rights Commission - Accessible HTML Document

Chapter/section

Heading

Priority area

SECTION ONE – GENERAL

1

International human rights framework

Parliament

Strengthening Parliament’s human rights responsibilities by establishing a Human Rights Select Committee and tabling human rights reports in Parliament.

2

Civil society

Establishing a fund to support civil society participation in international human rights mechanisms.

3

Equality and freedom from discrimination

Substantive equality

Incorporating a specific reference to equality in the Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act.

4

Human rights and the Treaty of Waitangi

Pathways to partnership

Developing and implementing new pathways to partnership between Tangata Whenua and the Crown.

5

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Promoting awareness of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in New Zealand.

6

Human rights and race relations

Structural discrimination

Investigating the extent to which structural discrimination underlies entrenched racial inequalities and developing programmes to address it.

7

Languages

Developing and implementing a national languages policy.

SECTION TWO – CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

8

Democratic rights

Representation

Increasing the representation of Māori, Pacific and other ethnic groups in local government.

9

Right to justice

Evidence from vulnerable people

Developing more appropriate methods for taking and recording of evidence from vulnerable victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings.

10

Life, liberty and security of person

Programme of action

Implementing in partnership with civil society a comprehensive strategy and programme of action to address the drivers of crime.

11

Freedom of opinion and expression

Section 61, Human Rights Act 1993

Reviewing section 61 of the Human Rights Act to ensure it fulfils its legislative purpose.

12

Human rights and the Internet

Promoting debate about access to the Internet as a human right and a Charter of Internet Rights.

13

Freedom of religion and belief

Guidelines

Developing guidelines for respecting diversity of religion and belief in specific contexts.

SECTION THREE – ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

14

Right to health

Capacity

Amending the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992

to better reflect the concept of capacity in line with international standards.

15

Right to education

Human rights values

Implementing the human rights values explicit in the New Zealand Curriculum, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and Te Whāriki, ensuring that early childhood services and schools respect diversity, are free from violence and enable full participation by children and young people.

16

Right to work

Equal Employment Opportunities framework

Implementing a new framework for equal employment opportunities that addresses access to decent work for disadvantaged groups such as Māori, Pacific youth, and disabled people.

17

Right to housing

Homelessness

Developing and implementing regional and national strategies to reduce homelessness.

18

Social housing provision

Increasing the supply and diversity of social housing.

19

Right to social security

Poverty Reduction

Reducing child poverty through a co-ordinated and integrated approach, with specific attention to Māori, Pacific and disabled children.

20

Adequacy of core benefits

Reviewing and addressing the adequacy of core benefit rates.

SECTION FOUR – RIGHTS OF SPECIFIC GROUPS

21

Rights of children and young people

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child obligations

Ensuring that legislation reflects New Zealand’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including recognising the interests of the child, the age of criminal responsibility, protection under the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act, age discrimination protections and adoption procedures.

22

Participation

Increasing avenues for children to participate and have their views heard.

23

Rights of disabled Persons

Measuring outcomes

Developing a full range of social statistics to ensure key outcomes for disabled people are measured.

24

Implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Ensuring an integrated and co-ordinated Government response to implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the full participation of disabled people.

25

Rights of women

Pay and employment equity

Timetabling pay and employment equity implementation with a minimum target of halving the gender pay gap by 2014 and eliminating it by 2020.

26

Sexual and family violence

Reducing sexual and family violence through target setting and fully resourcing a national programme of action.

27

Rights of sexual and gender minorities

Legal equality

Completing the legislative steps needed for formal legal equality, including rights to found and form a family, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

28

Rights of migrants

Employment

Addressing barriers to the employment of migrants, and ensuring the rights of temporary, seasonal and rural workers and those on work-to-residence visas are respected.

29

Rights of refugees

Comprehensive strategy

Completing a comprehensive whole of government resettlement strategy for convention refugees, quota refugees and family reunification.

30

Rights of people who are detained

Māori imprisonment

Committing to specific targets and timelines for reducing the disproportionate number of Māori in prison.