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30 priority areas for action
extract from Human Rights in New Zealand 2010
Thirty priority areas for action on human rights in New Zealand
Chapter/section |
Heading |
Priority area |
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SECTION ONE – GENERAL |
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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. |
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SECTION TWO – CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS |
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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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SECTION FOUR – RIGHTS OF SPECIFIC GROUPS |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |